Diego Castro stars as Glory beat Jets 3-2

Feb 4, 2017 - 1:50 PM Rhys Williams made his long-awaited A-League return and Diego Castro scored a brace in Perth Glory's 3-2 win over Newcastle in Saturday night's clash at nib Stadium.

Castro had two goals to his name by halftime in yet another dazzling display from the Spaniard in front of 12,903 fans.

The 34-year-old converted the penalty he won in the 13th minute after his brilliant side-step fooled Jets defender Nigel Boogaard into making an unnecessary foul.

Jets striker Andrew Hoole levelled the scores with a brilliant rising header in the 37th minute.

But Castro restored the lead just five minutes later when he scored from a tight angle after getting past Jets defender Daniel Mullen.

Adam Taggart made it 3-1 in the 59th minute when he tapped in a beautiful curling ball from Josh Risdon.

But Jason Hoffman's 26m thunderbolt in the 71st minute ensured a nervy finish as the Jets frequently pressed into the final third only to fail to find the net.

Williams hadn't featured for Perth since becoming embroiled in a bitter stand-off with the club over his bid to join rivals Sydney FC.

Perth stood firm in their stance of not releasing him during the transfer window, and it sparked a war of words between Williams' manager and the club.

But Williams' seven-game absence finally came to an end when he replaced injured defender Shane Lowry (leg) in the 38th minute.

Williams, donning fluoro orange boots, was solid in the heart of defence.

But he was left worse for wear in stoppage time after a heavy clash of heads with teammate Dino Djulbic.

Williams played out the match to ensure Glory snared all three points.

Glory's win saw them close to within two points of fourth-placed Melbourne City, while the Jets slid to seventh and face a battle to secure a finals berth.

"Castro is brilliant. He's a joy to watch," Glory coach Kenny Lowe said.

"I thought some of the football was probably the best we've played in patches.

"I thought we controlled the game. I was just disappointed we gifted a couple of goals."

Jets coach Mark Jones said his side were disappointing defensively.

"Castro's a good footballer. Still, we should have done a better job," Jones said.

"It was a silly penalty to give away. We just had to do a job on Castro one on one and we couldn't do that."

Source: AAP