Clashing for last time - August 9 2014

Clashing for last time

August 9 2014

Shepparton News

The 22nd and final chapter of the Cobram derby history will be written tomorrow when Cobram and Cobram Victory do battle for the last time.

Of the 21 games played between the once-fierce rivals, Victory has won 11 while the Tigers have won seven.

Cobram might be unable to even the ledger, but it will want to finish the rivalry on a high note.

Form dictates the Tigers should win, but as is so often the case in cross-town rivalries, form does not mean a thing.

Take the first Cobram derby, for instance.

After Victory made the move from Albury Wodonga Football Association to the North Eastern Soccer League, the first Cobram derby took place on May 22, 2007.

Cobram and Victory took to the field in front of a huge crowd and Victory beat Cobram 8-1.

Founding Victory member Michael Startari remembers the day fondly.

‘‘That’s still the biggest derby crowd we’ve had,’’ Startari said. ‘‘The whole town was talking about it and the whole town turned out.

‘‘We were a bit nervous, but we found ourselves 4-0 up at half-time and the final score was a huge surprise because we just didn’t know what to expect.’’

In the early days, big wins for Victory were common. Victory won the first five derbies in a row, scoring 40 goals and conceding only seven.

Season 2009 saw the games become much more competitive, and the Tigers forced the first of three draws in round seven before picking up its first derby win in dramatic fashion in round 14.

Then-Tigers coach Rocky Papalia said the message from the board was simple that season.

‘‘Coming up to the game the committee said to me they didn’t care if we lost every other game, but we had to win that one,’’ Papalia said.

‘‘That just showed how important it was.’’

The Tigers had to wait until 2012 before taking another win in the local derby, with Victory winning four of the next five, with the other being a draw.

Cobram won two of the four derbies — which included a Mirabella Cup play-off — in 2012, including a 6-4 win in a 10-goal thriller, but came undone in the cup and in the semi-final, which Victory won 4-2.

Under coach Craig Carley, Victory went on to win the Regional Premier League that season, and after seeing his team fall 2-0 down in the first 15 minutes of that semi-final, Carley was forced to play a big role in seeing his team through as a 4-2 winner.

‘‘Their centre-back, David McGurk, got sent off in the first half when he brought me down as the last man and I think that was the turning point,’’ Carley recalled.

‘‘Matt Gray picked up an injury early on and we were 2-0 down in 15 minutes, so we were in trouble.

‘‘But with the form we were taking into that year I just thought if we got a chance we’d start scoring.’’

Since, the Tigers have had the better of the local affairs, taking four of their seven wins in the past six derbies.

Two big wins over Victory already this season ensures Cobram heads into the last local tussle as true favourite, but whatever the result people from both sides of the fence are looking forward to a united future.

Still, the occasions will be missed.

‘‘You just couldn’t beat the cross-town rivalry,’’ Carley said.

‘‘The tension, the passion . . . everyone wants to win and have bragging rights, so they were great occasions.’’




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