By Lucas Pavlidis (@LucasPavlidis)

Richmond has recorded a 2-0 victory over Dandenong City in a scrappy affair at Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Friday night.

Goals to Hamlet Armenian and Tom Cahill proved the difference, as Richmond held on for its fifth consecutive victory.

Dandenong began strongly and threatened to score after pressing Richmond high into its own half.

The home side was denied possession and service to its key forwards, as an early save from Edward Chadwick thwarted the first attempt on goal for the match.

Dandenong was unlucky to concede through a mistake that would prove to be costly after not taking its early chance.

A lethargic midfield lost the ball in their defensive third, gifting Joshua Knight the ball. His run into open space was not tracked by defenders, and the midfielder glided the ball through to Armenian, who finished in typical fashion with his right foot high into the top corner of the net.

Immediately after Armenian’s goal, Dandenong looked to reply swiftly.

Sean Seavill managed to get in and around Richmond’s back four and look for the run of Andres Jerez, whose shot was spoiled after a last-ditch challenge by Sebastian Petrovic.

The scrappy affair continued for the remainder of the half, as the home side took the lead going into halftime.

Tim Purcell almost made it 2-0 five minutes into the second half after his shot cleared the top left-hand corner by centimetres, after Ryan Oppermann’s run found him alone at the top of the box.

Five minutes later, it was Knight’s chance to extend his team’s lead.

Similar to the first goal, the midfielder ran unchecked through the Dandenong midfield, but this time opted to shoot. His shot was deflected after attempting to find the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, and instead spilled out for a corner.

Dandenong continued to get itself in dangerous positions to score, but just couldn’t convert the chances to close the gap.

Richmond also squandered numerous chances towards the end of the half to make it 3-0, with Cahill and Armenian both having shots saved before the final whistle.

Despite the win, Richmond coach Rick Mensink considered the game his side’s worst showing of the year, and praised his opposition for a tough encounter.

“That was our worst performance of the year. Credit to Dandenong, I thought they were very good. They were quick, sharp and good on the ball, I think they’ll take points from a lot of teams,” Mensink said.

Mensink reiterated the importance of taking all three points at home despite the scrappy performance.

“When you’re playing poorly it’s critical you pick up the points. We dug in deep. We had a game (Dockerty Cup loss to Bentleigh) on Tuesday night that left the boys a bit flat, but we kept the shape and I think that’s what won us the game.”

In contrast, Dandenong coach Ivan Duzel gained confidence from his side’s first half.

“Today I think the first 45 minutes we were okay, except for the mistake when Richmond scored their first goal,” Duzel said.

Duzel added that some of his players looked tired in the second half, after injuries to players forced changes which he said influenced the outcome of the result.

“In the second half a lot of people looked very tired. They just couldn’t get it into the next gear. Topalovic got himself injured and I shuffled it around to try push and get a goal.”

Steven Topalovic was a loss to Dandenong as his presence was missed through the second half.

“Topalovic is one of the players who can win the tackle, and run with the ball. He’s a strong boy who gives a lot of confidence to the midfielders. That was disappointing, but what can you do. You have to keep going,” Duzel said.

Match Details

Richmond 2 (Armenian 30’, Cahill 59’) defeated Dandenong City 0 at Kevin Bartlett Reserve [HT: 0-0]

Richmond: 1. Edward CHADWICK, 2. Andrew GOFF, 6. Vincent BONTEMPS, 4. Mitchell BISSINGER, 11. Liam FLYNN, 8. Joshua KNIGHT, 10. Tim PURCELL (15. Gideon SWEET 60’), 14. Sebastian PETROVIC, 7. Hamlet ARMENIAN (16. Mitchell BEAMISH 88’), 12. Ryan OPPERMANN, 9. Tom CAHILL (5. Rylan SADLER 84’)

Unused Substitutes: 20. Tom BANFIELD, 17. Fabian STRANGES

Yellow Cards: Knight 38’, Petrovic 86’

Red Cards: None

Dandenong City: 6. John CARROLL, 10. Sean SEAVILL, 8. Dario MATKOVIC, 4. Steven TOPALOVIC (3. Simon STOREY 47’), 23. Goran JOZELJIC, 1. Marko STEVANJA, 22. Andres JEREZ (21. Danijel BULTIC 66’), 7. Keegan ZIADA, 9. Damian MISKULIN, 11. Raymond LAY, 5. Alex ROJAS

Unused Substitutes: 31. Dennys MARTIN, 12. Shaun FILIPOVIC

Yellow Cards: None

Red Cards: None