Holiday Inn Match Preview: Royals welcome Juve to Cross Keys for Friday night blockbuster

Essendon Royals’ senior men’s side is back in action on Friday night when they welcome Brunswick Juventus to 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 an incredible 4-3 victory over Nunawading City on Saturday evening. Essendon led 3-1 early in the second half thanks to a Dean Clarke brace and a goal from Graham Kelly before Nunawading fired back to bring the scores level heading into second-half stoppage time.

With minutes left, Anthony Ramzy fired home directly from a corner kick to give Essendon the victory.

Watch the highlights from our 4-3 win over Nunawading City.

The win keeps Essendon seventh on the ladder but within five points of fourth-placed Brunswick, which they face this weekend.

New senior head coach Domenic Barba took the reins for the first time last weekend in a 0-0 draw with still undefeated and second-placed North Sunshine Eagles.

It’s left Juventus five points behind the Eagles as they chase promotion back to VPL1 after their relegation at the end of last season.

Juventus have not won in their last four matches, but they won the reverse fixture 2-0 at CB Smith Reserve, thanks to goals from Jonathan Bounas and Nicholas Symeoy.

Watch the highlights from our 2-0 defeat against Brunswick Juventus earlier this season.

The visitors pose plenty of danger going forward, spearheaded by Max Batchelor, who leads all scorers for Juventus with six goals, while Lucas Oliveira has five to his name.

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

The 11th-placed Royals lost 4-0 to Nunawading last week, while Juventus continued their brilliant season with a 6-1 victory over North Sunshine. They are now second among the top four teams, locked on 37 points.