Perth Glory commenced their preparations for the 2012/2013 Hyundai A-League season in ideal fashion with a 6-0 victory over the State Amateur Team at 6PR Stadium on Wednesday night
Perth Glory commenced their preparations for the 2012/2013 Hyundai A-League season in ideal fashion with a 6-0 victory over the State Amateur Team at 6PR Stadium on Wednesday night.
In the teams- first and only warm-up game before its pre-season trip to South Africa, Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson made full use of the fixture and their unlimited substitutions, as they handed debuts to new signings Michael Thwaite, Scott Jamieson, Adrian Zahra and the returning Nick Ward.
Zahra, the victim of Kevin Muscat-s infamous tackle during the 2010/2011 season, was particularly impressive in the second half, netting a goal just before the hour, whilst Young Socceroos Jesse Makarounas and Brandon O-Neill also impressed just a day after returning from international duty.
The game started in perfect fashion for the Glory, with NTC product Bobo Sambind opening the scoring in the first minute after rounding goalkeeper Haig Kingston for the simplest of finishes.
Glory captain Jacob Burns came close to doubling the lead in the 12th minute, only to see his curling effort strike the side-netting, whist Liam Miller struck the post with a sharp shot from 12-yards as the Glory failed to take advantage of their superior first-half possession.
With 39 minutes gone, Josh Risdon came within inches of doubling the lead as he narrowly placed his chip effort wide, whilst Jamieson was denied a debut goal by a goal-line clearance from Benjamin Berard on the stroke of half time.
After the break, Ferguson rang in the changes (11 in total), with Zahra, Makarounas, Ward and Travis Dodd all entering the game, and it did not take long for the substitutes to make an impact, with Makarounas finishing into an open net after Kingston parried a Dodd volley into the path of the winger.
A glorious ball from the left by Moses Kalu then provided Zahra with the simplest of headers in the 57th minute to give the Glory a three-goal advantage, whilst Makarounas doubled his tally four minutes later with a neat finish at the near post after a telling low cross by Storm Roux.
Dodd then made it five-nil with a simple finish after having rounded Kingston in similar fashion to Sambind, before O-Neill completed the scoring with his first Perth Glory goal.
