A Diego Castro brace has lifted Perth Glory to a 3-1 win over Brisbane Roar and helped them set a new A-League record.
The Roar's three-match goalless streak was ended in first-half stoppage time when defender Jack Hingert's header cancelled out Castro's earlier strike.
But a superb volley from Bruno Fornaroli in the 68th minute put Glory ahead again, before Castro made it 3-1 seven minutes later in Friday night's clash at HBF Park.
Glory have now scored 18 goals from their first six matches this season - a new A-League record for that point of a campaign.
"I'm proud the guys are creating those goals," Glory coach Richard Garcia said.
"I'm proud the team are continuously pushing to go forward and continually challenge themselves to be on the front foot. It's fantastic to see them getting the results from that hard work."
Perth's third straight win lifted them up to fifth - and they still have plenty of games in hand over the four teams ahead of them.
Brisbane's four-match winless run means they are now in danger of slipping from second spot.
The Roar dominated for long periods of the opening half, and they were twice denied by the woodwork.
Golgol Mebrahtu's header struck the crossbar in the 19th minute, and Dylan Wenzel-Halls had only himself to blame when his fluffed shot from point-blank range hit the upright in the 43rd minute.
There was VAR controversy in the 23rd minute when Glory striker Nicholas D'Agostino was denied a penalty, despite replays showing he touched the bouncing ball before being clattered into by goalkeeper Jamie Young.
Castro gave his team the lead in the 40th minute when he finished off a great run from D'Agostino with a beautiful curling shot.
But the Roar equalised in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time when a 22-pass move and a nice cross from Corey Brown resulted in Hingert heading home for only his third goal in 209 A-League matches.
Garcia made a quadruple substitution in the 60th minute, with one of the new players being former Japanese international Kosuke Ota.
And it was Ota's deft tap from Neil Kilkenny's cross that set up Fornaroli in the 68th minute, with the Uruguayan unleashing a sweet left-foot volley to put Glory ahead.
Ota was involved again in their third goal, with his blocked shot making it down to Castro, who controlled the bouncing ball before poking it home with his left foot.
"I thought we were very much in control of the first half. I felt (Glory's) goal came against the run of play," Roar coach Warren Moon said.
"We got our rewards with the equaliser. In the second half it was a good contest, we had our chances and they had their chances. But in the end their quality shone out."
Australian Associated Press
