NJL Match Report: Essendon Royals secure important win against Altona City
Essendon Royals were as comfortable as you can be with a 1-0 scoreline as they put in a solid shift to overcome Altona City at Cross Keys Reserve on Friday night.
Another cracking Ryan McEvoy free-kick proved the difference on the scoreboard, in a game the Royals dominated from first to last.
German Schacht had little to do in the Royals goal, as the defensive unit of Matteo Ballan, Will Abbott, Jake Montagnese and teenage debutant Dimitri ‘Kappa’ Kapolitsas offered fantastic protection for the Royals keeper.
The midfield trio of McEvoy, Zenawi Bugali and Graham Kelly ran the show in the middle of the park, whilst the returning Luca Simeoni was superb up front, holding up anything and everything that came his way for the wiling wide runners of Luca Santilli and Josh Markovski.
The first major chance came within 10 minutes when Kelly found himself in a heap of space outside the box.
He hit his shot well but was denied by the keeper. Santilli rushed onto the rebound sending his effort to the back post, where Markovski met the ball but couldn’t direct it back on target from a tight angle.
McEvoy found the back of the net after Simeoni was fouled on the edge of the area.
The Irishman has made a habit of hammering home his set-piece opportunities this season and he made no mistake from 19 yards out, smashing the ball past the helpless keeper into the far post.
Santilli and McEvoy went close again with efforts from range in the 26th and 31st minutes respectively, before Kelly rounded out the chances with a wide shot in the 43rd minute.
The second half was much the same.
Markovski found himself in acres of space as he drove into the box from the left wing within a minute of kick-off, but couldn’t get the required bend on the shot.
Kelly and Simeoni combined well to create a slight opening for the former after 57 minutes, but the shot was high and wide.
The best chance of the half came Simeoni’s way with under 20 minutes to play when his header was tipped wide by the keeper.
Altona’s best chance came a few minutes later when a dangerous cross into the box had to be well dealt with by Ballan.
Markovski headed wide in the 80th minute as the Royals held their own for the final 10 to see out an all-important win.
In the earlier kick-off, the Royals Reserves ensured they will remain top of the pile once again, posting an important and impressive 6-1 win over Altona, in a dominant second-half display.