NJL Match Report: Royals cap off State League 1 campaign with two more wins
The Essendon Royals completed an amazing State League 1 North-West campaign in the best way possible with a 1-0 win over Whittlesea United, courtesy of a second-half strike from Graham Kelly.
With promotion out of the competition into NPL3 already secured, the Royals were playing for pride on Saturday at Cross Keys Reserve. They didn’t disappoint in another solid display to round out the season with a third-consecutive clean sheet.
The day got off to the perfect start with the Reserves securing a 2-0 win, which was more than enough to seal the league championship on the season’s final day.
The championship was no less than the Reserves, and coach Mick Giacomo and his assistant Serg Tapia deserved for an incredible season and ensured the crowd was buzzing all day long.
In the seniors, the Royals were made to work for the win.
Coach Mick Ferrante made a few changes to his side, delivering starts for Dimitri Kapolitsas, Zenali Bugali, Greg Lombardo and Davey Van’t Schip.
The Royals started the game well and had good chances for Joshua Markovski and Van’t Schip, but neither could capitalize.
The best chances fell to Whittlesea in the 40th minute as some desperate defending and a brilliant block from Matteo Ballan prevented the visitors from opening the scoring and ensured the scores remained 0-0 at half-time.
Ferrante made plenty of changes at the break, bringing on stand-out midfielder Ryan McEvoy, Luca Santilli, Mario Piraino and Will Abbott to give the Royals a more familiar look in the second half.
It paid off as the Royals created chance after chance, only to be denied on numerous occasions by Gabriel Matti in the United goal.
Santilli, Kelly and Nobuyuki Usui all saw efforts saved.
It was Kelly who broke the deadlock in the 75th minute, putting the finishing touches on some lovely work from Usui down the left.
The goal proved the difference in the end, but there were many chances for the Royals to double or even triple the lead, with Santilli hitting the post and late sub Anthony Ramzy seeing an effort saved.
In the end, three points and another clean sheet proved a fitting end to a magnificent campaign for the Essendon Royals, who can now turn their attention to NPL3 duties in 2023.