The Wellington Phoenix have climbed into the A-League's top four following a club record 8-2 thrashing of the Central Coast Mariners on Saturday.
Roy Krishna and Sarpreet Singh both grabbed braces as the Phoenix, as they leapfrogged Adelaide United and Melbourne City in the standings to go five points clear of the seventh-placed Newcastle Jets.
The scoreline equals the competition's biggest-scoring match when the Mariners crashed to an 8-2 home loss against the Jets just 11 months ago, while also equalling the biggest away win in A-League history.
The defeat led to the Mariners sacking coach Mike Mulvey three hours later.
The match was all but over midway through the first half, as the Phoenix scored three goals inside the first 21 minutes, with an own goal from Mariners defender Sam Graham off a Krishna cross getting the scoring underway.
Krishna then doubled Wellington's lead before fellow striker David Williams then found the back of the net in front of 3703 fans at Central Coast Stadium.
Fijian Krishna then scored his 14th goal of the season moments before the break as Wellington took a 4-0 lead into the sheds.
Midfielders Liberato Cacace and Singh, along with defender Louis Fenton all netted goals by the one-hour mark.
The Mariners netted two consolation goals against the run of play through defender Jack Clisby and winger Stephen Mallon in the 61st and 68th minutes, but Singh added to their woes when he scored Wellington's eighth goal in the dying minutes.
The win was much-needed for Wellington, without a win in their previous four games (two draws, two losses).
"I don't think any coach thinks they're going to hit eight past any opponent, be it at home or away," Phoenix coach Mark Rudan said after the match.
"But certainly if you looked at their reaction from two weeks ago, it's a long time between drinks, particularly after a loss. We worked extremely hard to make sure we weren't going to be complacent.
"It was all about attitude and making sure the gameplan was the right one, but we were ruthless tonight, and I'm really proud of them."
The Phoenix's previous best win was 6-0 against the defunct Gold Coast United in 2009.
The Phoenix play the eighth-placed Western Sydney Wanderers at Westpac Stadium next Sunday.
Newshub.
