Perth Glory moved seven points clear at the top of the A-League with a 2-1 win away to Melbourne Victory on Sunday.
Second-half goals from Neil Kilkenny and Diego Castro were enough for the visitors at a packed AAMI Park, despite a Kosta Barbarouses strike 12 minutes from time.
Keisuke Honda made his first appearance since December 14 for the home side as a substitute, but he could not inspire a comeback against the leaders.
Opportunities were scarce in a tense first hour, but Kilkenny broke the deadlock 61 minutes in, squeezing a penalty beyond the grasp of goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas after Corey Brown had handled in the box.
It was 2-0 eight minutes later, with Chris Ikonomidis racing into the penalty area down the left and crossing for Castro, who stretched acrobatically to turn the ball home.
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Barbarouses buried Leigh Broxham's pass to give Victory a lifeline, but Perth held firm for a 13th win in 18 league matches this season, on the same day their W-League side clinched a Grand Final spot.
@WLeague Grand Final confirmed
— Perth Glory FC (@PerthGloryFC) February 10, 2019
Extend @ALeague ladder lead to 7 points
That's going to go down as one of the best away days in Glory history!#MVCvPER #OneGlory pic.twitter.com/ZTyGGVquWe
