Five hundred and five days had passed since the first M1 derby between Gold Coast United and Brisbane Raw. Those previous four games gave us 11 goals and one draw and through it all Gold Coast have emerged as the dominant team, undefeated in all meetings.

With this in mind we made our way deep into enemy territory with one thing on our mind.

NO SURRENDER!

We will not be beaten, we will leave your home with points in hand, and you will never defeat us.

Our coach and owner echoed that sentiment in the media and the stage was set for the fifth M1 derby to take place.  It did that and then some, in torrential rain that we seem to have endured for the last 2 months both teams went out to win and the by-product of all this angst was what most people are referring to as the game of the year - so far...

Gold Coast faced wave after wave of relentless attack but their defence stood proud and Glen Moss must have looked like a giant between the sticks as he deflected and defused some shots on goal that lesser keepers would have cringed at. While just in front of him Dino Djulbic constantly thwarted every advance made in his direction. The crowd was pumped and wet and struggled to get there but they did and one wonders if a clear night it would of nudged 20,000.

In the end the draw was a fair result as neither team had deserved to lose however it still remains the monkey on the lions back that they cannot defeat their neighbours from the coast. This was evident at the pub after the game, where a small group of the beach sat and shared a tale or two with our Brisbane counterparts. Discussion ranged from crowd caps to this horrible run of weather and the frustration (joy for us) of still not defeating GCU.

But a common thread in all the post match banter was that we had all just witnessed something special and the prospect of the final Derby of the year could well be the game of the year. Especially if it decides who fills the top two spots, and seeing as Brisbane have seemingly secured the first spot the real possibility that the M1 derby could extend into the post season. If the teams keep putting on 90 minutes like we all were blessed to see - then I say bring it on.

 

For the record

3 GCU - RAW 1

1 GCU - RAW 0

5 GCU - RAW 1

0 GCU - RAW 0

2 GCU - RAW 2