By Greg Blake
Heidelberg United Alexander franked a grand final invite – its first NPL grand final since 2018 – with an epic 2-1 triumph against the red-hot Preston Lions at Olympic Village on Friday night. The 5692 crowd – still squeezing in at kick-off – was massive, the stakes colossal, the atmosphere thick with incendiary potential. The better team won, but only just.
This knockout final between two clubs sharing a divisive and complex historic rivalry was gripping early. And it ended as a white-knuckle thriller, which seemed so unlikely for so long. Fortunes oscillated wildly. Preston launched a late game kitchen sink style assault and pulled a goal back to reduce a 2-0 half time deficit. It wasn’t enough.
Having already missed skipper Ben Collins – through suspension – for the Dockerty Cup final last month, If there is a concern heading into grand final week it may be speculation about the availability of Collins once again. He failed to reappear – replaced by Johnny Apostolopoulos – after the half time break on Friday night.
The unnerving first half tension was claustrophobic. It required a moment of beauty to pump breath into the contest. Not for the first time this season Sabit Ngor provided the requisite majesty. Ngor spent much of the opening half bounding and bouncing irrepressibly down the right, capping that 40 minutes in with the match opener.
Running down an audacious long bomb from deep by Ryan Lethlean, Ngor drove deep right and deleted defensive pressure with an acute change of direction before finishing with a handsome left-foot sweep which flew between near post and goalkeeper.
The six minutes which pulled the rug from under the Lions was completed a minute into first half stoppage time, Anthony Lesiotis spotting up Asahi Yokokawa wide right, and his pass sent Mo Aidara powering into the penalty area, where he copped a shove and sprawled face forward into the turf.
Bul Juach was untroubled from the penalty spot and sent Preston into the break needing two goals to buy back into a contest in which they’d rarely appeared equipped to score even one before the break, save for a pinpoint Jonas Markovski header finger-tipped into obscurity by Yaren Sozer on 24 minutes.
Aidara – who plays with the work ethic of a wharfie and the strength to match – and Lesiotis were marvellous again. Pivotal. And when a Lesiotis – Juach combination ever-so-nearly gave the Warriors a seemingly unassailable lead coming out of half time this semi final took on an as-you-were feel.
Alexander appeared to have the Lions – coming into this game off a seven game winning streak – tamed and held at arms length, despite a 70th minute warning shot over the bow as Dom Folino launched one from a distance, only to be denied by Sozer’s outstretched finger tips.
The Australia Cup finalists were jolted out of cruise control by a late-game free kick which revived the contest and the crowd. Spotted just outside the penalty area, Jason Romero greeted the free kick with savage intent and the ball cannoned off the shoulder of Lethlean in the wall and ballooned skyward. Sozer’s leap missed its mark and Matt Bozinovski speared the ball home from close range.
Perhaps the renewed interest of zealous Preston fans made the closing ten or so minutes feel as if Heidelberg’s hold on the game was significantly more tenuous than it actually was. In truth, only Luc Jeggo’s 89th minute effort raised an eyebrow, and even off the boot it was always veering away from the target.
Sport watching for adults turns us into kids at a pantomime. Booing, cheering, heroes and villains. Often poorly acted dramatics. High drama. Emotional. Great theatre. Friday night was just that. For Alexander fans, anyway.
And sport is conclusive. You win or lose, at least until next week. Until there isn’t a next week. And that’s why this grand final week is huge and that should be the motivation for Alexander fans to turn out in massive numbers for this weekend’s grand final at Lakeside Stadium.
Not for us as much as to show our appreciation and support for this group of marvellous young men. They’ve given us plenty of great theatre this year. They’ve been robbed blind twice. They deserve to win something big to commemorate their NPL season 2025. They’ve earned it. And there is no next week.
Go you good things. Warrior Nation!
