ESSENDON
Before a ball was kicked at Cross Keys on Friday night, both sides stood together in the centre circle for a minute’s silence in memory of Dragan Ristevski, a friend and team-mate whose passing has been felt right across the club. The Royals family stood with his own, and then the players got on with the game he loved.
What followed was about the most emphatic start to a football match you could ask for. Inside the first minute Dean Clarke timed his run to beat the offside trap, latched onto the ball over the top and, with the goalkeeper stranded, lifted a lovely lobbed finish into the net. One minute gone, one nil up, and any question about whether the Royals would start on the front foot was answered before Kingston had settled into the contest.
Four minutes later it was two. Frank Mulhern collected the ball and went straight through the heart of the Kingston defence, power and momentum carrying him into the box before he thundered an enormous strike past the keeper. Frank the Tank is not a nickname that needs much explaining, and goals like that one are the reason it exists.
Kingston deserve credit for refusing to fold, because plenty of teams two down inside five minutes would have. Dimitri Rellos pulled one back in the 19th minute, reward for a visiting side that showed the same resilience that had troubled the league leaders a week earlier. The response told you everything about where this Royals team is at. Clarke had his second within a minute of the restart, the two-goal cushion was restored before Kingston’s celebrations had properly died down, and the momentum swing they were hoping for never arrived.
Takumi Niwa put the result beyond doubt in the 32nd minute with the goal of the night, an outrageous finish that will be replayed a few times when the highlights land. Four to one at the break, and in truth the contest was already over.
The second half became a question of management rather than survival. Rellos grabbed his second in the 54th minute to give the scoreline a kinder look for the visitors, but the Royals controlled the remainder, created the better of the late chances and saw the game out without any real alarm. The 4-2 result completes the season double over Kingston after April’s 3-0 win at their place, and the attacking numbers keep climbing, 54 goals now from 22 games.
The win moves the Royals to 41 points, still third, with four rounds left and no margin for anything less than what they produced in that opening half hour. The run home continues at Cross Keys next Friday night against Altona City, a side beaten 2-0 back in April.
Same venue, same requirement.