Castro brace sinks Roar as Glory win 3-1 to set A-League scoring record

A Diego Castro brace lifted Perth Glory to a 3-1 win over Brisbane Roar and helped them set a new A-League record.

The Roar's three-match goalless streak was ended in first-half stoppage time when defender Jack Hingert's header cancelled out Castro's earlier strike. But a superb volley from Bruno Fornaroli in the 68th minute put Glory ahead again, before Castro made it 3-1 seven minutes later in Friday night's clash at HBF Park.

Glory have now scored 18 goals from their first six matches this season -- a new A-League record for that point of a campaign.

Perth's third straight win lifted them up to fifth -- and they still have plenty of games in hand over the four teams ahead of them; Brisbane's four-match winless run means they are now in danger of slipping from second spot.

The Roar dominated for long periods of the opening half, and they were twice denied by the woodwork. Golgol Mebrahtu's header struck the crossbar in the 19th minute, and Dylan Wenzel-Halls had only himself to blame when his fluffed shot from point-blank range hit the upright in the 43rd minute.

There was VAR controversy in the 23rd minute when Glory striker Nicholas D'Agostino was denied a penalty. D'Agostino got a touch to the bouncing ball before being clattered into by goalkeeper Jamie Young.

Referee Alireza Faghani initially waved away the penalty appeal, and when it was eventually sent to VAR, it was also deemed no penalty despite the replay showing that D'Agostino got the first touch before being brought down.

Castro gave his team the lead in the 40th minute when he finished off a great run from D'Agostino with a beautiful curling shot. But the Roar equalised in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time when a 22-pass move and a nice cross from Corey Brown resulted in Hingert heading home for only his third goal in 209 A-League matches.

Glory coach Richard Garcia made a quadruple substitution in the 60th minute, with one of the new players being former Japanese international Kosuke Ota. And it was Ota's deft tap from Neil Kilkenny's cross that set up Fornaroli in the 68th minute, with the Uruguayan unleashing a sweet left-foot volley to put Glory ahead.

Ota was involved again in their third goal, with his blocked shot making it down to Castro, who controlled the bouncing ball before poking it home with his left foot.

Making Glory's performance even more impressive was the fact it was their first game since February 5, after which they were forced into two weeks of quarantine.