SYDNEY FC striker Mark Bridge has fired a broadside at former coach Gary van Egmond by claiming the Newcastle Jets targeted him with "dirty tactics" on Saturday night in the hope it would unsettle him.
Bridge, who played three seasons for the Jets and scored the only goal in last season's A-League grand final win, joined Sydney in the off-season.
Saturday's nil-all draw was his first appearance at EnergyAustralia Stadium in enemy colours.
He expected a hostile reception from the vocal crowd of 11,535 who duly delivered but was surprised and disappointed by the aggressive greeting he received from his former teammates.
In the opening minute of the game, the 22-year-old grappled with Tarek Elrich after a feisty challenge from Newcastle's right back.
Bridge said "there were a few tackles flying in from both sides" but he reacted because Elrich "stomped on my ankle" and did not appear to be playing for the ball.
"That's why I grabbed him," Bridge said. "I said, 'What are you f---ing doing? The ball was half a metre away.' "
Elrich and Bridge clashed again later in the first half, and Bridge said his right ankle was "in a fair bit of agony" after the second incident.
"They know I've got weak ankles and I guess they really wanted to win," he said.
"I'm disappointed in Dutchy [van Egmond]. If that's what he's resorting to, their season's in trouble."
Asked if he was suggesting the Jets had targeted him for heavy treatment, Bridge replied: "That's what I was told by a couple of the [Newcastle] boys after the game.
"It's a dirty tactic, but it's a tactic. I'm disappointed in Dutchy, but once you cross that white line you do whatever you can to win the game."
Van Egmond made no apologies yesterday for Newcastle's physical approach but said the Jets played within the rules.
"At the end of the day, if our tactics were really bad, we would have had players sent off," van Egmond said yesterday.
"That's what the referee is there for. We don't go out to maim anyone. That's just ridiculous.
"We try to play physically but within the laws of the game . . . sometimes there can be mistimed tackles, which is part and parcel of the game.
"But there is no chance I would ever, ever, ever instruct anyone to go out and maim a player, because I know they only have short careers."
Elrich said yesterday that the Jets had been fired up to rebound from their 5-0 thrashing by Melbourne two weeks ago but denied there was any intent to hurt opposition players.
"Dutchy spoke to us before the game and told us we've got to go to war, and if everyone wins their physical battles, we'll be right," Elrich said.
"He wanted all of us to get stuck in against all of them it wasn't just because they were ex-players.
"There was no intention to go out and hurt a player. I don't think anyone has that attitude."
Elrich said Bridge was a long-term friend and was confident there were no hard feelings.
"I've known Bridgey my whole life, since I was about six or seven," Elrich said.
"There's no way I was going to go out and try to hurt him in a bad way.
"I've got a lot of respect for Bridgey, but I had to win my battles."
Elrich felt the minor melee that erupted after his first tackle on Bridge was "a bit of an overreaction from everyone".
"My intentions were to go for the ball," Elrich said. "I didn't think it was the kind of challenge that would cause everyone to run in, but that's football.
"The first tackle is always an important one, and Dutchy was saying afterwards that it did put Bridgey off his game a bit.
"After that, Bridgey was trying to play a physical game, but Bridgey is better when he's got the ball at his feet and is running at people."
Bridge said he did not pay much attention to the constant heckling he copped from the Jets' official supporters group, The Squadron, particularly in the first half.
"I probably heard them the first five or 10 minutes, and I heard them when I was down with that injury, but after that I didn't notice them too much," he said.
Sydney's other off-season recruit from the Jets, midfielder Stuart Musialik, admitted it was "a little bit weird" playing against his former team.
"I'm familiar with these surroundings, so I wasn't really nervous," he said. "I was a little bit worried about the reception I was going to get, but it wasn't too bad.
"I think they gave Bridgey a lot more than me. I didn't really hear anything."
Sydney coach John Kosmina said he thought Bridge and Musialik "did OK" in their homecomings.
"Bridgey copped a bit of stick I'm not sure why, because he won a grand final for the city, not just for the club," Kosmina said.
"And Stuey was solid. He's a good player, moves the ball around.
"It would have been nice if Bridgey scored. Sometimes it's nice to shove it up people."
In a fiery game, Bridge and Elrich each received yellow cards.
Jets Matt Thompson and Jobe Wheelhouse were also booked, and Sydney substitute Mitchell Prentice was sent off after collecting two bookings in 17 minutes.