Perth Glory have moved four points clear at the top of the A-League standings with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle Jets.
It took Glory just 11 minutes to open the scoring at the Nib Stadium when a cross from Mitch Nichols found its way to Richard Garcia, with the former Hull City making no mistake from close range for his first goal for Perth.
Moments later, Andy Keogh almost made it two when his stinging effort was tipped over the crossbar, but Newcastle came close to an equaliser just before the break when Joel Griffiths fired wide from David Carney's delivery.
Carney should have got the visitors back on level terms after the restart but he could only blaze over the bar after being played through on goal, before the former Sheffield United midfielder wasted another chance when heading straight at Danny Vukovic.
However, with eight minutes remaining, Jets suffered a blow when captain Kew Jaliens was dismissed for a late challenge on Scott Jamieson, leaving the visitors fighting against the odds to secure a positive result.
Glory confirmed victory with four minutes to go when Nebo Marinkovic capitalised on Keogh's lay-off to power the ball into the top corner and leave Newcastle still searching for their first win of the season.
Darren Plant
