Sunday afternoon sees the Mariners face off with the Jets at Central Coast Stadium in the latest instalment of the F3 Derby, with the Jets having their best opportunity in years to improve their terrible record in Gosford.
One has to go back to the Jets’ championship year in 2008 for the last time they defeated their fierce derby rivals at Central Coast Stadium. James Holland and Joel Griffiths were the heroes that day as they netted either side of an Adam Kwasnik strike in a 2-1 victory at what was then known as Bluetongue Stadium.
As we know, the Jets went on to lift the title that season against their arch rivals just over eight years ago in Sydney, as now-Wanderer Mark Bridge etched his name into Newcastle football folklore.
Jets fans have had to cling to this in recent seasons as following the Jets away at their fiercest rival has been an often painful and harrowing experience, especially considering the travelling hordes that regularly make their way down on the train to take over Gosford for the day.
Newcastle have managed only three draws since in Gosford and have been on the end of a few hammerings in that time, including a pair of 3-0 defeats in 2010 and 2014 respectively.
The Jets will surely never get a better chance to turn the tables on their nemesis and reward the travelling faithful in a match they want to see their team win like no other.
It has been a disastrous season for the Mariners and it almost reached an unfortunate nadir last Sunday afternoon. The Mariners were well beaten by a rampant Melbourne City side 4-1, but that was only the beginning of the problems for the Mariners. Full-back Storm Roux suffered a horrendous injury as his ankle twisted beneath him and it has since been confirmed that he has fractured the ankle, along with a dislocated shoulder in the same moment, which will leave him out for the best part of six months.
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To make matters worse for the Mariners, their star winger Fabio Ferreira was sent off and their most dominant centre back Jacob Poscoliero picked up a yellow card that triggered an automatic one-match ban which leaves the Mariners short of options heading into the F3Derby.
On the other hand, everything seems to be going along beautifully for the Jets. Scott Miller’s men are close to full strength and are playing their best football of the season.
New signings Steven Ugarkovic and Morten Nordstrand have added a new dimension to the Jets and much needed goals, which have complemented an already sturdy and organised defensive unit. Nordstrand in particular has been in sensational form, as shown by his two-goal effort against Wellington last weekend. The first goal of his brace looked like something straight out of FIFA 16, as he bent a superb shot with his right foot into the top corner of the net.
The Jets are unbeaten in their last three matches, with victories over Melbourne City (2-1) and Wellington Phoenix (3-2), alongside a draw with Brisbane Roar (2-2) at Suncorp Stadium. They sit two wins outside the top six and have not given up hope of gate crashing the finals party as both Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC now have the added pressure of their ACL campaigns to deal with.
Tony Walmsley on the other hand has it all to do as he attempts to put out a competitive side on Sunday as his team appears destined for this season’s wooden spoon. The men from the Central Coast sit seven points adrift of second-last Wellington and are running out of matches to pick up enough points to avoid their first ever wooden spoon.
The irony of this is not lost on Jets fans as in the lead up to this year’s first F3Derby in Newcastle, former Mariners legend John Hutchinson famously came out in the media and said that the only thing the Jets have that the Mariners don’t is two wooden spoons.
Newcastle fans will love nothing more than beating the Mariners this Sunday afternoon and basically condemning their arch rivals to the basement of the ladder in season 11 of the A-League.
The only thing they would enjoy more than that is witnessing the Mariners come last on the final day of the regular season, and due to the quirks of the fixture list they may get the opportunity as the two teams meet on the last day of the regular season in Gosford.
After years of pain and heartache on the Central Coast of New South Wales, things may just be looking up for the Novocastrian faithful.
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