23 Jan 2012

Glory thrash Victory 4-1 in A-League

3:31 pm on 23 January 2012

All Whites striker Shane Smeltz scored twice to give his Perth Glory a 4-1 home A-League victory over the Melbourne Victory on Sunday.

New Victory coach Jim Magilton suffered a stark reality check after watching his ill-disciplined side slump to defeat in arguably the worst display by the Victory this season.

Smeltz nabbed a first-half double and Mile Sterjovski added another as Perth raced to a 3-0 lead by the break.

Two of those goals came via the penalty spot as Melbourne were made to pay for a series of woeful defensive errors.

Victory star Harry Kewell pulled one back for the visitors with his own penalty in the 68th minute, but the visitors finished the match with 10 men after substitute Danny Allsopp was given a straight red for his 78th-minute studs-up challenge on Steve Pantelidis.

Glory substitute Andrezinho then added the icing on the cake in the 89th minute, outsmarting defender Matthew Foschini before unleashing a powerful left-foot drive to make it a three-goal win in front of 12,358 adoring fans.

Under the reign of Magilton, Melbourne have snared just one point out of a possible six, with the Victory now a worrying four points adrift of sixth spot ahead of Thursday's crucial clash with Sydney at AAMI Park.

Perth, who extended their unbeaten streak to six games, are now just one point behind fourth-placed Heart and finally look like a legitimate championship contender.