Brisbane Roar admit they won’t be asking Besart Berisha to change his in-your-face approach when they head into the Hyundai A-League finals.
Brisbane Roar admit they won’t be asking Besart Berisha to change his in-your-face approach when they head into the Hyundai A-League finals.
Berisha will miss this weekend’s clash with Western Sydney after he copped a one-game ban for his red card in the 2-1 win over Melbourne Heart last Friday night.
It was the third time this season the Albanian international has been sent off and he will miss his fourth game through suspension for the campaign.
But Roar defender Jade North says his team-mates love his all-action style and they don’t want the fiery striker to tone down his aggression heading into the finals.
“Not at all. Finals football is going to be completely different anyway,” North said when asked about Berisha.
“We’ve got the Brisbane support behind us and he (Berisha) thrives on that.
“Bes is a passionate guy, he wants to win and that’s what Brisbane want. We wouldn’t want him any other way.
“He’s just got to stick to his game and what works best for him and hopefully keep banging the goals away for us.”
Berisha was visibly upset when dismissed at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night but North is confident the situation is now firmly behind the Melbourne Victory-bound 28-year-old.
The Socceroos defender believes the enforced lay-off will allow Berisha to come back fit and fresh for the business end of the season and allow some other players some much-needed game time.
While the Roar will be hoping they have no further disciplinary problems for the rest of the season, they have shown they are more than capable of playing – and winning – with 10 men.
Asked about their impressive record when a man down, North said: “I think it’s because teams then have to come at us and we enjoy that.
“A lot of teams always sit off us and always have a (defensive) game plan against us. A lot of teams have tried to work us out but they don’t have a plan when it comes to 10-men, they have no idea so we seem to play better.
“We’re fitter than most teams and we have players that can get on the ball, dribble, create two-on-ones, release people and hold onto the ball when we need to make it stick.
“It’s good for the confidence to know teams just struggle against us with 10-men and we can handle anything that can pop up in a game.”
While Berisha will miss the trip to Pirtek Stadium to play the Wanderers, Socceroos defender Ivan Franjic is expected to return after missing the last three games with an ankle injury.
Brisbane Roar are on the road to Western Sydney this weekend and will host Central Coast Mariners in their final match of the regular season. Click here to purchase tickets.
Use the hash-tag #WSWvBRI to follow and comment on the match on Twitter.
The Premiers Plate winners will play their semi-final at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday 27 April, 2014 with tickets on sale to members from 8 April. Click here for more information.
