Glory were unable to put a dent in Western Sydney Wanderers’ title challenge on Friday evening as Mitch Duke (2) and James Troisi steered the in-form red-and-blacks to a 3-0 victory at Bankwest Stadium.
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Duke bagged his brace in the space of four minutes either side of the break, before Troisi effectively sealed the points for the hosts when he tapped home in the 52nd minute.
Bruno Fornaroli and Nick D’Agostino both went close early in the piece, but once Wanderers established their lead, the visitors found it impossible to force their way back into the contest and Head Coach Richard Garcia admitted that his side had struggled to match the tempo set by the hosts.
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“I thought we lacked intensity,” he told Fox Sports.
“At the moment we’re carrying all our experience in three or four senior players and the younger guys are going through a bit of a rough patch.
“We need those guys to be a bit more consistent.
“It’s always tough when you come away and you’re away for a week, but I still feel that we’re showing good signs.
“We just need to improve upon our consistency.”
The first chance of the game fell Glory’s way, Fornaroli drawing a save from Daniel Margush with a low shot from the edge of the box and moments later D’Agostino flashed a strike narrowly wide of the far post.
In a lively opening quarter, Liam Reddy was then called into action to make a point-blank save from Bernie Ibini who had been picked out by strike partner Duke and when the loose ball fell for Troisi, he blazed wildly over the bar.
Ibini did have the ball in the net midway through the half, but the Socceroos striker had his effort chalked off for offside by the VAR and he was then foiled by Reddy once again after meeting a cross from Daniel Wilmering.
With Wanderers continuing to menace on the break, the VAR was again called upon to rule out finishes from Ibini and Duke, before the latter forced a smart, one-handed stop from Reddy.
The home side’s pressure finally told in first-half stoppage-time, however, Troisi standing up an enticing cross at the far post and Duke climbing highest to power a header across Reddy and into the far corner.
And 1-0 became 2-0 almost immediately after the restart, Keanu Baccus supplying the long diagonal ball and Duke racing in on goal before finishing emphatically.
Glory barely had time to reset before Wanderers struck again, the luckless Darryl Lachman producing a superb last-ditch tackle to foil Ibini, only for the ball to break for Troisi who sidefooted into an empty net.
The visitors came close to mustering a response within two minutes, Ziggy Gordon’s fine block preventing Andy Keogh from converting Brandon Wilson’s low cross.
Garcia’s side proceeded to enjoy plenty of possession in the latter stages, with Wanderers content to sit on their lead and threaten on the break, but with the exception of a blocked shot from substitute Daniel Stynes, the men in white rarely threatened to claim a consolation goal.
Match Details
Western Sydney Wanderers 3 (Duke 45+2′, 47′, Troisi 52′) Perth Glory 0
Half-time: 1-0
Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta
Referee: Daniel Elder
Western Sydney Wanderers: 30.Daniel MARGUSH (GK), 2.Ziggy GORDON, 4.Dylan MCGOWAN, 9.Bernie IBINI (7.Bruce KAMAU 67′), 12.Mitchell DUKE (11.Kwame YEBOAH 67′), 13.Tate RUSSELL, 14.James TROISI (27.Nicolai MULLER 78′), 17.Keanu BACCUS, 18.Graham DORRANS (19.Jordon MUTCH 89′), 29.Daniel WILMERING (39.Thomas AQUILINA 89′), 33.Mark NATTA
Substitutes not used: 10.Simon COX, 40.Noah JAMES (GK)
Yellow Cards: Dorrans
Red Cards: None
Perth Glory: 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 8.Kosuke OTA, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI (38.Ciaran BRAMWELL 79′), 10.Andy KEOGH (20.Carlo ARMIENTO 60′), 13.Luke BODNAR, 15.Brandon WILSON (19.Callum TIMMINS 67′), 16.Nick SULLIVAN (23.Dane INGHAM 46′), 17.Diego CASTRO (C), 18.Nick D’AGOSTINO (24.Daniel STYNES 67′), 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 88.Neil KILKENNY
Substitutes not used: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 5.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS
Yellow Cards: Sullivan, Kilkenny, Ingham
Red Cards: None
#OneGlory
