A superb attacking display by Perth and exquisite finishing from Anthony Skorich and Adrian Trinidad secured the Glory Youth an emphatic 5-2 win over the Jets at Adamstown Oval in Newcastle.
A superb attacking display by Perth and exquisite finishing from Anthony Skorich and Adrian Trinidad secured the Glory Youth an emphatic 5-2 win over the Jets at Adamstown Oval in Newcastle.
The Glory obviously heeded the words from Coach Gareth Naven during the week after he emphasised the need to make the most of their chances in front of goal.
Skorich delivered three quality strikes while Trinidad, who is recovering from an ankle injury, scored a brace to ensure Perth remained on target for a top two berth and a chance at the final of the youth competition.
Perth remains in fourth place on 20 points, but are just five behind the second-placed Roar and two points adrift of Adelaide who are third.
The Glory ran riot in the opening half, Skorich and Trinidad grabbing two goals apiece in a dominate display all over the pitch by the West Australian side, and took a four-nil lead into the break.
Newcastle managed to get on the score sheet in the second stanza but any thought of a dramatic fight back was put to rest when Skorich banged in his third goal with just a minute remaining. The young Glory striker celebrating a well deserved maiden hat trick that will be sure to attract plenty of attention from recruiters around the country.
The match started in mild and overcast conditions at the picturesque Adamstown Oval and it was Perth who dominated the early exchanges. The visitors seemed to penetrate easily in attack and their forwards, led by Trinidad put plenty of pressure on the Jets when they tried to bring the ball out of their back third
The pressure eventually told in the 26th minute when Skorich managed to break free of his defender and head home Howard Fondyke’s corner from six-yards out.
Trinidad made it 2-0 minutes later when he dispossessed Newcastle defender Joel Whitherdin and lobbed a spectacular ball over the head of Jets goalkeeper Justin Pasfield from outside the box.
The Glory looked like they may grab a third goal just moments later when Pasfield came out of area to try to win the ball ahead of Skorich. The Perth striker got there first and Pasfield was shown a yellow when he brought down Skorich in a clumsy challenge.
Skorich had his revenge just five minutes later when he beat Whitherdin to a loose ball and sprinted into the penalty area where he calmly squeezed a shot past Pasfield, off the right post and into the corner of the net.
Perth had all the momentum and added a fourth goal when Ludovic Boi sent a dangerous cross into the penalty area where an unmarked Trinidad effortlessly headed in his second goal.
Skorich almost made it five when he took advantage of another mix-up in the Newcastle defence only to fire his shot straight at Pasfield, but Perth still held a significant lead at the break.
Perth continued to apply the pressure in opening stages of the second half. Fondyke forced Pasfield to tip a venomous 20-yard free-kick over the bar before Trinidad narrowly headed wide from the ensuing corner. Defender Steve Hesketh then saw his low long-range effort saved by the Jets custodian.
With a raft of replacements midway through the second half the Jets fought their way back into the match. Fabian Iacovelli, who had impressed with his pace down the wing for Newcastle, fired a lovely through ball for Ben Martin, who slotted the ball past Perth custodian Alex Pearson and into the corner of the net.
Newcastle grabbed another one just moments later when Iacovelli broke free down the right before veering into the penalty box and unleashing a strong left-footed shot that was parried away by Pearson however Jets substitute Patrick Wheeler was on hand to volley the follow-up.
Perth sealed the game in the dying minutes as Skorich grabbed his third of the game when he turned in Boi’s corner in-front of a stagnant Jets defence.
Glory-s win was even more impressive given the large number of Youth Team regulars missing from the side. Arguably the side-s two best players this season, Andrija Jukic and Scott Neville, were part of Perth-s Hyundai A-League team, while a number of other players are on national team duty in Sydney for the Olympic Youth Festival.
Perth will hit the road again next weekend when they tackle Queensland Roar in Brisbane, a clash that looms as vital in their bid to claim top two berth.
National Youth League Rd 17
Newcastle Jets 2 (Ben Martin 71-, Patrick Wheeler 77-)
Perth Glory 5 (Anthony Skorich 26-/35-/89-, Adrian Trinidad 28-/37-)
Saturday 17 January 2009 at Adamstown Oval, Newcastle
Referee: Stuart Wolfe
Assistant Referees: Michael Amloh, Nathan Magill
Fourth Official: Tim McGilchrist
Newcastle Jets line-up: 1.Justin PASFIELD (OA) (gk), 2.Jacob PEPPER, 4.Joel WITHERDIN, 5.George STROGYLOS, 6.Shaun ONTONG, 7.Fabian IACOVELLI (13.Patrick WHEELER 59-), 8.Matt HARPER, 9.Ben MARTIN, 10.Adrian KARAKOLEVSKI, 11.Simon MOONEY (15.Harry MAGUIRE 57-), 12.Matthew COMERFORD (14.Dylan MURPHY 57-)
Substitutes not used: Nil
Yellow cards: Justin Pasfield 30-, Joel Witherdin 55-, Dylan Murphy 82-, Shaun Ontong 90-
Red Cards: Nil
Perth Glory line-up: 1.Alex PEARSON (gk), 5.Steven HESKETH, 6.Dean EVANS (12.Reece VITTIGLIA 59-), 7.James SAMMUT (22.Jack CLISBY 57-), 8.Howard FONDYKE, 9.Anthony SKORICH, 10.Adam LUCA (7.James SAMMUT 65-), 11.Ludovic BOI, 13.Ryan PEARSON, 14.Adrian TRINIDAD (OA) (16.Million BUTSHIRE 61-), 15.Joshua RISDON
Substitutes not used: Nil
Yellow cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
