Perth Glory have notched up their first win in 11 games, defeating the Melbourne Victory 3-0 thanks to a Robbie Fowler treble at nib Stadium. The English striker managed a tap-in after a missed penalty in the 13th minute before adding two more in the second half to help his side end a 10-game winless run, which included nine losses, as the Victory slumped to a second loss on the trot.
A-League Week 14Perth Glory: 3 (Robbie Fowler 13', 54', 61') Melbourne Victory: 1 (Mate Dugandzic 80')
Venue: nib Stadium, Perth Crowd: approx. 6,000 Referee: Chris Beath Yellow cards:PG - Jamie Harnwell 22', Scott Neville 41', Howard Fondyke 79' MV - Roddy Vargas 12', Leigh Broxham 51'
GOAL Perth got off to a positive start when Victory defender Roddy Vargas brought down Robbie Fowler in the area, prompting referee Chris Beath to point to the penalty spot. The former Liverpool star stuttered in his approach and hit his spot kick softly as Michael Petkovic made the save but the rebound fell straight into the path of Fowler who quite gladly knocked it in for the opener.
The visitors had a great chance to equalize when Marvin Angulo lashed a shot goalward but Glory keeper Tando Velaphi pulled off a top-shelf save to keep his side ahead.
GOAL Less than ten minutes after the break, Fowler added a second when he received a pass from Scott Neville on the edge of the six-yard box and he made no mistake to send the Glory on their way.
GOAL The Glory got a third soon after when Adriano Pellegrino played a long ball into the path of Fowler and the ex-England international did not need a second invitation to advance into the area before slotting with ease past Petkovic to essentially wrap up proceedings.
From that point there was no way back for the Victory who again failed to get anything from a trip to Western Australia apart from a late consolation GOAL when Diogo Ferreira made a strong run down the right before cutting back for Mate Dugandzic who finished with aplomb from close range.
However, the goal was nowhere near enough for the travelling Victory side who, despite the loss, managed to remain sixth on the table as the winners stayed eighth, clawing back to even points with Wellington Phoenix.
Starting Line-Ups
PG Tando Velaphi (gk), Jamie Coyne, Andy Todd, Jamie Harnwell, Jacob Burns, Robbie Fowler, Michael Baird, Scott Neville (Fondyke 76'), Steven McGarry (Amphlett 81'), Adriano Pellegrino, Todd Howarth (Griffiths 66')
Subs - Aleks Vrteski (gk), Brent Griffiths (66'), Howard Fondyke (76'), Tommy Amphlett (81')
MV Michael Petkovic (gk), Kevin Muscat, Surat Sukha, Grant Brebner (Ferreira 56'), Archie Thompson (Dugandzic 69'), Marvin Angulo, Roddy Vargas, Billy Celeski, Tom Pondeljak (46'), Carlos Hernandez, Adrian Leijer
Subs - Sebastian Mattei (gk), Leigh Broxham (46'), Diogo Ferreira (56'), Mate Dugandzic (69')
