The Royals beat league leaders Nelson Suburbs 2-0 at Logan Park on Good Friday.
They struggled to get out of their half in the opening 10 minutes, but they weathered the storm and started to impose themselves with En Watanabe and Brady Jacobs breaking Nelson’s defensive line.
It was not long before Hugh Jack let fly from distance with a shot that went narrowly wide, and Jack Julian had a fantastic goal-bound volley blocked.
Julian then had another sharp strike tipped over the crossbar by Nelson keeper Nic Van Hattum.
Tom Milton copped a yellow card for a reckless challenge on halfway. Nelson swung the free kick into the box, a player was dragged down and the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty. However, the player was adjudged to be in an offside position.
Max Davidson, who had controlled the midfield for the Royals, was next to be booked, and just before halftime, a Jack in-swinging corner led to Watanabe’s spectacular bicycle kick being deflected wide.
The Royals started the second half with another corner, which was taken by Milton and met by Jack, who let fly with a shot that was acrobatically cleared off the line by Nelson’s Jack Carter.
Nelson had two quick opportunities to break the deadlock, but Trevin Myers and Seb Hickman were not able to get the better of Royals gloveman Alex Boomer.
The game was getting edgy with some tasty challenges, and with both benches getting animated, it was no surprise when the Royals’ Caleb Osborne was shown a red card when his raised foot made contact with the face of a stooping Nelson player.
Despite being a man down, the Royals continued to exert more pressure on Nelson, and they broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute when centre back Ben Campbell dribbled from his own half and passed the ball wide to Will Turner, who squared the ball back to Connor Neil to sweep home the opening goal.
The Royals got the second goal they deserved when substitutes Nicholas Zambrano and Cam Clark combined in the penalty box, and Clark was bundled over for a penalty, which Neil confidently dispatched with 10 minutes left.
That moves the Royals to nine points and second equal in the league, one point behind Christchurch United, who thumped Selwyn 9-0, and level with Coastal Spirit, who had a strong second half to beat Wānaka 6-0.
Wānaka frustrated Spirit in the first half by playing a structured defensive game, and it was 0-0 at halftime.
Spirit broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half, and four goals in the space of 19 minutes made the game safe.
The second goal was scored by former Royals player Kaleb de Groot-Green with a towering header, and Riku Ichimura claimed a hat-trick to lead the Golden Boot race with six goals for the season so far.
Cashmere Tech dropped points for the second consecutive game, forced to come from behind twice in a 3-3 draw with Nomads.
Ferrymead Bays claimed their second win of the season with a comfortable 5-2 victory over Canterbury University.
— In the South Island women’s league, Otago University continued their early season form with a fourth consecutive victory, beating local rivals Roslyn-Wakari 5-0.
The conditions were a struggle for both teams to deal with and the students struggled to break through a determined defensive effort by Roslyn.
It took until the 40th minute for the opener when Jemma McCormick’s corner was finished off by Georgia Nixon.
The students moved the ball quicker in the second half and retained possession.
Nixon got her second on 62 minutes, Maddy Kay and Leila Hausia-Haugen made it 4-0, and Kate Johnstone sealed the win in injury time, finishing off a break away from Hausia-Haugen.
Despite not playing due to having the bye, the Royals remain in second position.
— Neville Watson
