Don’t call Albanian striker Mensur Kurtishi the Brisbane Roar’s next Besart Berisha.
It may have been the well worn line Mike Mulvey stuck to on Thursday but the Roar coach will get his best indication yet of how Kurtishi will fare following in Berisha’s footsteps during Friday night’s unique double header trial in Brisbane.
Kurtishi has already turned heads with impressive cameos since signing a one-year deal in July.
But the former Macedonian international will be able to strut his stuff in earnest when he receives a full 90 minute stint against A-League foes Central Coast Mariners before a Roar B team takes on the National Premier League’s Brisbane City at Ballymore.
Berisha’s defection to Melbourne Victory in the off-season left a huge void for the defending A-League champions to fill.
And Mulvey again went to great pains to avoid comparisons between Kurtishi and fellow Albanian Berisha on Thursday.
Still, Mulvey has liked what he has seen to date from his import.
“Mensur has probably one of the sweetest touches on the ball of any player I have seen,” he said.
“But as I have said many times we didn’t bring him in here as a replacement for Besart.
“We brought him in as an addition to the squad and he has mixed in well with the boys.”
Kurtishi made Roar fans sit up and take notice when he grabbed a hat-trick in Brisbane’s 5-1 win over Northern Fury in the recent Townsville Football Cup in north Queensland.
But Mulvey said the club gained more from their 2-0 final loss to Sydney FC in the same tournament as they prepare to launch their A-League title defence on October 12 against Adelaide United.
“It made us say ‘let’s wake up to ourselves, we need to start working harder’,” he said.
“That week in Townsville was educational in terms of where the team and individuals were at and we have worked extremely hard since our return.”
Mulvey said he would not risk captain Matt Smith, Shane Stefanutto, Thomas Broich or Matt McKay on Friday night as they rested niggles.
It will be a timely warm-up for the Mariners four nights before their FFA Cup tie against Olympic FC in Brisbane.
pablo
Guest
Geez I think you are giving too much credit in the first instance and not enough with your second
Trekkie
Guest
Berisha has that never say die attitude. There was one goal last year where he tried to beat about three players and the goal keeper. He falls over and it looks like nothing will come of it, and then you see the ball rolling past everyone into the goal. You think how did he do that?. However if he gets a red card, it is hard to win with ten men. Kurtishi looks like he can score goals and also seems to have good vision to read the play and assist other players. My early observation is that he passes sometimes when he should take the shot, (a bit like Broich), as the next player invariably seems to stuff up and not score.
Wainscoting
Guest
The second half of that 3-0 win against the Victory last season in which Berisha was injured was like watching Spain v Andorra. We know we can dominate without him. However Besart undeniably has that 'something special' all managers dream of having in their striker, that is the ability to rewrite the script of a match on cue even if their performance over the overall 90 is wanting. Franjic was also a bit of a wildcard like that, and I think we are lesser for the loss of both of them. The positive angle is that we have plenty of youngsters ready and willing, so hopefully Mulvey branches out. I'm tipping for Kofi Danning's resurgence this season in particular.
Ian
Guest
That is quite true last season when Berisha was absent. Plenty of goals and some considered we were playing better as a unit.
Roarfan
Guest
Whilst we cannot downplay what Besart has done for the Roar during his stay, he did miss a number of games last season and we still scored sufficient goals to claim victory and to finish with more goals scored than any other A-league team. It has also been suggested on a number of occasions that Brisbane did not have the same cohesion when Berisha did play and that he wasn't always a team player. Whilst so far I havn't seen too many of the pre-season games, I have seen enough to be quietly optimistic about our strike power and all candidates are primed to perform and get the nod when the teams are selected. You'll see the goals shared around a lot more and in sufficient numbers to generate plenty of victories. However, hopefully tonight's games will give us a clearer indication where we are at and if that is good enough. Don't discount Solórzano either, because he scored plenty of goals during his first stint with the Roar and from what I have seen so far he is a better player and much harder worker than the first time around. Go Roar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ian
Guest
With those injuries for the game against Mariners this afternoon the 'A' team has taken quite a hit.
adam
Roar Rookie
from what I have seen in a.friendlies b. highlights c. goalscoring record. I honestly believe he will win golden boot and even has a chance of becoming more influential than berisha. I also think that, although broich is a good player, this will be his last season as a great player.