More than 1500 people braved a damp, chilly night to watch the Glory take on Rockingham City in a pre-season friendly in Port Kennedy, 45min south of Perth, and liked what they saw from Dave Mitchell’s men, as did the coach himself.

“The boys acted in a professional manner, played the ball well around the park and executed the things that we have been working on in the last week,” Mitchell said.

“It is early stages of pre-season and we still have a lot of work to get through but I’m delighted with the application and attitude of the players.

“The fans turned out to support both teams and enjoyed a great game. It is a fantastic set-up down here and we were very happy to be involved in the game,” Mitchell said.

Perth dominated possession from the outset and was denied by the woodwork twice in the opening half before finding the back of the net after 34 minutes through Jimmy Downey.

Strike pairing Nikita Rukavytsya and Dadi also joined in on the action before the break to give the Glory a 3-0 lead.

Rukavytsya picking up where he left off last season with a delicate touch at the top of the box to fire one into the net while Dadi found space to drill home from close range after a well delivered corner from James Robinson.

The second half saw the introduction of Jamie Harnwell who paired with Dadi up front.

Both players getting on the score sheet within 15 minutes of the restart, Harnwell with a trademark header while Dadi completed his hat trick in fine style before taking a well earned rest.

“Eugene is a good player who reads the play very well and can bring others into the match plus score himself. You could see from the reaction he received tonight that our fans will enjoy watching him play,” Mitchell said.

The scoring continued for the Glory with the introduction of trial player Anthony Skorich. The Western Knights youngster boosted his prospects of securing a contract this season after scoring with his first touch and then adding another six minutes later.

New recruit Adriano Pellegrino was awarded ‘Man of the Match’ honours after a tireless performance in central midfield while the defence looked solid with Hayden Foxe playing out the entire 90 minutes after an injury interrupted 2007/08 season.

“Hayden looked very commanding and he was chatting from the back and played a real leaders role out there. He has a lot of experience at the highest levels in Europe and to have him fit and out there doing the job for us is terrific,” Mitchell said.

Glory’s next friendly match is scheduled for Wednesday 18 June at E&D Litis Stadium against the WA State Team, kick-off is 7.30pm and entry is free.

“The fans I’m sure would have appreciated the skill and technique, and from what they’ve been saying to me after the match we have gained a lot of support here. They’re looking forward to seeing more of the same from the Glory this season and we look forward to having their support in the stands,” Mitchell said.

Rockingham City 0
Perth Glory 8 (Downey 34’, Rukavytsya 37’, Dadi 42’/52’/61’, Harnwell 59’, Skorich 68’/74’)
Wednesday, 11 June 2008 at Lark Hill Sportsplex, Port Kennedy

Crowd: 1500 (approx)

Referee: Steven Gregory
Assistant Referees: Matthew Cheeseman, Joe Fusari
Fourth Official: Troy Miller

Perth Glory Squad: 30.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Brent GRIFFITHS (trialist), 4.Jamie COYNE, 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 8.James ROBINSON, 9.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 10.Josip MAGDIC, 11.Jimmy DOWNEY, 12.Anthony SKORICH (trialist), 13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, 14.Eugene DADI, 16.Hayden DOYLE (trialist), 18.Hayden FOXE, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 20.Mark LEE
* Please note player numbers in friendly matches are not representative of official Hyundai A-League allocation

Rockingham City: 1.Tim SMITH (gk), 2.Andrew KEARY, 3.Adrian MULLHOLLAND, 4.Luke RENNIE, 5.Stuart McCALL, 6.Fraser MARR, 7.John McCREARY, 8.Richard LACEY, 9.Craig HOWARD, 10.Michael VAZ, 11.Craig McCREARY, 12.Cameron LORD, 13.Paul JOHNSON, 14.Robert CLACKETT, 15.David NAIRN, 16.Tom DOWNS, 17.Craig OLEJNIK (gk)