Brisbane Roar coach Rado Vidosic could lose some of his key attacking stocks for a spell, with both Besart Berisha and Mitch Nichols injured in the 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory.
Brisbane Roar coach Rado Vidosic could lose some of his key attacking stocks for a spell, with both Besart Berisha and Mitch Nichols injured in the 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory.
Berisha was forced off just before the hour mark at AAMI Park on Saturday with a shoulder injury, after tangling with Victory skipper Adrian Leijer, who appeared to throw the Albanian to the ground.
Nichols, meanwhile, fell awkwardly 15 minutes later and also played no further part in the match after seeming to injure his back.
Although he said he did not see the Berisha incident, Vidosic felt it was similar to that which saw his son Dario injure an AC joint in a clash with Leijer while playing for Adelaide last weekend.
“Berisha, I don’t know, it doesn’t look good,” Vidosic told reporters after the match.
“I think he landed on his shoulder and he can’t lift his arm. I think it’s maybe something with a ligament in his shoulder.
“I think it was similar to what happened to my son, with Adrian Leijer, he was using his body to protect people’s runs.
“Mitch, I think he just landed quite awkwardly – he twisted his body. He couldn’t even sit when he came to the dressing room. I think he’s feeling a little bit better now, so we’ll see.”
Despite the Victory dominating the opening exchanges, Brisbane went ahead 24 minutes in thanks to a Ben Halloran strike, but Mark Milligan secured a point for the home side with a fantastic goal four minutes into the second half.
Former Victory goalkeeper Michael Theo was a standout for the Roar, pulling off a string of saves to keep the scores level, and Vidosic said it was just one of many good games for the 31-year-old.
“He was outstanding, he made some crucial saves and he was also a very key part of our build up. I don’t think that he made one mistake in a build-up from the back,” Vidosic said.
“Today I think the first goal was crucial for us, to get our noses in front. We survived that first 15-20 minutes. It was really heroic defending.
“Second half, both teams gave too many balls away and it was a little bit too open, from both coach’s points of view. I’m glad that Michael made several good saves to keep us in the game.”
Brisbane are languishing in ninth place after 11 games, and although they are enduring a difficult spell, Vidosic believes his team is on the right path.
“It’s not like we’re not playing well,” he said.
“We’re creating opportunities. Last week we created 14 good opportunities (in their 1-0 loss to Western Sydney), they created three and they got a penalty and they won the game.
“I’m pleased that we got something out of the game, so we can build our confidence.”
