By Greg Blake
A goal down at home stirs mild ripples of concern. For the briefest time the currently coachless and seemingly hopeless Melbourne Knights grasped at a rare dose of hope. Misplaced really, A tenth minute penalty goal – converted smoothly by Ciaran Branwell – was ultimately their downfall.
It wasn’t easy – it took a couple of jaw-droppers on either side of half time to sway the scoreboard outcome – but Heidelberg United came from behind to triumph 2-1. And just as Oakleigh, Hume City, Altona Magic, Green Gully and Port Melbourne learned in the preceding seven or so weeks of the season, taking a lead against this high-octane 2025 Alexander machine and setting men behind the ball hoping to defend the advantage is a plainly flawed idea.
The cavalier and dash is the garnish, but the Warriors, whether a goal behind or a goal to the good – march on relentlessly and ruthlessly, like bloody bullants at a picnic. They’ll just keep coming and swarming and waiting.
Asahi Yokowaka provided Friday night’s ‘hold my beer’ moment as the half hour ticked over and the slightly sluggish Warriors were fossicking for ways to stare down the now pumped and game-leading Knights. The patience to loop a slowly constricting noose around the Knights in their own half was championed by Anthony Lesiotis and Ben Collins.
Collins was simply wonderful once again, as desperate one minute as he was measured the next. It was the skipper who slipped the ball left for Lesiotis to quarterback the play and with his trademark precision he found Yokowaka in a crowd around 25 yards out. Off one step Yokokawa sent a sizzling right-foot heat-seeker inside the far post to level the game going into the break.
Max Bisetto fired off a right foot rifle shot early second half, which was cleverly stopped by Knights keeper, Gabriel Matti, the rebound then falling plumb for Jamal Ali on that rarest of nights when the two in every hundred sitters Jamal ought to bury but doesn’t turned up in the same game.
The Knights – gallant as they were – might have been overrun, but the game remained 1-1 until 55 minutes in. The opportunity presented, an Alexander free kick, spotted at perhaps ten yards shy of the penalty area at the Southern Road end. In hindsight the moment deserved a backing track, spotlights and a wind machine.
He’s delivered a couple of spectacular long-range missiles already this season, but on Friday night Anthony Lesiotis provided a moment equally as spectacular from said free kick, gracefully going slightly airborne with a majestic, fizzing, dipping rocket which whistled over the keeper and under the crossbar and ultimately won the ninth in succession for table-topping Alexander.
It’s worth mentioning Yaren Sozer’s late injury time heroics to counter Leo Mazis’ determined effort to sink his former club and cement a result.
Alexander’s weekend win was spectacular, but expected. The Warriors remain top of the charts. But nine league wins in a row is rare air and has elevated this current team onto a podium place alongside the exalted company of the Alexander teams of lore, circa 1960 through1964. And an NPL record of 29 league games unvanquished at Catalina Street is in the books and still counting.
That said, it’s back to business in a matter of days. Clifton Hill come here hunting a cup upset on Tuesday night followed by a weekend trip up the road to take on the enigmatic young Melbourne Victory academy team.
