By Michael Lynch
Besart Berisha's audacious demonstration of ball skills that set up Melbourne Victory's second goal in its 4-1 triumph over Perth Glory will long stay in the memory of those who witnessed it.
In a textbook example of "keepy uppy" he managed to retain possession of the ball before lobbing over the cross for Fahid Ben Khalfallah to put in a header.
Besart Berisha's full repertoire of skills were on display in the 4-1 win over Perth.Credit: Getty Images
It certainly impressed coach Kevin Muscat, who thought his star forward's game against Glory was "outstanding".
Berisha's full repertoire of skills were on display in the win over Perth. He scored a terrific header from a free kick, assisting with a goal out of nothing to put his team ahead, and then cajoling, fighting, scrapping and chasing as he defended from the front, once again illustrating his value to the team.
Berisha is likely to be called up by Kosovo for international duties.Credit: Getty Images
"I thought he was outstanding," Muscat said on Sunday. "He was selfless in that game, he did everything for the team. He scored, he made a terrific goal, he showed he had a different dimension to his game.
"He doesn't get the chance to do that sort of thing [ball juggling] too often as he is so closely marked, but he has the skills to do it."
Sadly, for Victory fans it is likely to be almost a month before the feisty striker might repeat that particular piece of skill due to the quirks of the fixture calendar, with the club not having a match next weekend in the split round.
Muscat now has to be worried about keeping his team focused on the final four matches of the home and away season. with second place on the ladder already virtually guaranteed and a fortnight or more of disruption facing his players.
Momentum is everything going into the finals, so the last thing Victory needs after its impressive win is the current split round of A-League fixtures.
The FFA decided to stage two matches this weekend and two next in a bid to help ease the workload on Australian clubs playing in the Asian Champions League.
The up-side is that all the other clubs get some rest. The downside, particularly for those in form teams, like Victory, is that they have to check their stride.
Muscat was particularly pleased that his fearsome firing line – the so-called fab four of Berisha, Marco Rojas, Fahid Ben Khalfallah and James Troisi – were all on the scoresheet on Saturday night as they took Glory apart.
He would relish the chance of sending the same starting 11 out next week in this frame of mind as they look to hit peak form running into the finals but instead he and his players will have to maintain focus during the break and use the last four games to build consistency in the run to the finals.
"We've got to use these games to improve ourselves," Muscat said after the win over Glory.
"We know to get to the grand final and to win it, you've got to be performing really well, at your top.
"Our good has been very good ... that's been the focus, let's start preparing for the finals by being good for longer."
Things will actually get even harder for Muscat the following week (round 24) when, after two weeks without a game he will take his team to Brisbane for an A-League fixture lacking three of his key forwards in Berisha, Rojas and Troisi, as well as Jai Ingham, an important squad player.
Troisi – who is still the subject of contract talks, with Victory anxious to try to retain his services for another season – has been called up to the Socceroos squad for the World Cup qualifiers in Iran against Iraq on March 23 and in Sydney against the United Arab Emirates. He is one of seven A-League players in the extended squad of 30 for those matches.
Rojas and Ingham will also be on international duty for New Zealand at the same time, while Muscat is anticipating that Berisha, who has declared his availability for Kosovo, will be called up by the fledgling FIFA nation for its internationals during that window too.
"We expect him to be called up. They suggest he will be, although we have not heard anything officially. Its just something we will have to deal with."
This will continue to be a thorn in the flesh for A-League clubs while the FFA insists on continuing with the advertised fixture rather than postpone games during international weekends.