Berisha back and abashed
A CHASTENED Besart Berisha says he deserved his ALeague suspension as he prepares to return for winless Melbourne Victory.
The A-League’s record goal scorer copped a two-week ban after pushing an official in Victory’s Round 3 draw with Adelaide United.
His absence has come at a bad time for Kevin Muscat’s men, who have started the season in sluggish fashion and sit seventh on the ladder with three draws and two losses.
With Berisha available, last year’s grand finalists will look to improve their record when they face ninth-placed Brisbane tomorrow night at Etihad Stadium.
“I touched the referee and you cannot touch the referee,” Berisha said yesterday. “I got two games and I accept it and I’ve moved on. Obviously, you have to learn from mistakes. Definitely I learnt from it.”
Victory put in a spirited display on Monday to secure a 1-1 draw with Western Sydney, despite being reduced to 10 men after Mitch Austin was given a second yellow card.
They will face the Roar without Socceroos duo James Troisi and Mark Milligan and New Zealand’s Kosta Barbarouses, both on international duty, as well as Austin.
Berisha is confident Victory will have sufficient firepower with Jai Ingham and dynamic Dutchman Leroy George.
“I hope so. We want to definitely go out on Saturday and try to win the game and try to score a lot of goals,” he said.
“We have everything it takes to compete in this league, to win this league.”
Brisbane will also field a depleted side, missing Michael Theo (finger), Luke DeVere (knee) and Corey Brown (hamstring).