Wellington Phoenix remain in the hunt for a place in the A-League's top six, crushing Perth Glory 3-1 .
Coming into Sunday's fixture off the back of a last-gasp 3-2 victory over Western United last week, the Phoenix made it two from two in the A-League's 'distance derby', with more than 5255km between the two clubs - one of the biggest in club football.
After a nervy opening spell that saw goalkeeper Oli Sail forced into a save from Perth's Carlo Armiento, the Phoenix played out the first half without scoring - but also keeping the Glory out at their end.
Scoreless at the break, the match came to life in the second half.
After a breakaway that had Jaushua Sotirio one-on-one with Perth's Liam Reddy, the goalkeeper came off his line and tackled the Phoenix forward.
But the danger wasn't over for Perth, as the ball only fell to 19-year-old Ben Waine, who lobbed the ball downfield into an empty net. The strike was Waine's second in as many weeks, after scoring the all-important winner against Western United.
Not to be outdone, the Glory hit back minutes later, as Joel Chianese showed off his fancy footwork to slink through the Phoenix backline, netting past Sail to level scores at 1-1.
But that was about as good as it got for Perth. A strike from distance by Ulises Davila drew a good save from Reddy, but the ball only fell to the feet of the oncoming Louis Fenton, who tapped in to put the Phoenix back in front.
After providing in their side's first two goals, Davila and Sotirio were in action again in the 75th minute as well.
With Perth pushing forward, a quick counterattack saw Davila slip a through ball behind the Glory defence, allowing Sotirio to run in behind and rifle a shot past Reddy - the final goal of the game.
Victory leaves the Phoenix four points off a top-six playoff spot, albeit with a game in hand over Western Sydney Wanderers.
Both Brisbane Roar and Western United also sit ahead of the ninth-placed Phoenix, both with two games in hand over the Kiwi side.
