Sidnei, Fernandez and Castro strike as Glory puts away Adelaide

It was a master-class in counter attacking football as Perth Glory picked up a 3-1 win at home to Adelaide United.

A-League Rd 3 - Perth v Adelaide

Source: Getty Images

It just wasn't Adelaide's day, and Perth certainly made it pay. 

Sidnei Sciola announced his return to the Glory's starting lineup with a goal in the first half. It was a genuine sucker punch against an Adelaide side which had 70 per cent of first half possession.

But Gyorgy Sandor's pass split the Reds' defence, and Sidnei sprung the offside trap to open the scoring.

Guyon Fernandez came off the bench at half time, and he put the game to bed with his first Glory goal, a superb first time finish after a surging run down the left by Richard Garcia.

Fernandez arrived perfectly on time to Garcia's cut back, and finished with aplomb past John Hall in the Adelaide goal. 

Garcia had a hand in the third, too, breaking down the left again before sending in a perfect cross for Diego Castro, who also started on the bench, to tap home his first Glory goal.

Diogo Ferreira ruined Ante Covic's clean sheet though with an own goal soon after.

The Reds were rocked by the news before kick-off that Eli Babalj will miss the next six weeks with a foot injury.

Cirio moved into a central position, flanked by Marcelo Carrusca and Mate Dugandzic, a move which saw Craig Goodwin move to left back.
Meanwhile, Marc Warren was making his first A-League start since the 2013-2014 season when he made eight appearances under Frank Farina.

His form for APIA Leichhardt in the NSW NPL saw Kenny Lowe give him another chance, this time at Glory, and he made a crucial block to deny Cirio shortly before the half hour mark.

Dugandzic made mince-meat of Dino Djulbic on the Adelaide left and his cut-back squirmed its way through to Cirio.

With only Warren and Glory 'keeper Covic in front of him, the Adelaide attacker was denied by Warren who threw himself in front of the shot.

Marcelo Carrusca was in the wars and his second knock saw him hobble off for treatment on an injury to his left calf.

He did, as one would expect, return to the action.
The visitor was dominating possession, but the Reds, clad in aqua blue, couldn't make it count by testing Covic.

In the last moments of the half, completely and utterly against the run of play, Sidnei's goal turned the game on its head. 

The lead only encouraged Perth to continue to sit just as deep in the second half. 

Goodwin nearly drew Adelaide level when he breezed past Josh Risdon, only to whistle a shot/cross wide of Covic's goal. 

Djulbic flung himself at a Carrusca shot, but a few moments later at the other end, there was no stopping Fernandez's.

Adelaide should have pulled one back when Goodwin set up Pablo Sanchez, but from only a few metres out he spooned the shot straight into the air to Covic.

Castro then popped up at the back post to put the game beyond doubt, even if Ferreira's own goal, when he turned the ball into his own net from a Cirio cross, took some of the sheen off the scoreboard.

Glory coach Kenny Lowe couldn't have been happier with the win to open its account this season on the back of making a second straight FFA Cup final.

"If you'd written down what you wanted to achieve by giving people a rest and trying to hit them on the counter, we couldn't have written it any better," Lowe said.

"We've come out of without injuries, we've won, the foreign boys have scored and played really well, and the game plan worked a treat. I think I better retire, it doesn't get any better than that."

Adelaide coach Guillermo Amor will continue to back his team's style despite the dominance in possession not converting into scoring opportunities.

"We need to accept that we had the initiative, and control of the game, and we came here to win the game but for different reasons we couldn't get the three points," he said.

"We have a style that we want to play and today it didn't work out. In football you need to believe in what you believe in, and this style and philosophy is something that will grow with this team."

Perth Glory 3 (Sidnei 44', Fernandez 60', Castro 74')

Adelaide United 1 (Ferreira OG 75')

nib Stadium, Perth
Referee: 
Adam Fielding
Crowd: 7728


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5 min read
Published 25 October 2015 3:58pm
Updated 25 October 2015 10:25pm
By Matthew Connellan

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