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Roja's double leaves Glory with headache

3 minute read

Perth Glory have been pushed into an unwanted scrap for an A-League semi-final spot as a Marco Rojas-inspired Melbourne Victory scored a big win on Saturday.

MARCO ROJAS of Victory.
MARCO ROJAS of Victory. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Perth Glory's hunt for a semi-final ticket remains in the balance after they slipped to a shock 4-0 defeat against out-of-form Melbourne Victory at Jubilee Stadium in Sydney.

Marco Rojas led the way with a stylish double as the Victory banged in three second half goals to stun an uninspired Glory.

The Western Australians have been safely ensconced in the top-six since the season resumption, but now face a potentially must-win scenario against Western United on Wednesday.

An Andrew Nabbout penalty and an injury-time strike from Elvis Kamsoba - his first goal in 40 A-League appearances - saw the Victory equal their season-best result.

Conversely, it was Perth's worst loss of the season and an unusually poor defensive showing from the Tony Popovic-coached side.

"We have been inconsistent since we have been in the Hub, we have had some good games and good moments, but today there is not a lot of positives," said Popovic.

"We have to give credit to Victory, they did everything well and fully punished us. We were poor with the fundamentals."

Curiously the Glory enjoyed far more possession but a toothless showing in attack meant they barely forged a genuine goalscoring chance.

Perth's lack of penetration in attack saw star forward Bruno Fornaroli substituted just 10 minutes into the second half.

"We didn't get into the front third enough," Popovic said. "We didn't have enough movement in the midfield and were too disconnected from our strikers.

"Mentally we weren't in the game in the second half and we have to get that right for the next game."

The Victory were seeking to end a club record five-match losing streak, a run in which the traditional competition powerhouse had shipped 15 goals.

It was interim coach Grant Brebner's first win since assuming the reins following Carlos Salvachua's decision to return home to Europe.

"I'm more happy for the people of Melbourne and our fans ... needed that to give them a lift because as we know they are doing it tough," Brebner said.

"This (the match) was an opportunity to show we are still moving forward in the right direction and make an early start towards next year."

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