Flair and freshness key to United’s win says Berisha
Two-goal hero Besart Berisha says last week’s bye allowed Western United FC to iron out their kinks which led to Sunday’s 3-0 win over Central Coast Mariners.
Berisha scored a first-half brace as United ensured they would snap their two-game losing streak as they scored three times inside 21 minutes at GMHBA Stadium.
And the Hyundai A-League’s greatest-ever scorer believes it’s no surprise United’s best start of the campaign came after a much-needed week off.
While some clubs have already had two byes this season, Mark Rudan’s side only got their first weekend off in Round 14.
Asked if the bye contributed to their blistering start, Berisha told Fox Sports: “I think so.
“We had a good time off to work on everything we had to and what we did wrong especially against Melbourne City.
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“I think today we really played good and three points, we cannot start better.
“When we play like this, very disciplined, structured, keep the ball and move the ball well like today, I think we have a great chance [to win games].
“We should feel good the way we played and hopefully we can continue that.”
The only concern for United is a potential serious injury to skipper Alessandro Diamanti.
The Italian playmaker limped off after half an hour with a foot problem, leaving the ground on a crutch.
In Diamanti’s absence, Max Burgess picked up some of the creative slack and justified his re-call to the starting 11 with an eye-catching display.
“Playing in the pocket, it’s pretty nice when you have Diamanti and Berisha up top with you,” Burgess said.
“I did enjoy it, it was pretty good. It always helps when you score the early goal.
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“But the boss told us at half-time to stay relentless, make sure we keep a zero and we did.”
United jumped back into fifth spot with that win ahead of their Australia Day clash against sixth-place Adelaide United.
That match will be played at Whitten Oval, kicking off at 6pm AEDT.
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