ESSENDON
Five rounds to play, and the ledger is brutally simple. Wins keep the chase alive, and anything less hands the top two the title race on a plate.
The Royals return to Cross Keys on Friday night sitting third in VPL Men 2 on 38 points, unbeaten in five but with a nagging sense that the run should have delivered more. Draws at Bayside and Whittlesea were points earned the hard way, yet while Essendon were grinding, Goulburn Valley Suns and Malvern City kept winning. The Suns lead on 45 and Malvern sit second on 43, both with a game in hand, so the equation from here needs no explaining. The Royals must win out and hope the pressure of a run-in does what pressure does.
Kingston City arrive twelfth on 20 points, and on the surface this looks like the kindest fixture left on the calendar. The Royals won the first meeting 3-0 back in April, and Kingston’s goal difference of minus 22 tells an honest story about their season. But their last month deserves a closer look before anyone pencils in the points. They put four past Nunawading without reply, went to Epping and took the same 1-1 draw off Whittlesea that Essendon managed a week later, and last Saturday they pushed the league leaders all the way in a 2-3 loss to Goulburn Valley. A side with nothing to lose that has just gone toe to toe with the best team in the division is not a side to treat lightly.
The Royals’ response should be built on what has carried this campaign, the firepower. Fifty goals in 21 games is the most potent attack in the league alongside the top two, and Marcus Kotronis arrives in form after dragging the side level at Epping with his delivery and dead-ball threat causing problems all season. Against a defence that has shipped 43 goals, patience and quality in the final third should be enough, provided the intensity is there from the first whistle rather than the sixtieth minute.
Home turf, a Friday night under lights, and a season that has five matches left to give. Kick-off is 8:30pm at Cross Keys Reserve, and the crowd has a job to do too.
Forza Royals!