KEY POINTS:
Two goals from striker Shane Smeltz against an under-manned Perth Glory have kept Wellington Phoenix's slim hopes of a top-four-finish in the A-League alive.
The Phoenix beat fellow cellar-dwellers Perth Glory 3-0, with the West Australians having a player sent off in each half at Westpac Stadium.
It
was Phoenix's fourth consecutive match against under-manned opponents and while they drew the first two - against Sydney and Melbourne - they were beaten 1-3 by Adelaide United last week.
Smeltz, with his double strike, now shares the lead with Newcastle's Joel Griffiths in scoring in the league with seven goals each.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley was red-carded in the 27th minute for chopping down Vaughan Coveny in the box and Smeltz sent goalkeeper Tandor Velaphi the wrong way from the spot-kick for the opening goal.
Referee Srebre Delovski then sent off Jamie Harnwell in the 74th minute, adding to Perth's woes.
Ahmad Elrick worked his way upfield, slipped a pass to Smeltz on the right. His pass across the face of the goal was met by a sliding Felipe for their second goal, four minutes after their first.
Elrick had an early chance but a drop-kick from the right corner of the box spun well out of target.
Perth also had a few chances in the first half, with Dino Djulbic and David Micevski coming the closest in the 23rd and 45th minutes respectively.
Djulbic followed up a high ball which rebounded from the upright but was unable to steer it in.
Micevski had the opportunity to narrow the gap with the last touch of the ball before halftime when he smashed an indirect freekick against the cross bar from about 10m away.
Smeltz and Mitchell Prentice were yellow carded after a heated clash and Smeltz was perhaps lucky not to be red-carded for tripping Prentice later.
Perth threatened to close the gap immediately after halftime following a few substitutions by coach David Mitchell. Phoenix goalkeeper Glen Moss was fully stretched to save a left-footer from Nikita Rukavytsya from the edge of the box and replacement striker Jerry Karpeh kept the Phoenix defenders extremely busy.
An interference in the box denied Phoenix a third goal in the 67th minute when Elrick lobbed in from a freekick and Vince Lia redirected it into the net with a header.
But that third goal came four minute later from a beautiful header from Smeltz when Lia lifted the ball towards goal.
Down 0-3, frustration crept into Perth's game and Delovski sent off Harnwell for cutting down Coveny.
With nine men, Glory found it extremely difficult to get anything out of the game.
- NZPA