Nicholas James Lawyers Match Report: Three Goals, Three Points, Back-to-Back at The Grange

Two wins on the bounce and a clean sheet to boot. Friday night was a good one for the Essendon Royals in VPL2.

Jordan Adeyemi struck right on the stroke of half time – the kind of goal that shifts the atmosphere heading into the break far more than the scoreline alone reflects – and Zac Kocankovski doubled the lead at 48 minutes, three minutes into the second half, before Kingston City had a chance to reset.

By the time Bradley Norton added a third on 67 minutes, the Royals had put three past the best defensive record in VPL2 and collected their second consecutive league win for the first time in 2026.

The round before had carried its own warning sign: four goals up against Whittlesea and nearly squandering it in the final twenty minutes. No such uncertainty at The Grange.

The lead was secured late in the first half and the second was added before Kingston had recovered from the restart.

When a compact, well-organised defensive side concedes twice inside the opening three minutes of a half, that is not poor defending – that is a front line pressing with purpose and a midfield converting possession into punishment at exactly the right time.

Kingston had conceded fewer goals than any side in the division coming into the weekend, a record built on disciplined shape and a backline that had kept the competition’s attackers at arm’s length.

The supply from Marcus Kotronis and Dean Clarke held up, and Adeyemi made them pay for every gap it created. He now has eight goals from nine league appearances, sitting third in the VPL2 scoring charts, and the timing of his goal right at the half-time whistle was precisely the kind of intervention that turns a match.

The Royals climb to seventh on 12 points from nine rounds, level with Keilor Park and six points off the top-four places. Kingston drop to ninth on ten with a game in hand still to use.

Malvern City lead the competition on 24 points, with Goulburn Valley Suns second on 18 and Bayside Argonauts third on 17.

Two consecutive wins is not a run. Three would be. The fixture list has more answers to provide.