Melbourne Heart FC defender Patrick Kisnorbo says he and his teammates are ready to take on Brisbane Roar on Friday night as the Club look to finish the 2013-14 A-League season on a high.
Melbourne Heart FC defender Patrick Kisnorbo says he and his teammates are ready to take on Brisbane Roar on Friday night as the Club look to finish the 2013-14 A-League season on a high.
Brisbane Roar clinched the premiership last Saturday and will be looking to keep their momentum going as they enter the finals series in a few weeks time.
The last time these two sides met it was Heart who came out on top in a 1-0 win, with Orlando Engelaar scoring his first goal in front of the Heart faithful.
Kisnorbo says the side will stick to a similar game plan to that match to try and shut down the Roar’s possession play.
“It-s a big match, especially playing against the premiers,” Kisnorbo told RSN Racing & Sport. “(It’s) a great test for the playing group and hopefully we can have a good game.
“They-re a great passing team and they-ve got great movement, and if we can disrupt that we can make it easier for us.
“We-re under no illusion that they are a great side. We need to play our game but obviously stop them as well.
“(Last time) we stopped them from playing, we tried to win the ball back as quick as possible and we tried to break as quick as possible and it worked.
“We got a great win and hopefully we can do that tomorrow.”
Despite being a mathematical chance to still make the A-League finals series, Kisnorbo admits it is an almost impossible task.
“We know it-s hard but we-re going to go to over to Brisbane to try our best and see what it brings,” Kisnorbo said. “We-ve showed great character all year and we-ll see if we can keep that going on.”
Melbourne Heart Captain Harry Kewell announced his retirement yesterday and the defender paid tribute to one of his closest personal friends.
“I think it was a sad day for sport,” Kisnorbo said. “He was one of the pioneers that led young Australians to chase their dream overseas.
“It was a sad day because he is a close personal friend of mine. I just wish him all the best in his new career and say thank you to him for putting Australian football on the map.
“He achieved things that not many people will do… he-s won a Champions League medal, an FA Cup and played for some of the biggest clubs.
“To know that next year he wont be around and you won’t see him every day and go for lunch and go for coffee and seeing him around at training it’s hard to take.
“But now he starts a new life and a new career and hopefully he can start something special as well.”
