Resurgent Rockdale back on track according to captain Urosevski

New Rockdale Ilinden captain Alec Urosevski is hopeful of leading his team to glory in 2023 following a resurgent turnaround in the National Premier League NSW Men’s.
It was only in round two that Ilinden suffered the shock of the season so far, copping a 6-0 smashing from APIA Leichhardt. It was a tough start for Urosevski acknowledging the performance was not up to standard.
“I’m happy that it happened that early in the season,” he said.
“It actually brought all the boys closer, and we knew that we had to change something.
“It gave us a chance to humble ourselves a little bit.”
However, since then, the side have won four in a row sending them level on points at the top of the NPL NSW Men’s table. This run includes victories over title hopefuls Sydney Olympic and 2022 grand finalists Manly United.
The goals have been flying in again this season for the ‘Baker’, bagging eight of Rockdale’s thirteen goals after the first six rounds.
Shouldering the goalscoring burden for his team and the new responsibility of the armband hasn’t deterred Urosevski, saying he loves the pressure.
“It’s my job, I’m a striker. I’ve got to score and I’m hard on myself. If I don’t score in two games then I’ll be out there working on myself,” he explained.
“Now that I’m the captain it’s brought a lot more out of me, and I feel like more of a leader.
“It’s made me grow as a person just being able to lead the club out – it’s a big achievement and I love it.”
Urosevski credited the role new coach Paul Dee has played in his and the team’s form this season, placing particular emphasis on the team’s game plan.
“He’s awesome,” Urosevski said.
“He gives us the confidence to just play, and I love our game plan as it creates chances for me and I’m lucky enough to have the players around me.
“I just hope we can keep it going and win it [the competition] finally this year – that’s the goal.”
Urosevski’s Ilinden face a tricky encounter with newly-promoted Western Sydney Wanderers this weekend. The Wanderers will come into this one buoyed off a 3-2 victory against reigning premiers Sydney Olympic in round six.
Urosevski remains confident his side can get the job done and make it five wins on the bounce.
“We’re focused on us, and we’ve got our game plan I know that if we stick to it especially at home with the fans we’ll hopefully come out on top,” he said.
“We’ll be wary of them. I know they’ve got young, nippy, and fast players and they’ll be up for it as well.
“We’ve got a target on our back now. I’m sure everyone wants to knock us off.”
Feature by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_