VPLW GRAND FINAL REPORT: ROYALS STAGE REMARKABLE COMEBACK TO CLAIM VICTORY
At the Home of the Matildas, the VPLW Grand Final unfurled a tale of resilience, determination, and footballing brilliance as the Essendon Royals scripted a remarkable comeback to edge past the formidable Spring Hills Stallions 3-2.
Facing a 2-0 deficit with just 15 minutes to play, the Royals looked set to miss out on a remarkable quadruple.
Thankfully, the Royals missed the memo and instead staged an incredible 15-minute spell to change the narrative and write an emphatic final chapter on an historic season in Victorian football.
The opening act of the game saw the Royals and Spring Hills exchange blows in a tense end-to-end half of football.
Undoubtedly, it was Spring Hills who created the best chances of the first half, with the remarkable efforts of Royals keeper Beth Mason-Jones ensuring parity at half-time, with the score locked at 0-0.
Spring Hills were not phased by the resistance and came out firing in the second half, with their pressure bearing fruit in the 47th minute.
A seemingly innocuous header from a Royals goal-kick was swiftly turned into gold by Dayna Stevens. With a burst of speed and precision, Stevens raced through on goal and slotted the ball past the unlucky Mason-Jones.
Spring Hills, buoyed by their lead, pressed on. Their momentum culminated in a second goal a mere four minutes later. NPLW veteran Aleksandra Sinclair, with a dash down the left wing, cut back a fierce ball to Kelly Hai Lam, who found the net, doubling the Stallions’ lead.
However, football, in its unpredictable beauty, had other plans.
Royals Women’s coach, Vince Battiato, flanked by his trusted assistants, Gus Flores, Davide Gualtieri and David Nunn, plotted some tactical changes from the sideline and issued the instructions that would be carried out with inch-perfect execution by this incredible group of players.
The Royals, with their never-say-die spirit, began to claw their way back. In the 75th minute, Ayano Koizumi, the Royals’ star player, showcased her aerial prowess. Rising above a sea of players, she met Rachel Alonso’s corner with a thumping header, reducing the deficit to one.
The scent of a comeback was in the air, and Koizumi, with her predatory instincts, was at the heart of it. Just four minutes later, she pounced on a bouncing ball from a deep free-kick, her strike finding the net amidst a melee of desperate Spring Hills defenders.
As the clock ticked towards the final whistle, the climax approached. In a moment that would be etched in VPLW lore, the Royals’ captain, Rachel Alonso, produced a moment of magic. With an audacious attempt, she scored directly from a corner, sending the Royals’ faithful into delirium.
The Royals maintained their composure and saw out the remaining minutes, clinching their spot not only in club history as one of – if not the most – dominant group of Seniors to ever pull on the red shirt but also in Victorian football history, becoming the first senior Women’s program to collect a famous quadruple.