Soccer: Knights disappoint coach Adshead

New Zealand Knights manager John Adshead says he is disappointed with his A-league soccer cellar-dwellers for the first time in weeks after the Knights were thrashed 4-1 by Perth Glory after a good start last night.

The Knights' Neil Emblen was first on the score sheet when he nodded home a Noah Hickey cross with just over six minutes gone .

But goals from Naum Sekulovski in the 11th and 42nd minutes, Jamie Coyne (14th) and Jamie Harnwell (78th) at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland enhanced Perth's chances for a top-four playoff after their 2-1 loss to Adelaide United in the previous round.

After the match, Adshead struggled to find some positives out of the Knight's second-last home game for the season.

"I think for the first time in a number of weeks I can honestly say I am disappointed with that tonight.

"We started well, scored in the sixth minute but then fell away with poor defending and a generally lethargic display.

"That took us back two months in performance. We will have to re-group on Monday and prepare to give Adelaide one hell of a crack on Saturday week in our last home match."

After opening the scoring last night, the Knights' chances of finishing the season on a high note took an almost immediate hit when Sekulovski levelled the score four minutes later with a left-foot volley.

Just three minutes later Coyne put Perth in front from a goal-mouth melee following a corner kick then the misery was nearly complete three minutes from halftime when Sekulovski pumped in his second goal, a lob over an approaching Moss.

The Knights were lucky Perth weren't already another goal ahead as the Glory's Damian Mori was wrongly flagged down for offside in the 32nd minute.

Television replays showed he was clearly on-side when he scored after Knights goalkeeper Glen Moss blocked a powerful shot from Bobby Despotovski and the ball rolled into Mori's path.

A switch of the Knights' speedy Hickey to the unusual role of centre back limited the damage for the Knights in the second half and it wasn't until the 78th minute when a free kick saw Jamie Harnwell bob up on the left and power a header past Moss for Perth's fourth goal.

Former Knight's captain Danny Hay, who is on a temporary contract with Perth after disagreement with the Auckland-based club, was pleased with his own efforts on a quiet night for the new Glory defender.

"I've played only about 10 minutes of football in the last eight-nine weeks so I was really pleased to get through 85-87 minutes out there tonight," he said.

"We could have had a few more goals, but we'll take the three points," he said.

SCORING:

Perth 4 (Naum Sekulovski 11th, 42nd; Jamie Coyne 14th, Jamie Harnwell 78th), NZ Knights 1 (Neil Emblen 7th). Halftime: 3-1.

- NZPA