Glory extended their lead at the top of the Hyundai A-League ladder to nine points as goals from Andy Keogh (2), Jason Davidson and Diego Castro secured an emphatic 4-0 victory over Brisbane Roar at HBF Park.
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Davidson set Glory on their way by firing home his second goal of the campaign on 19 minutes, with Keogh heading in the second and then slotting the third from close range in first-half stoppage time.
Castro duly added the fourth shortly after the restart and Keogh, Chris Ikonomidis and Joel Chianese all went close to applying further gloss to the scoreline later in the second half.
The victory, Glory’s ninth at home this term, was watched by a crowd of 10,831 and they were given plenty to shout about throughout as Tony Popovic’s men produced one of their most complete displays of the campaign so far.
And the Head Coach was understandably pleased with what he saw.
“It was important to get the early goal,” he told Fox Sports, “and then it was a great time to score the third just before half time.
“I thought the second half was then a very disciplined and professional performance and in the end the scoreline could have been a lot bigger, but we’re very happy with the win and the four goals.
“We spoke about the need to back up the performance and result we produced at Melbourne Victory last weekend and the players certainly did that.
“It’ll be a real test for us [the three upcoming away games] and we just have to focus upon one game at a time, starting with the Wanderers next week which we know will be difficult and try and get through this period unscathed, playing well and hopefully getting the points that we require.”
Both sides registered a shot across the bows in the opening exchanges, Nicholas D’Agostino drawing a comfortable save from Liam Reddy following a rapid Roar break and Keogh then heading narrowly over after fine approach work from Ikonomidis.
But Glory were soon dominating proceedings and deservedly opened the scoring when Ikonomidis’ low cross grazed off the forehead of Keogh and reached Davidson who beat Brendan White at his near post with a crisp, low shot.
With the home side in full flow, the second goal was not long in arriving, Scott Neville making an immediate impact after coming on to replace Ivan Franjic as he delivered a teasing cross which Keogh nodded home.
White was then forced to tip an Ikonomidis header over the bar at full-stretch and Davidson came close to bagging his second of the night before Keogh made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage-time.
Castro was the architect, leaving several Roar defenders trailing in his wake as he danced into the box and then squaring the ball to hand the Irishman the simplest of tap-ins.
Glory took up where they had left off when the second half got underway and were soon four goals to the good, Castro capping a slick attacking move involving Keogh and Davidson by sweeping the ball past White.
Keogh then came close to completing his hat-trick, heading another Neville cross just over the bar as the hosts continued to stretch the Roar defence and Ikonomidis was only prevented from claiming the goal his performance deserved by a reflex stop from the overworked White.
White came to his side’s rescue again with nine minutes left, this time thwarting substitute Joel Chianese and Shane Lowry was just off-target as the men in purple continued to pour forward right up until the final whistle.
Glory return to action next Sunday when they visit Spotless Stadium to take on Western Sydney Wanderers.
Match Details
Hyundai A-League 2018/19 Season Round 19
Perth Glory 4 (Davidson 19′, Keogh 35′, 45+3′, Castro 54′) Brisbane Roar 0
Half-time: 3-0
HBF Park, Perth
Attendance: 10,831
Referee: Shaun Evans
Perth Glory: 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 3.Jason DAVIDSON, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Ivan FRANJIC (23.Scott NEVILLE 34′), 6.Dino DJULBIC (7.Joel CHIANESE 72′), 9.Andy KEOGH, 13.Matthew SPIRANOVIC, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 17.Diego CASTRO, 19.Chris IKONOMIDIS (22.Fabio FERREIRA 77′), 27.JUANDE, 88.Neil KILKENNY
Substitutes not used: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 20.Jake BRIMMER
Yellow cards: Djulbic, Neville
Red cards: Nil
Brisbane Roar: 1.Brendan WHITE (gk), 2.Dane INGHAM (35.Jay BARNETT 87′), 8.Jacob PEPPER, 11.Eric BAUTHEAC, 12.Ruon TONGYIK, 15.Stefan NIGRO (4.Daniel BOWLES 46′), 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 18.Joe CALETTI, 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 26.Nicholas D’AGOSTINO (22.Tobias MIKKELSEN 65′), 33.HENRIQUE
Substitutes not used: 31.Macklin FREKE (gk), 36.Daniel LECK
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil
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