At a glance
Wellington Phoenix 8 (Sam Graham OG 8’, Roy Krishna 12’, 45+1’, David Williams 21’, Liberato Cacace 51’, Sarpreet Singh 57’, 88’, Louis Fenton 59’) Central Coast Mariners 2 (Jack Clisby 61’, Stephen Mallon 68’) HT: 4-0. Attendance: 3703.
Jack Clisby and Stephen Mallon.
But the Phoenix were not done there. Singh scored a recordbreaking eighth goal in the 88th minute to cap off one of the most remarkable results in the club’s history.
It surpassed the Phoenix’s 6-0 win over Gold Coast United in 2009 as their biggest win.
‘‘The big fat lady doesn’t come out all that often but she came out tonight,’’ Rudan said.
With Steven Taylor (injury) and Alex Rufer (suspension) unavailable, Rudan handed a first start to defender Antony Golec and a second start to midfielder Max Burgess.
Burgess was particularly impressive, assisting on Krishna’s second goal with a brilliant defence-splitting pass, and should retain a starting role for this Sunday’s match against Western Sydney Wanderers, particularly as Singh will miss the game through suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card.
Rudan also handed A-League debuts to Callan Elliot and Gianni Stensness once the score blew out in the second half. Although there involvement was limited, the coach said he was extremely proud of the fact the Phoenix were willing to put their faith in promising young New Zealand players.
‘‘Give them confidence, work with them daily and they’ll improve. We’ve seen that with Sarpreet Singh and Libby Cacace. We’ll keep rolling them out and we’ll keep giving them opportunities. I thought today was a perfect time for them to step in.’’