Women’s Match Report: Royals romp to victory at Cross Keys

The Essendon Royals continued their rampant start to life in the VPLW, picking up a second consecutive 3-0 win against a strong Geelong Galaxy side.

Coupled with a hugely impressive 5-0 win in the Reserves, the Royals have started their VPLW campaign across the Seniors and Reserves with four wins in two rounds, scoring 19 goals and conceding none.

Despite the comfortable 3-0 scoreline in the seniors, the Royals were made to work for the win. In the end, unanswered goals from Natasha Inia and Rebecca Davies proved the difference.

The first half saw the Royals creating a number of chances, with Ayano Koizumi coming agonisingly close in the 17th minute when her thunderous strike rattled the crossbar. The deadlock was finally broken in the 20th minute when Inia headed home a delightful corner from Rachel Alonso.

The Royals continued to push for more goals, with Koizumi and Linda Sawa testing the Galaxy goalkeeper. As halftime approached, Catherine Ioannidis nearly doubled the lead with a curled effort, but the score remained 1-0 at the break.

The second half saw the Royals maintain their dominance, and in the 70th minute, Davies unleashed a stunning long-range effort to make it 2-0. Just five minutes later, Davies found the back of the net again, converting a penalty after Marie Rampal was brought down in the box following one of her trademark marauding runs down the right flank.

The final whistle blew, confirming another big win for the Royals with a 3-0 scoreline. The team’s strong start to the VPLW season bodes well for their prospects moving forward, and they will look to build on this momentum in the coming weeks.

The Royals enjoy a week off next week, courtesy of the league bye.