Goals from Travis Dodd, Chris Harold and triallist Tyson Holmes gave Perth Glory a 3-0 win in the second game of their South African tour.
Goals from Travis Dodd, Chris Harold and triallist Tyson Holmes gave Perth Glory a 3-0 win in the second game of their South African tour.
ABSA Premiership side Platinum Stars looked bright in the opening exchanges, but as the first-half wore on, Glory gradually seized control and once Dodd opened the scoring on 37 minutes, they were rarely troubled.
Even the introduction of nine second-half substitutes did not throw Ian Ferguson-s side out of their stride and indeed it was one of those replacements, Tyson Holmes who grabbed the third goal in the final minutes after Chris Harold had added to Dodd-s opener just before the hour mark.
The fact that Glory looked sharper and outlasted a Platinum Stars side only two weeks out from the start of their league season was a major plus that left Ferguson especially satisfied.
“Obviously I-m pleased with the result and with the way our fitness levels are improving”, he said.
“It-s important that we keep improving and I feel that we are definitely doing that.
“I was happy with some things, but there are also things that we still need to brush up on, like some of our decision-making for example.
“All of the young lads we have on this trip have done well and I thought they were excellent again tonight.
“Storm Roux had a great game at right-back, Brandon O-Neill came on at halftime and did really well, Chris Harold is looking better every time I see him and Adrian Zahra came on and did some nice things as well.”
Pressing higher up the field than they did against Amazulu on Tuesday and showing a greater level of intensity right from the off, Glory managed to dominate for long periods in terms of both possession and territory and really took the game away from the South Africans at the start of the second-half.
The build-up to the Harold goal on 58 minutes was nothing short of delightful, as was the finish supplied by the former Gold Coast man at pace from a difficult angle.
Ndumba Makeche, meanwhile, also turned on the style to beat his marker and deliver the pinpoint cross that Tyson Holmes headed powerfully home from close range to make it 3-0 in the shadows of full-time.
Glory will return to Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday morning (local time) to complete their tour by taking on a Bidvest Wits side whom many pundits are tipping to make a big impression in the upcoming ABSA Premiership season
