ConnectOS Men’s Match Report: Royals Fall to Redbacks in Tough Night at Eltham
Essendon Royals suffered their first defeat of the 2025 VPL2 season, going down 4-1 to a clinical Eltham Redbacks at Eltham North Reserve on Friday night.
The newly promoted Redbacks showed their attacking threat from the outset, punishing the Royals with swift counter-attacks and relentless pressure. Despite a spirited second-half response, Essendon could not overturn a three-goal halftime deficit, as the hosts sealed the result with a late strike.
The Royals started brightly, with Jordan Adeyemi testing the Eltham keeper inside the opening minutes, but the hosts struck first in the 10th minute. An Essendon corner was cleared, and Lewis Collins finished off a rapid counter-attack with a well-executed chip to give Eltham the lead.
Six minutes later, the Royals were undone again as Eltham worked the ball down the left flank before cutting it back for a close-range finish from Lewis Bamford. Andre Russo got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out, leaving the visitors 2-0 down early.
Eltham continued to apply pressure, and despite some desperate defending, the Redbacks found a third goal in the 32nd minute. A long-range effort forced a save from Russo, only for Bamford to react quickest and tuck away the rebound.
The Royals pushed to get back into the game before halftime, with Dean Clarke coming close with an overhead kick and Sebastian Lo Monaco just missing a whipped cross at the back post, but the visitors went into the break with a mountain to climb at 3-0.
After halftime, the Royals came out with renewed energy, and their persistence paid off in the 54th minute when Lo Monaco delivered a pinpoint cross for Clarke, who met it with a diving header to pull one back.
Clarke continued to be a threat, trying his luck from distance before racing through on goal in the 62nd minute, but his effort failed to hit the target.
Adeyemi also tested Eltham’s keeper with a sharp effort, while Russo made a crucial save in the 80th minute to keep the Royals in the contest.
Any hopes of a late comeback were dashed in the 87th minute when Takumi Niwa was shown a second yellow card, reducing the Royals to ten men.
Eltham capitalised on the numerical advantage, sealing the win with a long-range strike from Collins in the dying seconds to complete a 4-1 victory.
The defeat serves as an early wake-up call for the Royals, who will now look to regroup ahead of their next fixture as they aim to bounce back quickly from a challenging night in Eltham.
FULL-TIME: Eltham Redbacks 4-1 Essendon Royals
The evening got off to a bad start for the Royals in the U23s fixture, with Essendon going down 4-0.
A young Royals side went into half-time 1-0 down after a competitive showing, and the second half was similarly competitive, save for the final 15 minutes, where the Royals went 2-0 down, suffered a red card and then two further late goals.
U23s: Eltham Redbacks 4-0 Essendon Royals