A dominant Perth Glory has blitzed a combined Inglewood United/Floreat Athena outfit 8-0 in a friendly clash at the Hamer Parade Stadium in Inglewood on Friday night.
Glory dictated possession and play from the first to the final whistle with young guns Jamal Reiners and Kosta Petratos stealing the show; Reiners scoring a hat-trick while Petratos scored a classy brace.
The teenager opened the scoring in the 10th minute after receiving a neat ball from right winger and new signing Joel Chianese. Petratos slotted the ball into the back of the net from the top of the box.
Glory continued to pepper the NPL team’s goal with shot after shot and didn’t take long to double its lead.
In his first match in Glory colours this season, Spanish marquee Diego Castro turned his marker, drove into the box and fired the ball into the net from an acute angle in the 19th minute.
Minutes later, Castro had a chance to add another but his shot went just over the bar.
By the quarter-hour Petratos got his second with a sublime long-range lob which left Inglewood/Athena goalkeeper Alex Dunn in no man’s land.
Glory coach Kenny Lowe sent in a more youthful side in the second half, which paved the way for Reiners to score his hat-trick within 16 minutes. But not before Mitch Oxborrow added Glory’s fourth in the 64th minute after rounding the NPL goalkeeper in the goal mouth and slotted the ball home.
Reiners’ first goal of the night came in the 71st, and his second two minutes later, with a wicked curling shot from range.
Glory’s seventh and Reiners’ third came three minutes from time after, meeting a cross in front of goal.
Joe Knowles sealed the night for Glory with a hard long driving shot from the box which was too powerful for Inglewood/Athena’s substitute goalkeeper Jordan Barbas to block.
Coach Kenny Lowe thanked NPL-WA coaches Taki Nicolaidis and Glen Grostate for fielding a team to allow his troops to take in some valuable match time.
“We’re not getting over-excited. It was a good opportunity for players to get minutes into their legs” he said.
Glory will travel to Sydney next week for a closed pre-season friendly against Brisbane Roar at Leichhardt Oval.
Kick-off is at 3pm.
