Wellington Phoenix have kept their A-League Women playoffs hopes afloat with a 4-0 victory over Adelaide United in Porirua on Wednesday.
Goals to Mariana Speckmaier, Kate Taylor, Vicky Robertson, and Michaela Foster have ensured the hosts claimed all three competition points on a dominant afternoon.
The result sees the Phoenix move up to eighth in the overall standings - five points adrift of the playoff seeds. They'll likely need to win both of their remaining two games to secure a spot in the top six and qualify for the postseason.
In the 13th minute, Speckmaier capitalised on some poor defending and fired home to give Phoenix the early advantage.
Six minutes into the second half, the Phoenix came agonisingly close to doubling their lead. Macy Fraser laid a pass on a platter for Alyssa Winham, whose strike rebounded off the lefthand upright.
But moments later, a goalmouth scramble ended with Taylor blasting a close-range shot into the back of the Adelaide net.
A superb piece of individual skill from Isabel Cox sparked the Phoenix's third goal, breaking from halfway in a movement that ended with substitute Robertson tapping in a perfectly placed cross from Emma Main.
Foster put the icing on the cake in added time with a clinical finish from the edge of the box for her first goal of the season.
The Phoenix now head across the Tasman to face bottom-placed Canberra United on Sunday, who they beat 2-0 when they last met back in January.
Welllington Phoenix 4 (Speckmaier, Taylor, Robertson, Foster goals) Adelaide United 0
