Intro:

Perth Glory emerged victorious in the top of the table clash against Melbourne Victory, winning 2-1 to open up a seven-point lead in the Australian A-League on Friday.

Script:

A top of the table clash in the Australian A-League on Friday saw second-placed Melbourne Victory hosting league leaders Perth Glory at the Simonds Stadium.

Perth had the better of the early going and converted when Nebojsa Marinkovic delivered a through ball to Andy Keogh in the ninth minute.

The Irishman held off his marker and then delivered a precise finish to put the league leaders into an early 1-0 lead.

Melbourne's cause worsened only seven minutes later. Marinkovic again the architect, providing another perfect through ball and Chris Harold did the rest.

Melbourne fought their way back into the match and when Scott Jamieson brought down Guilherme Finkler in the box, Victory had an opportunity to draw within a goal.

Besart Berisha sent keeper Danny Vukovic the wrong way and with a little over half to go, it was 2-1.

The crowd was now in full voice and Melbourne Victory clearly had the momentum.

They went perilously close to an equaliser in the 74th minute, but Archie Thompson's header from close range could only find the woodwork.

Perth Glory managed to hold on and claim a 2-1 win, which stretched their unbeaten run to ten league matches.

And more significantly, they opened up a seven-point lead at the top of the table.