Holmes, Travis Dodd and Chris Harold all got their names on the scoresheet against the ABSA Premiership side which started brightly only to lose their grip on the game as the half wore on.

By the time Dodd opened the scoring on 37 minutes the result was never in doubt, even after nine second-half substitutions by coach Ian Ferguson.

Harold doubled the advantage just before the hour mark and substitute Holmes sealed a comprehensive victory in the dying minutes of the game.

Ferguson was happy to his side outlast the competition who are just two weeks out from the start of their own league season.

“Obviously I’m pleased with the result and with the way our fitness levels are improving," Ferguson said.

“It’s important that we keep improving and I feel that we are definitely doing that.

“I was happy with some things, but there are also things that we still need to brush up on, like some of our decision-making for example.

“I was pleased with the way we played out from the back and with our rotations both in midfield and in attack and delighted with the goals from Dodd and Harold in particular.

“All of the young lads we have on this trip have done well and I thought they were excellent again tonight.

“Storm Roux had a great game at right-back, Brandon O’Neill came on at halftime and did really well, Chris Harold is looking better every time I see him and Adrian Zahra came on and did some nice things as well.

“We’ll now watch the video back, have a look at the things we did well and what we can improve upon, do our recovery tomorrow, have a day off on Sunday and then get right back into it on Monday.”

The clash at the Mbombela Stadium saw the welcome return to action of Steven McGarry and Billy Mehmet.

The latter revealing: “I’ve had a disc bulge at the top of my back which caused a problem with the nerve in my neck and had to have three injections to settle it down.

“I’ve been a bit apprehensive about heading the ball, but I came through tonight ok and obviously it was great to get a 3-0 win.

“If I hadn’t shaved my head before the game, the header I had in the second-half might have gone in, but I was just really pleased to get back out there and get 60 minutes under my belt.”

Meanwhile Roux didn’t let a battle with pre-game nerves stop him from putting in a commanding performance on his starting debut for the club.

“I was pretty nervous before the game, but once I got a few passes and got into it, I was ok after that,” Roux said.

“As I’ve been training with the first team, I knew what to expect in terms of the pace and physicality of the game and all the boys were talking to me and helping me out which made it a lot easier.

“It was nice to play a part in the goal as well. I was happy with the touch I took and then saw Doddsy making the run and managed to get the ball to him, he whipped it across goal and Chris Harold came in at the back post and tucked it away.

“I ended up being switched to left-back but that wasn’t a problem as I’ve played a few seasons swapping into different positions, so that was nothing new to me.

“I was happy with my game, Fergie said ‘well played’ to me at the end of the game and we won, so it was a good night all round.”

Glory complete their tour with a match against a highly fancied Bidvest Wits side at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday morning (local time).

Platinum Stars:                0
Perth Glory:                     3 (Dodd 37’, Harold 58’, Holmes 87’)
Mbombela Stadium