Goals from Michael Domfeh, Daniel Stynes (pen) and Bayley Brown-Montgomery eased the PGFC Academy First Team to a 3-0 win over Stirling Lions on Sunday, a result which cemented their position at the top of the NPL WA ladder.
An opportunistic finish from Domfeh gave Glory an early lead in the Round 22 clash at Ashfield Arena, only for the visitors to look the more likely for much of the rest of the first half.
The complexion of the game changed completely soon after the break, however, when Lions defender Nick Ashley was handed a straight red card for his challenge on Henry Hore.
The home side proceeded to dominate from there on in and finally doubled their lead with ten minutes left.
The dangerous Chok Dau was clipped in the box by Alex Tanevski and although the Glory winger managed to stay on his feet, referee Matthew Southern immediately pointed to the spot.
Stirling skipper Daniel O’Riordan’s subsequent protests saw him earn a second yellow card, leaving the visitors with just nine men and having kept his composure during a prolonged delay, Stynes eventually rifled home the penalty to claim his ninth goal of the season.
And Stynes then turned provider for Glory’s third with four minutes left, squaring low across the box to substitute Brown-Montgomery who applied a clinical, close-range finish.
Head Coach John Gibson was understandably delighted to see his side extend their unbeaten run to 12 games, noting that they had to dig deep to overcome a dogged Stirling side in difficult windy conditions.
“I thought we found a way to win today, which is what good sides do,” he said.
“We weren’t at our best during the first half and credit to Stirling, they played very well during that period and put us under some pressure.
“But our players stood up to it well, we improved in the second half and got the job done.
“It’s important now that we don’t get ahead of ourselves and just stick to the processes that have served us so well this season.”
The result leaves Glory six points clear at the top of the table with four games remaining, the first of which comes on Saturday when they face Andy Keogh’s third-placed Inglewood United at Perth Plasterboard Centre Stadium (kick off at 3pm).
In Sunday’s other games, meanwhile, Glory’s Under-18s saw their barnstorming run come to an end as they were edged out 3-2, but the Under-20s romped to a 7-0 win.
Their games at Inglewood on Saturday will start at 11am (Under-18s) and 1pm (Under-20s) respectively.
Match Details
Perth Glory 3 (Domfeh 9′, Stynes (pen) 80′, Brown-Montgomery 86′) Stirling Lions 0
Half-time: 1-0
Ashfield Arena
Referee: Matthew Southern
Assistant Referees: Walter Ciotti, Mitchell Barrington
Perth Glory: 1. Jackson LEE, 2. Luca BODNAR, 3. Walter SCOTT, 4. Daniel WALSH, 5. Ollie ANNIS, 6. Zayd Farah, 7. Chok DAU (14.Bayley BROWN-MONTOGMERY 81′), 8. Henry HORE (12.Jack LEECH 87′), 9. Michael Domfeh, 10. Michael McDougall (13. Trent OSTLER 73′), 11. Daniel STYNES
Unused substitutes: 15.Nic MCDONALD, 20. Nicholas SPECA
Yellow cards: Farah, Lee
Red cards: Nil
Stirling Lions: 1. Lewis ITALIANO, 2. Alex TANEVSKI,3. Daniel O’RIORDAN, 4. Christopher MCLAUGHLIN, 5. Nicholas ASHLEY, 6. Dhuors CHOL, 7. Zane CASELLA, 8. Dean CUMMINGS, 9. Abu DELLEH (Daniel HEPWORTH 82′), 10. Daniel MICEVSKI,11. Jamie DOCHERTY (Ben CAMPBELL 67′)
Unused substitutes: 14. Steve SOKOL, 15. Robbie MCNEIL, 20. Damien DAMSONSKI
Yellow cards: Mclaughlin, Delleh, Docherty, Tanevski
Red cards: Ashley, O’Riordan
Photo supplied by FotoEnzo
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