Glory extends unbeaten run

PERTH veteran Neil Kilkenny converted an openingminute penalty to help the Glory stretch its unbeaten start to the A-League season to an eighth game.

Jason Davidson also made it on to the scoresheet in yesterday’s 2-0 win over a Newcastle side that had 21 shots compared with four.

The problem was only six of its attempts were on target.

The Jets also had almost twice as much ball as Perth but were frustrated by what was effectively a five-man defence deployed by coach Tony Popovic.

Newcastle counterpart Ernie Merrick even made the surprise decision to sacrifice defender Ivan Vujica in the 37th minute in a formation change.

But it mattered little in front of a modest McDonald Jones Stadium crowd of 6701, as an unyielding Perth defence was rarely seriously troubled in wet conditions.

The win keeps the Glory two points clear of Melbourne Victory on top of the table, while Newcastle drops out of the top six into seventh spot.

It also continued Perth’s dominance in their match-up, having only lost two of their past 21 against the Jets and remaining undefeated since 2011 in the Hunter.

The win also came without captain Diego Castro, who was out with a hamstring injury.

While Perth slowly squeezed the home side out of the contest, it was repeatedly warned for time wasting.

The opening was explosive. Newcastle’s Jair should have opened the scoring after 12 seconds but hit his volley straight at Glory’s Liam Reddy.