Billy Romas scored at Kevin Bartlett Reserve in a 3-3 draw in State League One in 2023. He scored there again on Saturday night, and this time the Redbacks made sure it counted for more.
Romas struck inside eight minutes to give Eltham the lead on the road against a Srbija side fighting for points at the wrong end of the table. Kevin Bartlett carries its own atmosphere – the crowd behind it, the history behind the club, and the edge that comes from a home game that matters. The Redbacks absorbed it with the composure of a side that has been playing important football for nine rounds and knows what it takes to stay calm in those moments. The 1-0 lead held through to half time.
Jackson Necovski equalised for Srbija on 60 minutes and the match tilted for a period. A draw at Kevin Bartlett against a club with Srbija’s pedigree and their crowd behind them would have been a usable result. This Eltham side does not tend to think that way.
Finn Diamond settled it on 77 minutes. The central defender, recruited from New Zealand in the off-season as one of the summer’s key additions, scored the winner and gave the Redbacks the 2-1 advantage they held to the final whistle. There is something about a centre-back scoring the goal that wins a close away game that tends to stick in a season’s memory, and Diamond’s contribution was exactly that kind of moment. His reading of the game at the back has been a consistent feature of the campaign since round one. The winner at Kevin Bartlett adds a sharper edge to what has already been an impressive debut season in VPL1.
The win extends a run that has now covered three different competitions in three weeks: the Dockerty Cup extra-time win over Brunswick Zebras, the 3-2 comeback against North Sunshine Eagles at The Web, and now a hard 2-1 result on the road at Kevin Bartlett. Three occasions with genuine pressure, three occasions the Redbacks delivered. Romas now has five goals in nine league appearances, and the combination of his movement and Diamond’s authority at the back is a reasonable summary of why this squad sits where it does.
The table after nine rounds has Northcote City at the top on 22 points, Brunswick Juventus second on 21, and Melbourne Knights and Eltham level on 19, separated only by goal difference. Three points from first place. Saturday night at Kevin Bartlett Reserve was a statement about intent.
Up the ‘Backs.