Special Feature: Blacktown Derby ready for kick off this Saturday
Both clubs have commenced the season in great fashion, the new boys on the block coached by the ever impressive Ben Dehaan have ruffled a few feathers since their opening 4-1 loss to the Marconi Stallions. They?ve since recorded a 3-0 debut NSW Premier League win over Parramatta FC and last weekend drew 2-2 with 2011 Premiers and Champions Sydney Olympic.
The club?s meteoric rise has seen them win promotion from State League to Super League where they picked up the double in 2011 to be part of NSW?s top tier football competition in 2012.
One player in particular looking forward to the big game this Saturday was former Blacktown City FC player Chris Bedzo.
The lively attacker spent twelve seasons under the eye of Blacktown City FC was pumped for the match against his former club.
?It?s a big one indeed ? playing against Blacktown City FC says it all, huge match for everyone involved.
?I am pretty excited and cannot wait to play, there?s obviously a bit more pressure when you take on your old squad but it?s something I?ll definitely thrive on.?
Bedzo was full of praise of Dehaan and believed that the Blacktown Spartans were here to stay in the NSW Premier League.
?Make no mistake we aren?t here to make the numbers, I think we?ve pooled together a great squad mixed with young and experienced players and I believe Ben has done a great job in steering us in the right direction.
?We are here to stay.?
Spartans? consistent defensive midfielder Luke Boyd who has had a sound year thus far was eagerly anticipating the first ever ?Blacktown? derby.
?All the players are looking forward to Saturday as well as the club.
?It?s obviously the first derby of the year for us and there are a number of former players in both squads so it will certainly be an interesting clash.
?We want to continue to play our brand of football but will know that Blacktown City will present us with a really tough challenge with battles across the field but it should be a spectacle for everyone to enjoy.?
Asked what his thoughts were about the start of 2012 and the step up to the NSW Premier League, Boyd replied.
?We had eight or nine players involved in the NSW Premier League with Penrith Nepean United a few years back so it?s nothing new to us but the club has been well excited by it all.
?I thought the younger boys were a bit nervous in our first match against the Stallions but since then we?ve slowly progressed and gotten into it and have woken up ? the intensity has raised a level that?s for sure.
?I thought Olympic were pretty ordinary last week we should have really gotten all three points but we are taking each game at a time and giving it our all to remain in the NSW Premier League.?
While for Blacktown City FC, the club labelled the ?comeback kings? of the NSW Premier League with a 2-2 opening draw against Manly United with the final goal coming in the dying stages of the match before defeating the Rockdale City Suns 4-3 and last week scoring in stoppage time in their 1-1 draw against Sydney United, will pose a huge test for the Spartans.
Tough and experienced defender Patrick Gatt is looking at the clash with the Spartans as just another game playing down the hype of the derby.
?To be honest we are approaching this game as just another match, we are motivated about getting the three points and moving onto our match next weekend.
?We don?t want to read into the hype of it being a derby, every player has a job to do on the pitch and we want to follow this to get the result we are after.?
Known for being one of the senior members of the squad alongside club captain Luke Roodenburg, Gatt stated that it?s the players tight bond that has propelled them an extra level in gaining that winning edge on their opponents.
?We?ve got a real tight knit group and work for one another on the pitch.
?We don?t have any big name players, we just work hard, train hard to achieve maximum results.?
While, like his rival midfielder Bedzo, promising Blacktown City FC midfielder Daniel Bragg was excited about the prospect of facing the Spartans but was also approaching this match as just another game.
?After our match against Sydney United we got together in the change rooms to chat about the up and coming game this weekend and we?ve all stated that we don?t want to feed into the hype of the derby.
?Our mindset is to win as we really want the three points to continue our surge on the ladder.?
The former Gold Coast United National Youth League player who spent eleven seasons in the Blacktown City FC set-up has risen amongst the ranks as one of the hottest young prospects currently playing in the NSW Premier League.
?I just want to keep playing well and get my game time up and look towards establishing myself as a starter in the squad.?
So don?t forget to note down the date for this classic affair, Saturday 21st of April, kick off set for 7.30pm at Blacktown Football Park, the start of the NSW Premier League?s new derby Blacktown Spartans v Blacktown City FC not to be missed.
-By Mark Stavroulakis
