The numbers are tight, but hopefully the scoreline isn’t so this weekend as the Jets travel down the M1 Motorway for this weekend’s massive F3 Derby.
With both teams hunting for an all-important win at this relatively early stage o the season, they’ll be putting it all on the line come Sunday.
FIVE THINGS: Talking points ahead of Round 9
Dave Keating, our resident stats guru has broken down the numbers for this week’s Fixture Facts.
Matches
There have a total of 44 F3 Derby’s over the years, and the ledger couldn’t be more square – 14 wins apiece, and 16 draws.
Historically, the Mariners hold the advantage when it comes to matches played in Gosford with 10 wins to the Jets’ five, with seven draws.
It’s worth remembering our recent form on the Central Coast though – two wins last year, with an aggregate scoreline of 13-3.
Expect a big crowd to come out and give it everything on Sunday afternoon too – the average crowd for this match in Gosford is 10,643.
The last time we played them is one of the most memorable matches in Jets history – an 8-2 win in Round 27 last season.
That was also our biggest win in the fixture, eclipsing the 5-1 victory back in Round 1 of the 2017/18 season.
Goals
The goals scored in this fixture are almost as tight as the results – the Jets have scored 52 goals, the Mariners 53.
In Gosford, the Mariners’ good record means they’ve scored slightly more goals. The Jets have put away 28, the Mariners 35.
Our leading scorer in this fixture is Joel Griffiths (who else?) with six goals, but if Roy O’Donovan finds the back of the net this weekend he’ll equal that record.
Matt Simon leads the way for the Mariners, with six goals in this fixture.
Talking points
There’s a clear talking point ahead of Sunday afternoon – the return of Roy O’Donovan.
The Irishman scored five times in two appearances against the Mariners last season and with a Jets goal to his name every 141 minutes on average, he’ll be looking to up that particular record this weekend.
While the ledger is level historically, the Mariners have struggled for wins recently in this fixture. They’ve won just two of the last 12 derbies, and the Jets clean sweep last season was the first time in history either side has achieved such a feat in Hyundai A-League history.
There’s a good chance that there could be late goals this Sunday. Of the 105 goals scored in this fixture over the years, 28 of them (26%) have come in the final 15 minutes.
