MATCH REPORT | Essendon Royals struggle but prevail against Yarra Jets

Essendon Royals were not at their best against Yarra Jets on Sunday, but they were still good enough to claim a 4-1 win at Cross Keys Reserve.

A Steph Pantazopoulos hat-trick largely proved the difference as the Royals’ ruthless forward was in clinical form to help her team to an important win.

While coach Johno Clemente did not feel this was a good performance from his team, the number of injuries the team is facing did not help Essendon’s cause, and he was pleased to see his side take the three points via a comfortable margin despite a slow performance.

The win maintains the Royals three-point gap over third-placed Hume City with two games to play, while the goal-difference advantage has grown to 19 goals.

This means a win next weekend would effectively seal promotion to State League 1 North-West for Johno Clemente’s team, barring a freak round of results in the final round.

Clemente insisted his team cannot afford to get comfortable despite the win, saying that a similar performance next week will not go unpunished.

“It was a really terrible game for the neutral but we got the three points and that’s all that matters,” Clemente said

“It’s a reality check for the girls that they’re not invincible and I hope they learn from it, because Lara United and Clifton Hill will take full advantage of performances like today.

“It’s a luxury when a tough day at the office is a 4-1 win, but we set high standards of ourselves. The game is over now, we picked up another three points and we move onto two very tough games to end the season.”

The Royals take on seventh placed Lara United away from home in the penultimate round of the 2019 State League 2 North-West season, before welcoming FC Clifton Hill in the final round of the season.

Hume City take on bottom-placed Maribyrnong Swifts next week before a final round fixture against Lara United.

Should the Royals win next weekend, Hume would need Essendon to lose to Clifton Hill in the final round and ensure they defeat Lara United by enough to overcome the 19-goal goal-difference deficit on the current ladder (which could change depending on next week’s results).