NJL Match Report: Essendon Royals cause cup-set with big win over Moreland Zebras
The Essendon Royals have once again vanquished the Moreland Zebras in the Australia Cup, courtesy of a 2-0 win in front of a healthy midweek crowd at Cross Keys Reserve.
Playing at home for the first time in 2022, the Royals did not disappoint their supporters, securing their place in the Round 5 draw thanks to a belter from Ryan McEvoy and an own goal from Nichola Symeoy.
The win was the second time the Royals have knocked the Zebras out of the cup in as many attempts, having beaten them 1-0 back in 2015.
But if that match was a back-to-the-walls job, this clash between the two clubs was a much more even affair.
In the end, it was the Royals who – whilst not necessarily enjoying the most possession or territory – carved out the clearest chances and were more than deserving of their win.
Coaches Mick Ferrante and Davey Van’t Schip named a heavily rotated team on the night, with one eye on State League 1 duties on Saturday against Yarraville.
Ziyad El-Tahir earned his first senior start for the club and put in an all-action display up-front, whilst Kristian Konstantinidis moved to a right-back berth to allow Greg Lombardo to make his return to the team after a long injury lay-off.
Jack Warrick started at left-back to complete the back four.
Ryan McEvoy moved into a preferred midfield role where he lined up with fellow Irishman Graham Kelly, with captain Matteo Ballan sweeping behind them.
James Brown and a returning Luca Santilli started up front alongside El-Tahir.
The Royals looked a settled team in the opening exchanges, and the first real chance fell to Kelly after 9 minutes, when he was quickest to a looped through ball and shot high from a tight angle.
A lobbed Zebras effort from range in the 11th minute forced German Schacht into his first save of the game, tipping over the cross bar.
At the other end, Konstantinidis forced a good save from the keeper from a McEvoy corner, something which would become a bit of a theme as the game wore on.
‘KK’ got on the end of a McEvoy set-piece in the 37th minute but his knock-down evaded his team-mates as Moreland cleared its lines.
The scores were locked at 0-0 at half-time, but parity did not last long in the second half.
McEvoy broke the deadlock when he unleased a fierce strike from 25 yards into the top corner just two minutes after the break, opening his account for the season.
Brown had a great chance to double the lead mere minutes later, with what would have been a deserved winner after some superb work to get a blistering Royals counter-attack moving along.
The second goal came in the 63rd minute when another troublesome McEvoy delivery was turned into the net by Moreland captain Symeoy, who was forced by immense pressure from KK to play the ball.
In what was a quiet half of football for Schacht, his first meaningful contribution came in the 78th minute, forced to tip over a great long-range effort, before McEvoy cleared off the line in the 86th minute.
The best chances fell to the Royals at the end of the game.
Brown struck the post with a near-perfect finish from just outside the box, before Santilli was presented a brilliant opportunity to seal the game in stoppage time, only managing to strike his shot straight at the Moreland keeper.
After what felt like an age of stoppage time, the final whistle finally came to confirm a massive result for the Royals who march on in the Australia Cup.
The Royals are back at Cross Keys Reserve on Saturday night, taking on Yarraville Glory FC.