Men’s Geelong Holiday Inn & Suites Match Preview: Point to Prove in Playoff Race for Royals

Alarm bells are beginning to ring at Cross Keys. 

The Royals’ winless streak now stretches to seven games, following a bracing 4-1 defeat to Geelong in Round 21. The mid-season slide sees Essendon in sixth, and locked in a four-way race for the final two playoff spots in VPL2. 

After successive wins over Geelong and Werribee City, Friday’s opponents can now count themselves as part of that playoff race. Box Hill are eighth, just four points adrift of the Royals, albeit with an inferior goal difference.

‘Pythagoras’ have hardly been prolific in front of goal this season – 25 goals in 21 games ranks as the third-worst return in the division. However, a sturdy defence and a knack of grinding out slender wins has seen Box Hill win four of their last six games and remain in the playoff hunt. 

The Royals will be hoping the week off for the catch-up round has given injured defenders Brad Norton and Phil Riccobene extra time to recover. Neither has made it onto a team sheet in over a month. 

Essendon defeated Box Hill in their last meeting, with a quickfire double salvo from Dean Clarke and Takumi Niwa midway through the second half proving the difference in a tightly-contested affair.

Goals have been evenly distributed in the Box Hill team, with 12 different scorers this season. Ruben Sanchez Marcano leads the side with 5 for the season, while Agustin Casco broke a 6-game drought to net the winner against Werribee. 

Essendon has a point to prove on Friday night. An opportunity to show the fans and the rest of the league what they’re capable of. Come down to Wembley Park and show your support as we head into the business end of the season!

🆚 Box Hill United FC vs Essendon Royals SC

📍 Wembley Park

📅 Friday, 18 July

⏰ Seniors at 7:30PM, U23s on Saturday at 3PM