The Glory's Daniel McBreen and Todd Howarth both scored before half-time to set up the result as Wellington struggled to convert their chances in front of goal.

The biggest culprit was former Glory man Dadi as he looked to make a statement to former coach Dave Mitchell.

Dadi had the chance to reduce the deficit in the 73rd minute when he stepped up to the spot, but could only shoot the ball gently into the grasp of a disbelieving Tando Velaphi.

The result sees Perth climb into fifth position on the Hyundai A-League table, all but securing their maiden finals position as it climbs six points above the bottom four teams after the seventh-placed Mariners could only manage a 1-1 draw with Gold Coast earlier in the night.

Wellington now drop to sixth.

The match had a curious sub-plot involving Phoenix defender Manny Muscat who was issued a yellow card in the seventh minute for a challenge on Chris Coyne.

Muscat had the card taken off him by referee Ben Shepheard at half-time, the official giving it to Tim Brown instead.

But most of the crowd still thought he was on a caution when he received another yellow just after the hour, sparking queries as to why he wasn't dismissed.

The Glory produced their first chance just 30 seconds after kick-off as their re-jigged line-up featuring a strike combination of McBreen and Andrija Jukic immediately clicked.

After a frantic start, the intensity soon dropped as both sides struggled to string together fluent passes, although their efforts weren't helped by some fussy refereeing from Ryan Shepheard.

Although it was hardly end-to-end stuff, the Phoenix dominated the opening 20 minutes but failed to capitalise on their opportunities.

A dangerous corner from Leo Bertos in the second minute passed through the box without a touch, while both Tim Brown and Paul Ifill sent efforts wide of the upright.

The home crowd soon had something to cheer about, though, when Steven McGarry won a 50-50 ball in midfield, slipping it out to Naum Sekulovski whose searching ball found McBreen in the box.

The former Fury man did well to chest it down before stepping inside Andrew Durante and rifling the ball home to give the Glory the lead.

Amidst the Glory's celebration's Dadi was booked for dissent and the big Frenchman was fortunate to stay on the park when he lunged in at Jacob Burns just before half-time.

Referee Shepheard appeared ready to issue Dadi a second yellow but opted instead for a word of caution.

The goal seemed to take the wind from Wellington's sails and it was only a matter of time before Perth added to the lead, the Glory finding the back of the net once again four minutes before the break.

Jamie Coyne took the ball on the right, capitalising on a slip from Phoenix defender Troy Hearfield, before delivering a sensational cross that Howarth finished emphatically at the far post.

Four minutes after the break, Phoenix stopper Liam Reddy did well to deny McBreen in a one-on-one and the missed chance seemed to fire Wellington as they enjoyed their best spell of the game.

But once again, the visitors couldn't make the most of their chances as Hearfield saw a 53rd-minute effort beaten away by Velaphi before the defender cracked one over the bar 10 minutes later.

In the 69th minute, Hearfield saw a glancing header slide past the upright before tempers spilled over just moments later.

The drama started when second-half Perth substitute Scott Bulloch dragged down a Wellington opponent in the box in a tangle of bodies.

As referee Shepheard pointed to the spot, an altercation between Wellington's Brown and Durante almost led to a melee.

When tempers calmed it was time for Dadi to shine from the spot.

Unfortunately for the 36-year-old, he delivered one of the worst penalties seen this season.

Seemingly off-balance after a proppy run, he stroked the ball into Velaphi's waiting arms.

The remainder of the match was something of an anti-climax, although McBreen wasted a good chance to add the third when he skied an effort over the bar from four metres out.