CSF Match Preview: Essendon Royals welcome Brimbank Stallions to Cross Keys Reserve
Essendon Royals Soccer Club will welcome the Brimbank Stallions to Cross Keys Reserve in a highly-anticipated Men’s State League 1 North-West clash.
The Andrew Marth-led Stallions have enjoyed a terrific week, albeit in the middle of a heavy run of games, having delivered top-of-the-table Caroline Springs George Cross its first loss of the season last Saturday and defeating fellow SL1NW outfit Yarraville Glory 2-1 in the Australia Cup.
The Stallions have proven a handful for the Royals since Marth’s appointment at the club, but will face a stubborn Royals side thave has proven tough to beat in 2022.
Like the Stallions, the Royals have also sealed progression into Round 6 of the Australia Cup Victoria qualifiers, and like the Stallions the Royals have only lost once this season.
A frustrating 0-0 draw against Altona City meant the Royals spurned a golden chance to keep pace with Brimbank in second spot and close the gap on top-spot Georgies, however, with so much left to play this season, Mick Ferrante’s team will see Friday night’s clash as an important game in the race for promotion.
A win would be enough for the Royals to leapfrog the Stallions into third place and potentially second depending on the Banyule City result.
Brimbank has won four, drawn one and lost one thus far this season, scoring nine goals and conceding just six.
The goals have come from a variety of sources, with Luis Covarrubias (3), Kym Harris (2), Thomas Harris (2), Ethan Flint (1) and Adamson Ajayi (1) all chipping in with goals during the league campaign.
Brimbank has named 26 different players in their squads this season, meaning they will have a lot of options to choose from come Friday night – which may be important for them given this game will be their third in less than a week.
Essendon on the other hand has enjoyed what feels like a rare opportunity to focus on training with no midweek games this week.
The Royals completed Australia Cup duties last week, allowing for a relatively long six-day break between games.
With a big squad to choose from, Ferrante will have a range of options to find a hopefully winning combination for the Royals.
In the earlier kick-off, the Essendon Royals Reserves will be looking to open a sizeable gap between themselves and Brimbank.
The Royals sit second on the table after six games, level on points with Altona City which the Royals drew 2-2 with last week, some four points ahead of Brimbank.
The run of form for the Royals has been a fantastic endorsement of the club’s ability to bridge its junior program with its senior men’s program.
With a number of key reserves players being called up to the seniors, the Reserves have relied heavily on players from its junior ranks, all of whom have stepped up admirably and put in some fantastic performances.
MATCH DETAILS
Football Victoria Men’s State League 1 North-West | Round Seven
Essendon Royals v Brimbank Stallions
Saturday 29 April
Cross Keys Reserve, Woodland St
Reserves: 630 PM | Seniors: 830 PM
AROUND THE GROUNDS
With the Royals and Brimbank kicking off the round on Friday night, there will be some interesting clashes across the rest of the weekend.
Sydenham Park finally found their form last week, beating FC Strathmore 7-1 and will hope to maintain that when they welcome Yarraville Glory FC to Keilor Lodge Reserve.
Keilor Park hosts Whittlesea United with both sides tied on nine points after six games.
Elsewhere, FC Clifton Hill will take on high-flyers Banyule City at Quarries Park, whilst Altona City travels to Strathnaver Reserve to take on FC Strathmore.
In the final round of the game, Corio SC face a tough battle against Caroline Springs George Cross.