Perth Glory returned to the most clinical best today with an emphatic 4-1 away win over Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium in front of 13096 supporters.
The game was a lively affair especially in the first half but in the end the experience of the Champions came to the fore as they eventually overcame the spirited United side.
The match had started with fine open, attacking play by both sides with United using their flanks to good advantage. However it was Pondeljak who had the first strike on goal after 5 minutes when he shot high and wide following a knock back by Horsley from a Despotovski cross.
But United hit back and after 10 minutes it was Kemp tormenting North on the wing before crossing superbly into the penalty area forcing Petkovic to punch clear.
Just 1 minute later it was Alagich who caused the problems as he beat Hassell in midfield before striding forward and shooting narrowly wide.
The shape of the match changed significantly inside 1 inspirational minute for Glory. After 15 minutes Pondeljak picked up a ball from Hassell before firing low from 25 meters and deceiving the diving Scarsella with the shot as it went under his body and into the net to give Perth the lead.
Less than a minute later it was Mori winning the ball in the centre circle, striding forward to the edge of the penalty area and firing a diagonal ball into the back of the net beyond Scarsella's reach to make it 2-0.
If Perth though this was going to be an easy ride for them, 2 up inside 16 minutes they were soon brought back to earth as Lozanovski made great space on the right wing before finding a great cross that was brilliantly headed back by Vidmar into the path of Kemp who hammered the ball into the back of the net to bring United back into the match.
After 24 minutes Lozanovski again got a great cross in but this time North came to the rescue with a saving header at the expense of an unproductive corner.
In the 30th minute Glory nearly increased their lead as Despotovski found Mori with a well flighted corner but the star strikers header was easily saved by the Adelaide keeper.
The 2nd half was special from the point of view that it showed how Perth Glory can control 45 minutes of football, only allowing the opposition some half chances while creating and scoring some of their own.
It took just 4 minutes for Despotovski to show some magic skills as he wormed his way past both defenders and referee and working with Hassell to clip the ball over Scarsella and put Glory 3-1 ahead.
Perth with the 2 goal advantage then pulled Despotovski back into a deeper midfield role which allowed Pondeljak to get forward more and also take the sting out of the Adelaide attacks.
In the 65th minute Scarsella tried a long clearance that found Horsley for Glory, he gave the ball to Despotovski who showed great presence of mind to fire from just inside the centre circle beating the keeper all ends up only for the ball to rebound off the woodwork before being cleared by the relieved Adelaide defence.
Adelaide's best 2nd half chance came just 4 minutes later when Lozanovski put Kemp away, he passed brilliantly into the centre to Veart, but Petkovic made a great run from his goal line to snuff out the chance.
Perth should have finished the game off with 15 minutes remaining when Mori beat the off side trap and was bearing down on goal. However inexplicably the striker unselfishly attempted to pass the ball to Despotovski, the pass was partially blocked and Despotovski could only shoot weakly at Scarsella, who saved easily.
In the 81st minute Adelaide won a free kick just outside the Perth area and though Alagich connected sweetly and got the ball through the wall, Petkovic positioned himself well and saved with ease.
As sections of the large crowd were leaving with the game in stoppage time Pondeljak ran through from a seemingly offside position, however no flag or whistle was forthcoming and the midfielder finished with ease to get his 2nd and glory's 4th goal.
So this victory on the back of Parramatta's shock loss to Wollongong on Friday night means that Perth return to the top of the NSL table.This was also Adelaide's first reverse of the season.
Next week Adelaide face the in form South Melbourne at Bob Jane Stadium while Glory have to face Wollongong in a danger match.