Goals from Ben Azubel (2), Adam Zimarino (2), Keegan Jelacic and Giordano Colli eased Glory to a comprehensive 6-0 victory over the WA State Team in Sunday’s Challenge Cup clash at Kingsway Reserve.
Once Danny Hodgson had overseen the coin toss to rapturous applause from a bumper crowd, Glory immediately seized the initiative and after Zimarino, Jack Clisby and Ryan Williams had all gone close, Azubel nodded home a Colli cross to open the scoring in the 15th minute.
The Israeli frontman duly claimed his and Glory’s second on the half-hour mark, hammering home from the spot after Jelacic had been brought down in the box and Ruben Zadkovich’s men increased their lead in the shadows of half-time when Zimarino capped off some intricate approach play with a neat finish.
Zimarino was at it again eight minutes after the restart, making it 4-0 with what was arguably Glory’s goal of the day and as the WA State Team tired in the final quarter, Jelacic chipped home number five from just outside the box.
The scoring was completed eight minutes from time when substitute Jacob Dowse picked out Colli who capped an eye-catching individual display by rifling a first-time shot into the bottom corner.
Hodgson was on hand to present Glory with the trophy shortly after the final whistle, a moment which Head Coach Zadkovich felt added another layer of positivity to an afternoon full of plus points.
“To see Danny [Hodgson] back up on his feet and talking and communicating the way he is, it’s fantastic,” he said,
“He’s been through one hell of a tough time and it’s nice to see that the Perth and WA community have really got behind him.
“For him to be out here on his feet presenting that trophy shows how strong he really is and it was a special touch.
“I was pretty happy, especially with the first half.
“More than anything, we looked fit, we looked powerful and we looked sharp.
“We were on the front foot and there were a lot of positives.
“There are still a few things there that I saw which we need to work on, but it was another positive step in the right direction and it was nice to be back in front of our home fans.
“It’s tricky to gauge where we’re at as we’ve only had one A-League opponent in pre-season… but one thing I can tell you is that the players, the staff and everyone at the club is working really hard.
“We’re going in the right direction, but there’s a long way to go.
“We have some challenges ahead, but they’re challenges that myself and my staff and my players will meet head-on.”
Match Details
WA State Team 0 Perth Glory 6 (Azubel 15′, (pen) 30′, Zimarino 41′, 53′, Jelacic 75′, Colli 82′)
Half-time: 0-3
Referee: Shane Skinner
Kingsway Reserve
WA State Team: 1.Jason SALDARIS (GK) (C), 2.Ryan FINNIE, 3.Ollie ANNIS, 4.Hristijan JANKALOVSKI, 10.Nick AMBROGIO, 11.Bailey BROWN-MONTGOMERY, 14.Rob PETKOV, 16.Kosta SPARTA, 17.Decaln HUGHES, 19.Blair GOVAN, 27.Ndumba MAKECHE
Substitutes: 5.Federico ACHILLI, 6.Jesse FULLER, 7.Jack LEECH, 12.Stephen HESKETH, 20.Hasani SINCLAIR, 21.Jonothan CORNESS, 26.Abdul OSMAN, 30.Luke RADONICH (GK)
Perth Glory: 13.Pierce CLARK (trialist) GK, 2.John KOUTROUMBIS, 5.Mark BEEVERS (C), 7.Ryan WILLIAMS, 11.Ben AZUBEL, 14.Jack CLISBY, 16.Keegan JELACIC, 19.Zach DUNCAN, 20.Giordano COLLI, 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 43.Adam ZIMARINO,
Substitutes: 39.Adrian SINAGRA (GK), 3.Jacob DOWSE, 4.Luke BODNAR, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 12.Luke IVANOVIC, 18.David WILLIAMS, 25.Matt HATCH, 37.Jacob MUIR, 55.Dakota ASKEW (trialist) 77.Stefan COLAKOVSKI
#ONEGlory
