Controversial Brisbane Roar striker Besart Berisha again donned his cape, but this time kept his shirt on and hands to himself as he saved his side for the second successive A-League match.
Berisha, the centre of a wild melee last weekend, netted a second half equaliser for the Roar in their 1-1 draw with Melbourne Heart at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Only playing under a technicality as the Roar consider appealing his one-match ban for challenging a Sydney FC rival to duel in the players’ tunnel last weekend, Berisha bounced back from a difficult seven days to again save his team.
The Albanian had also scored the match-winner against Sydney FC.
And his 69th minute close-range header from a neatly worked move gave the Roar a deserved point, cancelling out Heart’s first-half goal to Jonatan Germano.
Berisha was at the centre of much of the action in a high-quality, end-to-end match in which both teams had stand-out players and excellent periods of dominance.
The Heart scored first with a wonderfully-worked 31st minute goal.
Outstanding fullback Aziz Behich nutmegged Berisha and crossed for striker Alex Terra to scissor-kick towards goal.
Roar defender Said Mohamed Adnan blocked the ball, only for Germano to head home the rebound and give the home side the lead.
But the Roar dominated the majority of the half, and looked likely to equalise just eight minutes later when Germano turned villain and handballed from the brilliant Thomas Broich, who tormented the Heart throughout.
Berisha stepped up, and blasted a woeful penalty over the bar.
Heart goalkeeper Clint Bolton made two important saves prior to halftime from Broich and Adnan to keep his side in front.
Broich was again at the centre of the early second half action for Brisbane, and started the move which led to Berisha’s deserved equaliser on 69 minutes.
The ball traversed Broich, James Meyer, Ivan Franjic and was then touched on by Mitch Nichols before Berisha got the last touch via his head to square things up.
The Heart then livened up late in the half and had several chances, but couldn’t find a way past Bahraini international Adnan, who was wall-like in defence.
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The Crowd Says (21) | Page 1 of Comments
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January 22nd 2012 @ 8:56am
The Cattery said | January 22nd 2012 @ 8:56am | Report comment
Interesting that both goal scorers were joint villains at another point in the game.
Berisha showed good determination to come back from his failed pen to go after the loose ball in the box and equalise.
Germano too was on the spot for the first one, but you have to question Theoklitis’ goalkeeping, the header didn’t have a lot of pace on it and it has basically gone straight over his head.
It has to be said that Theoklitis has a history of letting through weakish shots that barely miss his head.
January 22nd 2012 @ 11:25am
j binnie said | January 22nd 2012 @ 11:25am | Report comment
Cattery – Look at your film again and analyse the defensive positions taken up by the Roar as this goal was created and scored.First we go the the left wing where the youngster has ‘nutmegged” Berisha. Question to be answered – What in hell was Berisha,the team’s target man, doing back there having to challenge a wing back’s determined run.?? Where were the right side defensive units??
Then the cross to the diminutive Brazilian who had all the time in the world to spin and execute his excellent scissors kick to pass 4,yes 4 defenders marking who??? before the unlucky Adman spooned the ball to the unmarked Germano who had the simplest of headers from close range with the keeper on his heels going backwards. Where were the left sided defensive units?????.
The answer to both those questions. Either out of position or worse still ball watching when they should have been closed up tight on any attacker in the penalty box.
The game for the neutral observer,was great entertainment no doubt, from the technical side one had only to look at the Roar bench to see what Ange & Rado were thinking. Roar are playing a passing game based on possession and quick movement of players and the ball. I don’t think I have seen the Roar, even in the below par spell, misplace a ball as often as they did in this game.As it was they probably did create enough chances to win but it was the chances that COULD have been created that is Ange’s big worry after that display. jb
January 22nd 2012 @ 12:53pm
The Cattery said | January 22nd 2012 @ 12:53pm | Report comment
Yes, jb, good description, whenever you see your target man in your own third, you’re entitled to get nervous – who can forget in 2006 Dukes chasing down a Croatian midfielder in his own third, giving away the free kick with a careless tackle, and Croatia going ahead inside two minutes.
I can only guess that Berisha has tried to cover for the right back going forward – admirable dedication and team ethic, and I’m sure Ange would foster that sort of backing up your team mate, covering the gaps if they’re there, and a bit of flexibility and adaptabality – but of course, just as we don’t expect Theoklitis to do an HIguita or Campos, we normally would not expect to see Berisha defending on his own by-line – asking for a lot of trouble.
