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Steven McGarry opened the scoring in the first half when he found himself unmarked at the back post to get on the end of a flick on from a corner to nod home his fourth goal of the season.

Shane Smeltz had a torrid night in attack, finding himself in goalscoring positions time after time only to be denied by either the woodwork or Gold Coast United's third choice keeper Chris O'Connor.

Liam Miller stepped in to take the strain by scoring the second and a Travis Dodd header made it 3-0 in the second half.

Adama Traore completed the 4-0 rout with a headed own goal under pressure from striker sub Billy Mehmet after a Miller cross from the left wing.

Gold Coast were unable to offer much in return after an arduous road trip via Tasmania, and lost Peter Jungschlager - who had been looking their most dangerous threat - early in the second half to injury.

The result keeps Glory in fourth place, but now just one point behind Brisbane Roar, with a trip to out of form Sydney next weekend, followed by four home games out of their final six of the season.

Gold Coast, who were poor across the park in a hapless display in their heaviest loss of the season, are now winless in their last seven games and five points behind ninth-placed Adelaide.

The under-strength United side, without the likes of Dylan Macallister, Tahj Minniecon, and James Brown, struggled to cope with a first half Glory onslaught in front of 7681 fans.

Shortly after Jacob Burns's shot cannoned off the crossbar, the hosts went ahead when Steve Pantelidis flicked on a corner to an unmarked McGarry at the back post and the in-form midfielder headed into the top corner.

Gold Coast's best chance of the half came when Ante Rozic drifted unmarked from a free-kick after 30 minutes and headed wide from six yards.

Smeltz then endured a horrible spell when he missed three one-on-one chances in quick succession, sending one wide, hitting the post with the second and having the third saved.

Gold Coast's effort after the break didn't improve and they were made to pay when they dealt with a Travis Dodd cross poorly and Liam Miller tapped in from close range.

Jonas Salley nearly got United back in the game but his header was cleared off the line and Perth wrapped up the win in the 67th minute when Dodd beat his man at the near post off a Sterjovski corner and headed home.

And a bad night got even worse for Gold Coast in the final minutes when Traore woefully miscued an attempted headed clearance and scored an own goal.

Glory's third-straight win saw them retain the Iron Ore Cup.

Perth Glory 4 (McGarry 18m, Miller 53m, Dodd 67m, Traore OG 84m)
Gold Coast United 0
Crowd: 7681 at nib Stadium

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