The vital three points takes Roar to joint top of the Hyundai A-League ladder, at least until tonight when round 18 concludes with table-topping rivals Central Coast Mariners taking on Melbourne Victory in Gosford.

In the early stages it never looked like Farina’s men would prevail with a three-goal margin as Roar struggled for possession in the opening half hour.

The home side dominated without creating too much in the way of clear cut opportunities but Perth right full-back Jimmy Downey was causing problems for Queensland with his pace a constant threat.

Farina gave a first start to 18-year-old Tahj Minniecon and the move paid off when the youngster was instrumental in the opening goal on 34 minutes.

Minniecon’s lovely reverse pass to fellow striker Robbie Kruse was too good to waste and Kruse made the most of the space to finish calmly past Tando Velaphi in the Glory goal and register his fourth strike of the season.

Just eight minutes later Roar doubled their lead and Minniecon was again the instigator.

Looking to take on Hayden Foxe, Minniecon over-ran the ball but beat Foxe in the tackle allowing Reinaldo to capitalise on the loose ball and slam low past Velaphi from 18 metres.

It was the Brazilian’s sixth goal of the season and gave Frank Farina’s men a precious two-goal buffer at half time, despite Perth enjoying the lion’s share of possession.

At the start of the second half Josh McCloughan made his 50th A-League appearance, replacing Danny Tiatto who was still feeling the effects of the hamstring strain that threatened to keep him out of the starting eleven.

Just before the hour mark Perth were given a lifeline when Nicky Rizzo fired home a Downey cross to halve the deficit, but were made to pay for some woeful defending just a couple of minutes later as Roar wasted no time in restoring their two-goal advantage.

Downey failed to control Tando Velaphi’s short throw and his hesitation was enough for livewire Minniecon to punish as he dispossessed the Glory defender and smashed his shot into the corner of the net.

It was Minniecon’s first ever goal in A-League and capped an outstanding full debut.

The home side rallied briefly with both Celeski and Colosimo worrying Liam Reddy in the Roar goal, but fears of being pegged back again were put to rest by Josh McCloughan in the 74th minute.

Kruse was felled by Karpeh and Matt McKay’s free-kick was headed home by the big central defender from close range.

Roar boss Frank Farina was not only delighted with the win, but also that his striking trio all found goal-scoring form ahead of the crucial final 3 fixtures of the season.

The only incident that will have taken some of the gloss from the win was the yellow card to skipper Craig Moore which means he will be suspended for next week’s visit of Melbourne Victory.

Queensland Roar FC:
1.Liam REDDY (gk), 2.Andrew PACKER, 4.Craig MOORE (Capt), 5 8.Massimo MURDOCCA, 11.REINALDO, 12.Tahj MINNIECON, 15.Matt McKAY, 16.Hyuk-Su SEO, 18.Danny TIATTO (McCloughan 46),19.Sasa OGNENOVSKI, 22.Robbie KRUSE.

Subs not used: 30.Griffin McMASTER (gk), 9.Simon LYNCH, 23.MARCINHO.

Yellow Cards: Moore 17’, Ognenovski 27’, Packer 50’.

Red Cards: None.

Perth Glory FC:
30.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 4.Simon COLOSIMO (Capt), 10.Billy CELESKI, 12.Leo BERTOS (Karpeh 67), 13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, 14.Jamie COYNE (Simpson 88), 16.Nick RIZZO, 17.Jimmy DOWNEY, 18.Hayden FOXE, 21.James ROBINSON (Sekulovski 84).

Subs not used: 1.Jason PETKOVIC (gk).

Yellow Cards: Celeski 25’, Coyne 76’.

Red Cards: None.