January 22nd 2012 @ 3:59pm
Stevo said | January 22nd 2012 @ 3:59pm | Report comment
jb, your description of the first goal makes no mention that it was borne mostly out of improvisation rather than some text book approach. The cross from Behich cleared the goal and Terra was standing close to the edge of the penalty area when he decided to try his luck by scissor kicking it in. From there anything could have happened and Germano happened to be the lucky recipient catching Theok off-guard from only a couple of metres away – not enough time to react to the header. A great goal to watch and the result of trying you luck with a heavy does of skill. It was, on balance, more that HEART rolled the dice rather than Roar seeing the oncoming bus and failing to avoid it. Maybe Roar could have tried a bit more improvisation when it was on its losing streak.
January 23rd 2012 @ 12:11am
J binnie said | January 23rd 2012 @ 12:11am | Report comment
Stevo -Terras “excellent scissors kick”,”Behich nutmegging Berisha”,”Behich’s determined run” all groups of words used by me in describing the goal.What more can I say,it was an excellent build up?.
Why I was using that was to highlight deficiences in the Roar players defensive duties. Cattery got the message OK.
One has to dig a little deeper to find out why Berisha was back there trying to stop Behich and in that analysis would have to single out the duties of other players. I have watched the goal tonight again and when Terra struck the ball there were 4 Roar defenders within 5 or 6 feet but not one close enough to charge down his shot.That is bad defending in a penalty box.His well struck shot caused an immediate reaction in the Roar goalkeeper who got back on his heels.The ball struck Adman and rebounded to Germano who,unmarked again,had the simplest of jobs to head the goal.
Back to Behich’s run. He covered at least 50 metres and the target man of the Roar, Berisha,kept pace with him but that leads me to ask where were the midfielders who are supposed to supply cover even if their own wing back has been caught too far forward to affect Behich’s advancement?.Not to be seen,and the poacher forward got “nutmegged”. It all gets back to on-field organisation and this incident would have rung a bell for Roar’s coaching staff. jb
January 22nd 2012 @ 10:31am
Qantas supports Australian Football said | January 22nd 2012 @ 10:31am | Report comment
Very enjoyable game to watch and the Heart are building a good following—no mention of the crowd size—I would like to know what it was as they were right behind the Heart. JVS is building a formidable team that is going to play a big part in the finals.
January 22nd 2012 @ 10:51am
Philipcoates said | January 22nd 2012 @ 10:51am | Report comment
Crowd was 7118 which is a typical Heart crowd and they seem to have around 7000 committed supporters.
Was a good open game, very entertaining and Heart will certainly be in the mix come finals time.
January 22nd 2012 @ 11:04am
Qantas supports Australian Football said | January 22nd 2012 @ 11:04am | Report comment
Thanks Philp
January 22nd 2012 @ 10:58am
j binnie said | January 22nd 2012 @ 10:58am | Report comment
QsAF – The crowd was 7118 and is indicative of an increase in Heart’s crowds over last season.The “derby” gates throw up “false” figures when trying to calculate their home game average so, without counting this season’s “derby” Heart have played 8 home games and have averaged 6238 to those games whereas last season,without the derby games (2 at home) they averaged 5786 over the other 13 matches so they have an improvement factor of around 9% on last year.
It should also be added that this percentage would probably have been higher had they not had to play another of these ridiculous mid-week games on 18/1 where they actually had their second worst crowd of their season. at 5522.
For those interested in such things Heart’s average figures for last year WITH the 2 derby games was 8279. This year,with 1 derby game they are averaging 8498 so the increase does not appear to be so high,but their crowds have been on the increase in recent weeks so this could improve in coming weeks,. jb
January 22nd 2012 @ 11:05am
Qantas supports Australian Football said | January 22nd 2012 @ 11:05am | Report comment
Thanks JB
January 22nd 2012 @ 11:18am
Philipcoates said | January 22nd 2012 @ 11:18am | Report comment
its a pity Heart haven’t managed to do better with crowds as they can play some good football (although I wouldn’t want their continued growth at the expense of MVFC). They still don’t seem to have connected in any meaningful way with any segment of the population either geographically or demographically. I hope they don’t become to the a-league what North Melbourne is to the AFL ie one day capable of wining the league but still not able to appeal to a wide audience.
January 22nd 2012 @ 2:41pm
Stevo said | January 22nd 2012 @ 2:41pm | Report comment
Philipcoates, please let’s not keep banging on about connecting with geographic or demographic part of Melbourne (could ask the same of MV). Does CollngwoodFC want to keep its base around Victoria Street or is it really happy that it’s membership is spread across Melbourne and Oz? HEART will grow with it’s improving performances and as rivalries continue – especially with MV at this early stage of its existence.
