By Greg Blake
“What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered”? So mused Bill Murray’s character in the movie ‘Groundhog Day’. It might just as well have concluded skipper Ben Collins’ post-match speech in the wake of Heidelberg United’s 3-1 loss to Preston in the 2026 Dockerty Cup final. Instead Collins’ departed centre stage at Lakeside Stadium on Saturday with “we’ll pick ourselves up and go again”.
Yet for a time it seemed Alexander was set to win the trophy for the first time since 2017. As a large and boisterous crowd was still working its way into the ground, from kick-off the Warriors led the way Saturday’s final for the opening half hour and finally hit the scoreboard through Niko Duarte 28 minutes in. Asahi Yokokawa’s pin-point corner defied a horrible swirling Lakeside cross wind and sat nicely to meet Ciaran Bramwell’s run at the far post. Bramwell bounced the header across the goal face, leaving Duarte to finish with what could best be described as a high-stepping toe poke.
Post-game hubris from the Preston camp suggested otherwise, but the Lions hardly looked likely until a couple of goals in a four minute burst before the interval swept the Lions into the lead and flipped the script of this game completely. From that point Preston’s game management dictated the frustrating tempo of proceedings. Their discipline was implacable and the Lions rarely looked likely to lose it from that point.
Cianci’s headed goal to level it on 33 minutes was a little fortunate, the ball appearing to cannon off his left shoulder and loop past Yaren Sozer. Zinni’s stylish volleyed finish to make it 2-1 four minutes later was a ripper. And with that goal, Preston’s brief but stunning turnaround all but sealed Alexander’s fate. Sozer brilliantly thwarted Kubilay before Tevere’s very late second half stoppage time goal on a breakaway was Preston’s garnish on a dish which hindsight suggests was predictable at half time.
Although Heidelberg made a late rush and the result appeared in doubt until Tevere made it 3-1, according to the numbers Heidelberg were already long done and dusted. And history repeatedly repeats. In 111 games in all competitions under Johnny A the Warriors had conceded two first half goals in any game just twice before Saturday, in a 1-4 loss against Dandenong City earlier this year and in 2025 at home against St Albans. And Alexander hasn’t come back to win from a half time deficit since May, 2024.
The surprise inclusion of ‘out-for-the-season’ goalkeeper Sozer on Saturday was a reminder of how important he is to the Warriors. I doubt he was 100 percent for Saturday’s final, but he is such a presence. He commands and directs and hopefully he’s right for the Australia Cup run. Kayne Razmovski caught the eye again. He’s got a bit of dash and daring about him.
The duel between Collins and Bonada was brutal and Collins took the honours. And Ryan Lethlean was wonderful thundering down the left in the first half, drawing free kicks, mowing down opponents and it was he and Marcus Humbert combining to earn the corner from which Alexander opened the scoring on Saturday.
I continue to grow to love and admire Anthony Lesiotis. As a player, just wow. But how could one not swell with pride watching Lesiotis graciously work his way to every celebrating Preston player he could at the final whistle, offering a hug or a handshake and no doubt words of congratulations to each of them. This was his third Dockerty Cup final defeat four seasons at Heidelberg, yet Lesiotis was all class. Great stuff.
The schedule is not kind on the Warriors, with a Wednesday Australia Cup Round of 16 game against second division giant-killers North Sunshine Eagles to come, followed by a weekend home game against Hume City in the battle to maintain a place in the NPL top six.
Coach John Anastasiadis could only apologise to Alexander fans following Saturday’s defeat. “(I’m) sorry for our fans who came out today”, he said. “You know, I sincerely thank them for coming out, but keep supporting the boys. It’s still the FA cup and the Championship and we hope to put a smile on their faces.”
Footnote – A huge well done to whomever facilitated Saturday’s pre-game tribute to Mike Valentine, an Alexander 200 game-plus champion, who recently passed away. Current-day coach John Anastasiadis was a teammate of Valentine back in 1987, when Alexander was defeated in the Dockerty Cup final of that year – by Brunswick Juventus – in a manner eerily similar to last Saturday. In that game the Warriors took a 26th minute lead only to concede an equaliser three minutes later. And it was a Zinni who put Juventus in front, with current day Stefan’s dad, Andrew Zinni, making it 2-1. And the final score in 1987 was a 3-1 Alexander defeat.
