NJL Match Report: Nine-man Essendon Royals humbled by Corio
Nothing went right for the Essendon Royals in Corio, as Mick Ferrante’s team fell to a shock 3-0 defeat on Saturday night.
Two first-half red cards proved too much for the Royals to overcome on a tough night in Geelong.
Goals from Mackenzie Roach, Billy Argyros and Darcy Rapa did the damage as the Royals had to contend with red cards to Greg Lombardo and Graham Kelly in the 35th and 43rd minute respectively.
Before the red card, the Royals dominated the possessions and the chances but once again struggled to force the opposition keeper into any saves of real difficulty.
Ryan McEvoy took the game’s first shot before it was a minute old but could only strike it straight at the keeper from a distance under some intense defending.
Kelly was next to try his luck, sending a well-hit effort just wide, before Luca Santilli headed a good chance over the bar – all within the opening five minutes.
A dangerous McEvoy set-piece eight minutes in forced the keeper into a smart save, before Ziyad El Tahir headed wide from a Santilli cross.
The trouble started in the 34th minute, when Corio won the ball in the middle and looked to launch a quick counterattack with Essendon’s numbers forward.
Lombardo’s opponent managed to wriggle goalside of the experienced defender, with Lombardo committing a foul as the last man to prompt a red card from the referee.
With the Royals still making defensive adjustments, Roach popped up unmarked at the back post to nod home a cross to the far post and put the home side 1-0 up barely two minutes after the red card.
Matteo Ballan almost levelled from distance with a decent strike after a good run through the middle of the pitch, before Kelly struck a lovely free-kick that beat everything except the crossbar as the Royals looked to find a way back into the game.
A straight red card to Kelly for an incident after the Royals had won a corner in the 43rd minute made an already difficult task almost impossible.
As the second half commenced, the Royals started with intent, but any hopes of salvaging anything from the game were ended when the referee awarded a penalty for handball.
Argyros made no mistake from the spot to put Corio 2-0 up after 50 minutes.
A spirited Royals response saw half-time subs Davey Van’t Schip and Josh Markovski both test the keeper from range, before a series of McEvoy corners were routinely beat away by the Corio defence.
The result was sealed in the 61st minute via Roach, who produced a stunning curling finish into the bottom corner.
Undoubtedly a night the Royals will want to put behind them, Essendon will have an instant shot at redemption midweek when they take on Avondale FC in the Australia Cup.