Holiday Inn Match Preview: Royals hunt for back-to-back wins in local derby against Pascoe Vale

Essendon Royals’ senior men will look for back-to-back wins this Friday night, when they take on Pascoe Vale in a local derby at Cross Keys Reserve.

Our weekly previews are brought to you by the Geelong Holiday Inn, as we look ahead to the upcoming rounds of action.

Royals returned to the winners list with a 1-0 win over Beaumaris, courtesy of a brilliant goal from Brad Norton that secured their sixth victory of the season.

Watch all the highlights from Essendon’s 1-0 win over Beaumaris.

The win took the Royals into sixth on the ladder and cut the gap to five points behind Altona City, as they look to bolster their chances of promotion in the coming weeks.

Their next test comes in the form of an equally desperate Pascoe Vale side, who are just a point behind Essendon on the table, and sit in seventh place with a game in hand on the Royals.

Paco suffered a 4-1 loss to league leaders North Sunshine Eagles at CB Smith Reserve, which provided a blow to their promotion hopes as they also look to chase down the top four sides.

Despite their inconsistent form, Paco have a number of weapons that the Royals need to be wary of, in the form of attacker Tim Alisandratos, who has five goals to his name, along with Will Roberts who has three goals.

Aydin Mustedanagic also is a threat up and down the left flank and has scored four times this season already.

This Friday’s contest is the final match of a six game homestand for the Royals, before heading back on the road next weekend to face North Sunshine.

Royals won the reverse fixture at CB Smith Reserve earlier this season 1-0, thanks to an early goal from Jordan Adeyemi.

Watch the highlights from our last meeting with Pascoe Vale.

Kick-off is at 8:30 PM, with the Under 23s in action at 6:15 PM.

The Under 23s lost 3-2 against Beaumaris last weekend, and sit in 10th on the ladder, a point clear of Pascoe Vale who are fresh off a 5-1 win over North Sunshine.