By Greg Blake
In what is rapidly becoming Alexander’s dare-to-dream 2025 season, there will be few tougher assignments for Heidelberg United than last Friday night’s appointment at Connor Reserve. The margin was slim. But consider a 1-0 win under the circumstances an assignment passed, with honours.
It took an audacious sliding steal from Ryan Lethlean to swing the game Alexander’s way minutes before the interval. His half-field intercept sent the ball looping for Asahi Yokakawa, the lithe number 16 half turning with formula one speed and threading his pass perfectly to allow Bul Juach to do what he does best. Juach’s crisp, angled right-footer was never in doubt.
A hostile and unfamiliar environment, the frigid onset of winter proper, a unpredictably blustery wind and facing a Preston Lions team with a desperate hankering for their first win in 17 years over their legendary northern suburban rivals from Heidelberg screamed danger game in flashing neon.
Perhaps in response to last week’s grim start, Jamal Ali was less flamboyant and daring than he was determined to help shore up an Alexander defence which has fallen behind early in three of its past four games. Instead, Fletcher Fulton pulled a shifty and bobbed up in everything, fair, foul and fancy, with his straight-line work down the left impressively aggressive.
Early seductive half chances at both ends defrosted a guarded opening. The contest rapidly escalated into a serious firefight a quarter hour in, only for Max Bisetto to bumble in traffic at close range at the northern end, followed in quick succession by missed-it-by-that-much efforts from Connor Bell and Jonas Markovski down wind.
In hindsight that pair of Preston Lion misses cost the home side dearly. Ali’s restraint was short-lived and his dance deep into Preston’s defence with purpose for the first time on the half hour appeared to rouse the interest of the wild bunch, Sebit Ngor, Juach, Asahi Yokakowa and Bisetto.
Juach’s 43rd minute go-ahead goal threatened to turn sour into first half stoppage time as Oliver Kubilay’s long-range effort was parried in spectacular fashion by Yaren Sozer. Markovski’s flying attempt at the rebound was foiled by Sozer’s brave lunge, but the collision put the Heidelberg keeper on the deck for long enough to cause some concern.
The second half sizzled along but didn’t ignite as it promised it may do. Preston stayed in it on the scoreboard but the better and more likely opportunities were clearly with Alexander. The musketeers – Mo Aidara, Ngor and the irrepressible Ali – with a cameo from the F-Bomber, Fulton – combined to set up the ‘Raging Bull’ on the hour , only for Juach to slice his shot across the goal face.
Yokokawa might have nailed one with twenty minutes remaining on the clock, but Friday night was less about the scoreboard than keeping the Lions locked down and securing the victory.
Defensively questioned with rigour and regularity by Preston after half time, the Heidelberg United defensive structure held rigidly sound, as if intent on proving a point after last week’s rattled and ragged start last week against St Albans.
Sozer stylishly survived his bones being rattled before half time, imperious skipper Ben Collins even ventured forward with purpose a couple of times, Lethlean goes largely unsung and shouldn’t. Both Ali and Fulton had their moments at either end of the paddock.
On Friday night the Warriors walked into Connor Reserve for the first time since 2011 with massive a target on their back. Preston had all the incentive. The Lions were good, just not good enough. Alexander walked away from Connor Reserve with 14 wins from their now15-game strong undefeated run and remain locked in an arm-wrestle with Avondale for top spot on the NPL ladder.
Next Friday night Alexander gets to square off at home against the last side to beat them – away back in March – Dandenong Thunder. It doesn’t get easier. But it makes the victories so much sweeter.
