Pulsating F3 delivers the goods as derbies thrive

They say derbies are the toughest matches to win in football. The passion, the hatred and the desire involved makes the contest so much more intense.

Some rivalries are so intense that fans can forget their team’s struggling fortunes as long as they don’t lose the derby. And the A-League is no different.

The advent of Melbourne Heart and the Western Sydney Wanderers has created rivalries which the competition has craved since its inception. Although the respective Melbourne and Sydney derbies are in their infancy they have become true showpiece events which captivate the Australian football community.

But despite the publicity which these derbies receive many pundits forget that the original A-League derby started with the Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners. 

The F3 derby started as a local rivalry in season one of the competition and quickly developed into a fierce contest in the first few years of the competition.

Although the contest has perhaps lost its currency in media circles of late, the rivalry is still as strong as ever. And the first F3 derby of the season proved it.

In perhaps the game of the season to date the Jets and Mariners played out an enthralling 2-2 draw at Hunter Stadium in front of a healthy crowd of 13,744. The Jets had yet to score prior to this match and coach Gary Van Egmond has been under immense pressure from fans and media speculating about his future.

But, as a derby can, it seemed to spark the Jets into action.

After a dominant opening spell of possession for the Mariners, the Jets gradually grew in confidence as the match drew on and they created a number of opportunities. 456 minutes without scoring a goal though was clearly weighing heavily on the players’ minds and their frustrations were evident.

Step up Scott Neville.

The Jets fullback pounced on a rebound inside the Mariners six yard box and slotted home the team’s first goal of the season, sending Hunter Stadium into raptures.

Relief, ecstasy, elation – finally a goal. It’s funny what a goal can do, especially against your biggest rivals in a derby.

After Justin Pasfield gifted the Jets a second with a howler of an own goal the Novocastrian faithful dared to dream of an opening derby win.

But a Connor Chapman handball gave Marcos Flores his third penalty of the season and Mile Sterjovski netted a poacher’s finish in the last 20 minutes to snatch a point. 

The intensity of the game was immense with both sides engaging in a physical battle and a number of nasty challenges delivered six yellow cards.  

At 2-0 the Jets looked comfortable, but a change of formation and substitutions by Graham Arnold gave the Mariners more impetus and got them back in the match.

After a cagey opening half the match opened up in the second stanza and both teams played some wonderful attacking football.

In a tremendous advertisement for the A-League, although the score was locked at 2-2, both teams attempted to win the match right up until the final whistle. But two apiece it would stay. The Jets finally broke their goal scoring drought and the Mariners showed great character to recover from two goals down.

It’s funny what a derby can do.