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Queensland's Dilevski eyes Yorke battle [Tue Sep 20th, 2005]
Queensland Roar defender Spase Dilevski has his sights set on shutting down Sydney FC's star striker Dwight Yorke after agreeing to a new two-year deal with the A-League club.
Dilevski, who joined the Roar from English Premier League club Tottenham on a temporary basis, declared Yorke a marked man for Friday night's blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.
The former Manchester United striker struggled to make an impact in his only previous game against the Roar, with Queensland coach Miron Bleiberg devising a plan to shut him down.
Bleiberg is likely to adopt a similar approach to stopping Yorke who was out-enthused by the Roar's defenders in the pre-season clash in Cairns.
Yorke failed to get a clear look at goal on that occasion but has recovered to post three goals in the opening four rounds of the season.
"We played him in the pre-season and we did quite well against him," said Dilevski. "Miron just told us to go out and play our normal game. We didn't emphasise on him or, say, one player mark him the whole game.
"We still played our normal structure and I guess everyone just had that extra motivation. When you play against someone like that you want the ball a bit more and it worked out good in the end."
Dilevski will officially sign his new contract on October 1 following the sudden retirement of Korean import Tae-Yong Shin.
Shin, 34, will take on an assistant coaching role with the club after hanging up the boots because of complications with an ongoing ankle injury.
The former Korean international had returned to his homeland to undergo treatment but was told by specialists that clean-up surgery would leave him sidelined for up to three months.
Bleiberg said it was important to keep Shin involved with the Roar because of his superior football brain.
"Because of the injury it hasn't worked out the way we hoped, however, with his football brain and intellect we simply had to make sure that we kept him at the club," he said.
Dilevski said he was delighted to remain with the Roar after rejecting an offer from German club 1860 Munich in the off-season.
"I actually came in just to help out and was waiting for an overseas deal but now this has come along," the Australian under-23 international said.
"My manager was talking to 1860 Munich but I didn't like what they offered so I stayed here. They wanted me to come on trial but I've done my work in Europe, so I don't think I should have to trial for clubs."
More than 11,000 tickets have been pre-sold for the clash, with Queensland officials hoping the appearance of Yorke will boost the number of fans to over 20,000.
AAP
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