Bridge treble sinks Adelaide

Mark Bridge scored a hat-trick as Western Sydney Wanderers underlined their potential as genuine A-League title contenders with a 6-1 thrashing of Adelaide United. Former Japan international Shinji Ono, striker Dino Kresinger and substitute Joey Gibbs were also on the scoresheet, with Dario Vidosic's goal a mere consolation for the visitors. While Bridge will get most of the plaudits, midfielder Mateo Poljak had his best game for the club in central midfield while winger Youssouf Hersi had three assists. Bridge opened the scoring after 18 minutes. After Jerome Polenz and Ono combined down the right, the ball found its way to Hersi just outside the box. The Dutch winger then produced a clever flick with the outside of his right boot over the top of the Reds defence, with Bridge sneaking in front of Iain Fyfe before smashing it home from close range. The Reds had no answer to the Wanderers' passing and movement and the home side cashed in on their dominance with two goals in the space of a minute right on the stroke of half-time. First Bridge grabbed his second when, after a pinpoint through ball from Mateo Poljak, the former Sydney FC man twisted and turned past Fyfe and hit a sweet left-foot shot into the far bottom corner of the net. Before the home fans had time to stop celebrating, Kresinger added a third with his first goal in the A-League. The Reds defence failed to deal with a seemingly harmless long ball, with the giant Croatian using his strength to play a neat one-two with Ono before planting his header past Eugene Galekovic. Adelaide boss John Kosmina made personnel and positional changes at the break but it didn't stop the home side from adding a fourth within seven minutes of the restart. A misplaced goal-kick from Galekovic went straight to Hersi, whose header fell perfectly into the path of Ono who finished clinically from just inside the box. Bridge added a fifth to complete his hat-trick soon after and, even though Vidosic grabbed a goal for the visitors, Gibbs made it 6-1 in the final minute. Mike Mulvey's tenure as Brisbane Roar coach got off to a losing start as Perth Glory beat his side 1-0 in a dour affair at Suncorp Stadium. Steven McGarry's long-range strike, which lit up a quiet first half, after 44 minutes was enough to seal the win for the Glory. Brisbane threw everything at Perth in the second half - Henrique hitting the underside of the bar - but the Glory pushed numbers back and ensured they held on for their second win in a row. From FIFA