January 22nd 2012 @ 4:51pm
philipcoates said | January 22nd 2012 @ 4:51pm | Report comment
i’m not banging on about it but C’wood started with both a geographic area and a demographic of their working class ethos and grew from there. MVFC started with a geographic of ‘Melbourne’ and a demographic of ‘Not NSL, not ethnic tied’ and they have built from that. Putting that aside, lets just say that Heart have a good core support but haven’t connected yet to a wider audience despite some good performances. I hope you’re right and they do grow it will be good for the game.
January 22nd 2012 @ 8:08pm
Stevo said | January 22nd 2012 @ 8:08pm | Report comment
C’wood was started in the horse and buggy era where distance travel was problematic and there was no telly or barely radio. What you did have was an affinity with your local suburb to watch your local team. Fast forward to 2012 and the world is your backyard. That’s why C’wood has members that extend beyond Victoria street – ditto for Arsenal, etc etc and that’s where HEART and other HAL teams are headed.
January 22nd 2012 @ 8:15pm
The Cattery said | January 22nd 2012 @ 8:15pm | Report comment
I agree with Stevo on this one, in the modern age, we place to much importance on geographic identities.
BBL understood that they needed two clubs in the two biggest cities in Australia, and it didn’t matter what they were called and it didn’t matter that they didn’t represent a specific part of the city – it’s just not important anymore.
One way or the other, be it the stadium used, players, coaches, WAGS, colours, success, whatever, people will find a reason to connect – and the evidence is that more and more are starting to connect with Heart – might be the 1970s Peru look alike away shirt.
January 22nd 2012 @ 11:18am
The Bear said | January 22nd 2012 @ 11:18am | Report comment
Ange praised Murdocca post game. I feel this sums up my Roar. It’s like Farina days. All pass- no goals.
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January 22nd 2012 @ 11:23am
The Bear said | January 22nd 2012 @ 11:23am | Report comment
And one more thing. Murdocca now shoots. Our family doesn’t think this is such a good thing. He’d be an awesome outlet for us if he knew where the net was. He gets in such good positions. Unfortunately it’s a waste ATM. Hope he improves in this department. On Berisha- he needs decent emotional support from his team mates. He looks quite isolated- after he scored he looked rather forlorn. Something doesn’t feel right on the camp, IMO.
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January 22nd 2012 @ 12:35pm
Qantas supports Australian Football said | January 22nd 2012 @ 12:35pm | Report comment
The Bear—-actually Murdocca is a very good midfielder. But he doesn’t know how to shoot. He is always off balance when he connects with the ball. A good striker coach could solve this problem by teaching him how to balance himself and shoot through the ball and less of his snatching at it with his side foot. If he can fix this technique up he would be a handy player to have in your team. Confidence and technique is all that is missing in this player.
January 23rd 2012 @ 12:30am
J binnie said | January 23rd 2012 @ 12:30am | Report comment
QsAF -”Murdocca is a very good midfielder” your words, but let’s examine the statement when you go a bit further.You say he doesn’t know how to shoot, say he is always off balance when he strikes a ball,and then say he lacks technique.
Now I agree with all your observations re. his weaknesses but Massimo is no longer a youngster and I seriously doubt any concentrated coaching aimed at curing these deficiences would glean results in the short term.
That said I too like him as a player and in my team I could not think of a better man to sit on the bench for I honestly believe he would do a passable job if asked to go on to cover an injury or replacement. He is all heart,is fast,has a wonderful attitude but,Ange wants his team to play a style of football that almost demands that every player in the team is capable of supplying all the skills in the game if success is to be constantly achieved.
That has to be where Ange’s plans are being formulated upon.He needs a few more players if he has to achieve what he considers the pinnacle of his system,and that has become more apparent in the last few weeks.Wish him luck. jb
January 22nd 2012 @ 12:57pm
The Cattery said | January 22nd 2012 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
Then he’s better off focusing on being the link man, re-gathering possession, and helping to set up balls for others to finish – if you don’t have a shot on you – don’t shoot! (especially from outside the box)
Even inside the box, look at Mate Dugandzic, currently the Heart’s top scorer, but he has given 3 assists from inside the six yard box, and they were the correct options on both occasions, turning a 30% chance at goal to a 99% chance at goal – it’s a game of percentages – you have to play the odds – play the odss – choose the correct options – high chance of victory.
January 22nd 2012 @ 2:13pm
The Bear said | January 22nd 2012 @ 2:13pm | Report comment
Cattery. Exactly. A tidy pass is what he does best. Ange should be on to him for him to increase his assists.
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