To ape Bill Hader’s famous Saturday Night Live character Stefon, the A-League Men’s hottest rivalry is the F3 Derby. Located on a sodden field in Newcastle, the latest edition of this regional rivalry had everything. Twists and turns, emotions bubbling over, VAR disallowing goals, dramatic comebacksand Matt Simon almost coming to blows with a red-carded Daniel Penha.
After serving as the unexpected highlight of ALM’s opening round of the 2021-22 season, overshadowing the greater ballyhooed Sydney Derby, punters were incredulous they were forced to wait 153 days for Saturday evening’s rematch between the Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets, a fixture ready to resume its place amongst the pantheon of box office ALM fixtures.
Fortunately, the intervening months haven’t seen the two belligerents turn into the basket cases that have largely defined their recent history. Instead, they metamorphosed into two of the ALM’s most intriguing teams.
Led by Arthur Papas, 2021-22 has seen the Jets become a neutral’s favourite; going from a name that just sort of existed on more interesting team’s schedules into one of the most entertaining sides in the competition. Sure, their defensive foibles mean they’re capable of collapsing at a moment’s notice and they’ll likely miss finals as a result, but Papas has turned his side into a unit that not only wants the ball but are actually capable of doing something with it. In a league increasingly defined by its pragmatism, the Jets are a breath of fresh air. And even implosions can be entertaining.
After the magic of Alen Stajcic’s 2020-21 season was immediately followed by a wave of departures, little was expected from Nick Montgomery’s Mariners heading into this campaign. But ALM’s little engine that could has found a way… again. Though very much still a team that likes to operate on the counter, the Mariners trail only Melbourne City and their gigantic budget for the most goals per game this season and have lost just once in their last eleven games.
Boosted by the addition of Jason “Cumdog” Cummings, the emergence of youngsters such as Dan Hall and Jacob Farrell, and the continued presence of Mark Birighitti and Marco Ureña they are getting better as the season goes on and may be a stronger team than last year’s outfit.
Could circumstances have been better heading into Saturday? Of course. This was still a meeting of eighth against ninth. The two teams have flaws. Yet given their recent history, the setting could certainly have been a lot worse. During the build-up this game felt like it mattered. It was a game you wanted to watch. And while sequels can often fail to live up to the original, the second F3 Derby of the season delivered the most chaotically entertaining game of the season.
Then again, across the opening exchanges, the Mariners might have been of a different opinion. Forced to batten down the hatches, they didn’t register a single touch on the possession stats until the fourth minute and didn’t actually progress the ball into the Jets’ half until the seventh. The Jets were playing some lovely stuff.
But Moresche’s 19th-minute strike turned the game on its head and 15 minutes later it was 3-0 (remember, Jet defensive collapses) thanks to a brace from Scottish-born but Socceroo-eligible attacker Jason Cummings, for whom calls for an international cap have gone from meme to reflection of his talent.
In normal circumstances, opposition coaches would be reaching for the hairdryer; volume and anger deployed as the kindling in attempts to light a fire under a team. Papas instead opted for the silent treatment at halftime and was promptly rewarded with two goals in the first five minutes of the second stanza.
Both sides subsequently exchanged chances but when Savvas Siatravanis pounced on Birighitti’s save of an Archie Goodwin header in the 82nd minute, it appeared a momentous Jets comeback had been completed and the Mariners’ finals hopes dealt a mortal blow.
VAR, though, had other plans. Called over to check the replay, Kurt Ams ruled the goal out for a push from Goodwin on Kye Rowles. Papas was furious, Montgomery was in furious agreement, and the Mariners survived.
Then, Garang Kuol happened. Brought on after his coach relented in attempting to get Cummings his hat-trick, the 17-year-old struck within two minutes to make it 4-2 and seal the game in the 91st. First Alou and now Garang - just wait until Didi arrives.
Thus, as the dust cleared and Simon gave Penha a bit of advice following his 96th-minute red card for throwing frustrated elbows, it was the Mariners that emerged victorious; a 4-2 win that, in the broader ALM context, could prove one of the most significant of the 2021-22 season and its finals race.
The best bit? These two will be back in less than two weeks to do it again.
