ESSENDON
Top of the NPLW table, and yet there is barely a sliver of daylight to show for it.
The Royals women travel to Avenger Park on Saturday holding first place on the finest of margins, level on thirty-eight points with both Bulleen and Box Hill at the summit and clinging to top spot only on goals scored. That is the reality after last Saturday, when Bulleen came to Cross Keys and left with a 1-2 win, Butrus scoring twice and Kelli McGroarty replying. It was a rare home defeat, it completed the season double for Bulleen, and it turned what had been a points cushion into a three-way tie with eight rounds still to play. South Melbourne sit three back on thirty-five, close enough to matter.
The perfect response came on Tuesday night in a thrilling Nike FC Cup quarter-final. With the score locked at 0-0 for 90 minutes, Grace Maher’s Olimpico looked like it might be sending Royals into the final four, but a late equaliser from Chelsea Blissett ensured a penalty shootout. Zara Board made two crucial saves for the Royals allowing Bella Sewards to step up and slot her kick into the bottom left corner and send the team into the semi-finals.
So in the league, the task for Jaiden van der Heijden’s side is straightforward, even if the afternoon will not be. Respond to a bruise of a result, away from home, against a side in form. Avondale arrive fifth on thirty-two points and playing some of their best football of the season, having won their last three on the bounce. They beat Melbourne Victory 2-1, saw off Keilor Park 2-0, and then last round dismantled Melbourne City 6-1, the kind of return that tells you all you need to know about the threat they carry going forward. Their forty-one goals scored is among the heaviest in the division, and at home they will back themselves to ask questions.
The Royals have an answer on file. When these two met in March, McGroarty and company won 3-1 at Cross Keys, controlled the contest and took their chances. The away fixture is a different examination, on Avondale’s surface and in front of their crowd, but the broader numbers still favour the visitors. Forty-nine goals scored, nineteen conceded, a goal difference of plus thirty that no side in the competition can better. McGroarty leads the golden boot race, Sophie Dehne has been steady behind a back line that has kept this side honest all year, and the table position, narrow as it is, has been earned across eighteen rounds rather than gifted.
What last weekend removed was the room for error. A title that looked to be drifting clear is now a scrap between three sides, and the run home will reward whoever blinks least. A win at Avenger Park settles nerves and keeps the Royals in front on their own terms. There is nothing complicated about what is required, only the doing of it.
Forza Royals.