Ivan Franjic and Brendon Santalab both scored their first Glory goals and Andy Keogh, Chris Harold (2) and Jacob Italiano also found the net as Tony Popovic’s men eased their way to a 6-0 friendly win over Gwelup Croatia at Dorrien Gardens.
In another impressive pre-season hit-out, the men in purple dominated their State League opponents throughout, with Franjic, Joe Knowles, Chris Harold and Fabio Ferreira among the standout performers.
Glory showed their intent right from the off, Keogh heading a Ferreira cross straight at Connor Campbell in the Gwelup goal with just three minutes on the clock.
The club skipper was not to be denied moments later, however, rifling home Ivan Franjic’s pinpoint cut-back from the left.
Campbell then produced two fine saves to deny Daniel Stynes and Ferreira, before Franjic added a goal to his assist.
Scott Neville delivered an inviting cross from the right flank and the former Brisbane man rose highest in a crowded box to power home a bullet header.
Glory continued to dominate as the half wore on, penning the visitors into their own half for long periods and Keogh and Stynes both went close to increasing their lead before the break.
Popovic opted to introduce eight new faces for the start of the second half, with only Alex Grant, Shane Lowry and Scott Neville staying on.
But the changes did nothing to disrupt Glory’s momentum and they almost added a third goal on 50 minutes when Knowles embarked on a slaloming solo run before dragging his low shot narrowly wide.
Knowles continued to threaten down the left and played a key role when the third goal did arrive, squaring perfectly for Harold to find the net with an emphatic finish from just inside the box.
Glory’s fourth also came courtesy of a Knowles assist, this time the 22-year-old picking out Italiano who glanced home a close-range header to claim his second goal in as many pre-season outings.
And nine minutes from time, Santalab slid home Harold’s cross from the right to open his account for his new club.
There was still time for Under-20s duo Zayd Farrah and Trent Ostler to make their senior debuts as late substitutes, before Harold rounded off the scoring by sweeping home the sixth on the stroke of full time.
Match Details
Pre-Season Friendly
Perth Glory 6 (Keogh 5′, Franjic 18′, Harold 56′, 89′, Italiano 71′, Santalab 80′) Gwelup Croatia 0
Half time: 2-0
Dorrien Gardens
Attendance: 450 approx
Perth Glory First Half: 1.Tando VELAPHI, 2.Alex GRANT, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 10.Andy KEOGH (c), 15.Brandon WILSON, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 22.Fabio FERRIERA, 25.Daniel STYNES
Perth Glory Second Half: 33.Liam REDDY, 2.Alex GRANT (13.Luca BODNAR 67′), 4.Shane LOWRY (12.Callum TIMMINS 67′), 7.Joel CHIANESE, 9.Henry HORE, 11.Brendon SANTALAB (17.Zayd FARRAH 80′), 14.Chris HAROLD, 19.Joe KNOWLES, 21.Jacob ITALIANO (18.Trent OSTLER 87′), 23.Scott NEVILLE (3.Walter SCOTT 67′), 88.Neil KILKENNY
Substitutes not used: 40.Jackson LEE
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None
Gwelup Croatia: 1.Connor CAMPBELL, 2.Michael PUGLIESE, 5.Bobby WILSON, 7.James SAMMUT, 11.Isaac KOOMSON, 12. Benjamin KOUAKOU, 14.Victor BRAUNER, 16.Stephen O’LEARY, 25.Noah SHAMAKI, 28.Kwangmook LIM, 30. Reece ABRAMS
Substitutes: 22.Jack LAVIS, 29.Alex CLARKE, 40.Ralph MAWIRE, 41.Nelson TSHONGO, 48.Riley STEPHENSON, 50.Brian MASHINGADZE
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None
#OneGlory
