Northern Fourge rivalry

In Osarian football, the Northern Fourge rivalry is the regional derby between Firewood City and Hastmead Diamante. While the rivalry is called the Northern Fourge rivalry, it is notable that only Hastmead – located in Carbonia – are actually based in that area, as Firewood is located in central Fourge.

The rivalry is considered almost friendly in recent times, as the two clubs share several common heroes, such as Benni Watson, Rene Wilson-Ouaddou and D'Antoni Williams. Both teams currently compete in LigAnaia One: North East. In recent years, Hastmead have overtaken Firewood as the premier club side in Osarius, but the derbies are still well-contested.

History

Firewood's location in central Fourge and reputation as one of the largest clubs in Osarius meant they effectively drew in the most promising young talent from half of the region, rivalled only by Trothwands Evolution, who dominated the southern part of the region at the time. The gradual emergence of Hastmead in the north began to provide additional options for players who saw Firewood as an economically-non-viable option. When Hastmead beat Firewood to the signing of future national team captain Dennis McGrath in 2140, things turned ugly. That McGrath's senior debut was a man-of-the-match performance in an OFA Cup tie against Firewood only rubbed salt in the wound.

When McGrath left Hastmead three years later, he openly stated that he would "die before [he] would ever sign for Firewood", permanently endearing him to Hastmead fans, and underlining the genuine hatred between the two sets of fans.

Hastmead's fortunes without their star defender would flounder, however, and the club would eventually plummet all the way down to the Inter-Regional leagues, where they would languish for almost fifteen years; their rivalry with Firewood long forgotten.

It was not until 2162, when a third tier Hastmead side held Firewood – then the reigning national champions, boasting one of the most highly rated teams in Osarian football history – to a surprise 1-1 draw in The Cauldron in the OFA Cup fourth round, that the rivalry was remembered again. Most media outlets outside Firewood took the opportunity to poke fun at the champions, and the rivalry was mentioned frequently in the build-up to the replay, though it only seemed to be taken seriously by Hastmead fans. Firewood would win the replay, as expected, with Benedict di Corradi scoring four in a humiliating 6-1 result.

While the result was awful – as of 2224, it remains the heaviest defeat suffered by hastemad in games between the two clubs – the cash windfall from the tie was a catalyst for Hastmead to return to the upper levels of Osarian football. Then-chairman of Hastmead Diamante, Christopher Phillips, used the money wisely, investing further in the youth academy. The academy already had a reputation for producing players of reasonable quality, many of whom went on to play top flight football, and fans welcomed the decision to invest there rather than in the first team.

By the 2170s, Firewood City were firmly established as the best team in Osarius, while Hastmead were pressing for promotion back into the King's League (then the highest tier of the Football League of Osarius). The two would meet several times over this decade, with their old rivalry seemingly all-but-forgotten. The move of promising Hastmead youngster Benni Watson to Firewood City in 2173 was met with only mild displeasure from Hastmead fans, underlining the tepid nature of the rivalry at this point.

The rivalry would not heat up again until Amandeep Sahota transformed Hastmead into legitimate trophy contenders in the late 2100s... [ continue ]

Statistics

As of the end of LigAnaia season 11, the two teams have faced each other 131 times in the professional era (i.e. since 2137). Of these, Firewood have won 66 and Hastmead 39.

Top scorers

The following is a list of all the top goalscorers for each team in the fixture. Only players with four or more goals are listed.

Firewood City

Player	Goals
Benedict di Corradi	6

Hastmead Diamante

Player	Goals
Ezio Grassi	6