ESSENDONTwo roads to the same destination, and the Royals are on both of them. Automatic promotion for the top two, a playoff for the sides just behind, and Essendon sitting third with a genuine shot at either.
That is the prize that makes the back end of this season so alive, and after two assignments on the road it comes back to Cross Keys on Friday night. The Royals are third in VPL Men 2 on thirty-four points, chasing Malvern City and Goulburn Valley Suns above them for an automatic spot while holding firm inside the promotion-playoff picture. A point banked at fourth-placed Bayside last time out kept the position intact. Now the job is to make home advantage count.
Box Hill United provide the test, and they arrive as more than makeweights. Fifth on twenty-nine points, they have beaten Malvern City away this season and carry the quality to trouble anyone on their day, though their form is patchy: a 1-3 defeat to Whittlesea United last week followed a run of wins, so this is a side there to be got at if the Royals start well. There is an edge to this one, too. When these teams met back in March, Box Hill won 1-0, and Essendon will not have forgotten it.
That makes the motivation simple. A win avenges the earlier defeat, extends the gap over the chasing pack, and keeps the pressure firmly on the two sides above. With the top two both taking maximum points last weekend, the Royals know they cannot afford to let home games drift. This is where a promotion push is built, in front of your own supporters, against direct rivals, with the season on the line.
Essendon have shown all year that they belong in this company. Turn that into three points on Friday, and the run-in becomes a straight fight for promotion with the Royals right in the thick of it.
Get down to Cross Keys and roar them on. Kick-off is 8:30pm Friday.
SPIDUCCI KING WILL BE GRILLING AT CROSS KEYS THIS FRIDAY! DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS AMAZING FOOD AND SUPPOTING THE ROYALS IN THIS IMPORTANT MATCH FOR OUR SEASON! SPIDCCI GRILLING FROM U23S KO AT 6.15 PM UNTIL SOLD OUT.