Berisha strike at the death gives Victory the edge over Adelaide
Besart Berisha has sent Melbourne Victory into the A-League semi-finals, producing a last-gasp overhead kick stunner to defeat Adelaide United 2-1.
Sunday night's slow-burn elimination final classic looked destined for extra time when Leroy George cancelled out Nikola Mileusnic's breakaway opener.
Enter Berisha, who rescued the match with a piece of brilliance.
The Kosovo international barely had a moment to savour through a tricky night.
But in the 89th minute he climbed into the air, despite Jordan Elsey's close attention, to score the winner at AAMI Park from Kosta Barbarouses' cross.
The result was tough on United, which brought a superb attitude to Melbourne.
Adelaide won the pressure battle in the first half, led by combative German Daniel Adlung and anchorman Isaias.
For their enterprise, United did not have a shot on target until Mileusnic's 57th-minute breakthrough.
Isaias' raking ball from a free kick put Miluesnic through on goal, with the South Australian outrunning Rhys Williams to flick past Lawrence Thomas and celebrate in the arms of the rapturous away fans.
External Link: Melbourne Victory – Adelaide summary
Things were looking sour for Victory, with Carl Valeri lucky to stay on the pitch for a studs-up challenge on Ersan Gulum, before Berisha and James Troisi engaged in an on-field slanging match.
Then the other half of Kevin Muscat's strike force, George, levelled the match.
External Link: Melbourne Victory tweet: Job done! #MVCvADL #ALeagueFinals
Barbarouses danced his way down the right, dinking the ball across goal for George to head home.
Victory were finally up and about, with the Dutchman at the heart of two missed chances in the following minutes.
Berisha botched a one-on-one chance after George's dazzling run through midfield and misjudged a header from Troisi with Victory on top.
As injury time loomed, the 32-year-old would not be denied, reminding all of his finals pedigree.
He, and Victory, will get another chance to test that record next Saturday night in a semi-final against Sydney FC — a rematch of last year's grand final.
AAP
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