But Goulburn’s first football derby could have been dramatically different had Strikers captain Ben Hartin capatilised on a first half penalty shot on goal. The veteran’s strike hit the upright.

“Had I of scored that it could have changed the game,” Hartin said. “It was a pivotal moment and it took the wind out of our sails. We were all over them at that stage.

“I don’t think the final score reflects how tight the game actually was.”

If the ball had of gone in, the Strikers would have gone into the half time break deservedly 1-0 up.

Instead, a second half flurry from the Stags saw the tightly contested match swing wide open.

Fittingly it was ex-Strikers player Josh Phelps who opened the scoring when he pounce on a loose ball after a goal box scramble.

Ryan Gardner soon made it two, and Eden Wheeldon made it 3-0 in quick concession for the blue.

“As soon as the first one went in, the flood gates opened,” Stags coach David Jones told the Post.

“It meant they (the Strikers) really needed to come out and attack to get something.

“The space then opened up and we changed things up.”

“We were playing long ball football, but then we changed to knocking the ball around shorter, picked the tempo up with quick passes, held the ball up and knocked it around the field, to get them out of position and it worked.”

Antipas Ojwang provided a rare highlight for the Strikers with a goal to knock the score back to 3-1, but it was too little too late.

The Stags were rampaging.

Nathan Bopping made it 4-1 with a brilliant individual goal and Wheeldon scored a brace to finish the game 5-1 winners.

But it was Bopping’s goal that had his team talking. “Bops was outstanding,” Jones said.

“I actually took him off in the first half, then let him back on in the second and he really changed things around, he was incredible.

“He brought the ball down, beat a couple of players and wrong footed the keeper to score.”

Joel Baird, in his debut game for the Stags, was man of the match.

David Albrighton was a stand out performer for the Strikers.

The win for the Stags means they’ve begun life in the ACT comp undefeated, while it’s two losses on the trot for the Strikers.