Pulsating Melbourne derby a reminder of what is good about the competition, writes Matt Windley

GOOD things come to those who wait.Kosta Barbarouses seemingly scored the Melbourne derby’s fastest-ever goal only to have it chalked off by the VAR because Besart Berisha was offside in the build-up.

Melbourne City’s Michael Jakobsen left and Melbourne Victory’s Leroy George compete for the ball on Friday night.

GOOD things come to those who wait.

Kosta Barbarouses seemingly scored the Melbourne derby’s fastest-ever goal only to have it chalked off by the VAR because Besart Berisha was offside in the build-up.

And although we could do without the near two-minute delay of the video referee, Barbarouses would get his reward before long, opening the scoring - again - in the 12th minute, with Berisha playing him through for good measure.

Good things come to those who wait.

Bruno Fornaroli just had to score in this derby.

The man is made for the big games.

And he deserves it, too, having endured the most injury-marred season of his career, only last night making it back into the starting line-up for the first time this season after breaking his ankle in the FFA Cup.

City was 1944 minutes into its season when the Uruguayan netted his side’s 54th minute penalty.

Melbourne City’s Michael Jakobsen left and Melbourne Victory’s Leroy George compete for the ball on Friday night.

And although the end result wasn’t the one City fans ultimately craved, the sight of their goal-poaching star once again finding the back of the net warmed the heart.

Good things come to those who wait.

And this was definitely a game worth waiting for.

In an A-League season that has failed to deliver on so many levels, this was a reminder of what is good about the competition.

The crowd, OK, a disappointing 20,083, provided a cacophony of noise from start to finish - and this was at both the Victory and City ends of the pitch.

And that electric atmosphere was spurred on by what was a frenetic and spiteful 90-plus minutes of action that had everyone on the edge of their seat until the final whistle.

They say soccer’s soft.

Take a look at Scott Jamieson’s first half hit on Berisha, or at the all-in mellee close to half time, or the crunching tackles aplenty applied by Terry Antonis, Matias Sanchez and Luke Brattan in midfield.

Good things come to those who wait.

City won their first four games of the season, Victory failed to win any of their first six.

And yet now, despite the doom and gloom that has been around Victory, the boys in navy blue have moved to within a point of the “city blues” with five games to play.

Good things come to those who wait.

This league has a lot going for it - last night was a reminder of that.

With the biggest participation base of any sport in the country, the potential is huge if harnessed correctly.

So soccer fans aplenty will continue to hope that good things come to those who wait.