Nicholas James Lawyers Match Preview: Eastern Lions Visit as Royals Chase Four in a Row
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“Three wins from three” is the sort of sentence that changes the way a team walks into training. Essendon Royals have spent the back half of April building something genuine out of a difficult start, and Friday night at Cross Keys Reserve is the chance to push that to four.
Manager Mick Ferrante was direct about how it has happened.
“It’s not hit and miss,” he said after the 2-0 win at Altona City last week.
“It’s been improving, improving, improving.”
He was equally clear about where the consistency has come from: a defensive shape that has now kept two clean sheets from the last three rounds, after the Royals “couldn’t buy one in the first eight games.”
Midweek was a different story. The Royals fronted up for the Dockerty Cup against Eltham with a squad that was light on experience by design, and the 4-0 defeat reflects that context more than anything else. Phil Riccobene and Lucas Alessi, the latter continuing his comeback from injury, were the senior anchors in a lineup built almost entirely from the club’s younger talent. Six players made their senior debut: Nicholas Magarelli, Christian Lykopoulos, and Liam Cruse started, with Daniel Armeri, Cooper Anderson, and Aiman Ahmed introduced from the bench. The scoreline will be forgotten quickly. The experience those six players took home from a senior fixture won’t be.
Friday night is a different conversation entirely. Eastern Lions arrive sitting in the lower half of VPL2 after a mixed campaign; capable of hurting sides when on song, but inconsistent enough that a Royals team in this kind of form will back itself on home soil.
Going forward, the threat comes from different directions. Jordan Adeyemi continues to lead the scoring charts and converted at Altona with the composure he has shown all season. Dean Clarke’s free kick sealed it with the clock running down. When both are contributing in the same match, this team is difficult to stop.
Ferrante wants the approach to continue.
“A bit of a mindset has changed,” he said.
“From playing well and losing, to discipline and knowing what it takes to win games.”
On Friday night, this newfound momentum will be tested again.
Forza Royals!