Perth Glory have marched into the FFA Cup quarter-finals with a 4-1 victory over NPL 1 outfit St Albans Saints, in front of a vocal crowd of 3,272 at Knights Stadium on Tuesday night.
Serbian number 10 Nebojsa Marinkovic was the star for Kenny Lowe’s side with two spectacular goals, while strikers Jamie McLaren and Andy Keogh also found the back of the net for the visitors.
The Saints earned what proved to be a consolation strike through captain Ryan McGuffie’s second half penalty.
St Albans looked lively from the outset and unleashed the first shot in anger through Adam Nakic, whose well hit effort flew just wide of Danny Vukovic’s left post.
Perth dominated possession from then on but struggled to create any meaningful opportunities against a determined Saints outfit, who had a legitimate penalty shout for handball denied by referee Lucien Laverdure in the 24th minute, much to the boisterous home crowd’s frustration.
Just when it seemed that the locals would enter half-time on level terms, a bullet free-kick from just outside the area by Serbian import Marinkovic put the visitors 1-0 up at the break.
Perth came out of the sheds for the second half determined to double their advantage, with Youssouf Hersi causing havoc on the wing, but resilient defending by veteran Felix Rosman and skipper Ryan McGuffie managed to momentarily keep the A-League side at bay.
The Glory then stepped their game up another gear, with Joshua Risdon hitting the side netting after some nice team play.
The signs were ominous, and the visitors doubled their lead in spectacular fashion when Andy Keogh’s ball found substitute Jamie McLaren, who unleashed a stunning lob over the hapless Stuart Webster in St Albans’ goal to silence the home crowd.
However, that silence was only temporary as the home side were awarded a penalty following a Glory handball in the box.
McGuffie duly stepped up, sending Vukovic the wrong way to halve the deficit and ensure that Dinamo would not give in without a fight.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed minutes later when former Socceroo Richard Garcia rounded Webster and neatly set up Keogh for the easiest of tap ins to restore the Glory’s two goal cushion.
It was Keogh’s third goal in two FFA Cup games, earmarking the Republic of Ireland international as one to watch for the upcoming A-League season.
Perth added a fourth goal in stoppage time when Marinkovic delightfully chipped Webster, sealing a convincing 4-1 victory over a tired Saints side who had only 48 hours earlier concluded a league fixture.
The Glory will now face fellow A-League outfit Melbourne Victory at home in the quarter-finals, who trounced Tuggeranong United 6-0 in their round of 16 clash.
St Albans Saints 1 (McGuffie 68’ pen) defeated by Perth Glory 4 (Marinkovic 38’, 90+’, McLaren 62’, Keogh 72’) at Knights Stadium.