Wellington Phoenix have suffered another heavy defeat as part of their congested A-League schedule, hammered 5-0 by Central Coast Mariners.
Three days after a club record-equalling 6-0 loss to Melbourne City, the Phoenix were again on the wrong side of a comprehensive scoreline, with the team heavily impacted by absences.
In their last two matches, the Phoenix have conceded 11 goals, without scoring any in reply, as their A-League schedule sees them play 11 games in 44 days to finish the regular season, after COVID-19 and weather-enforced fixture delays.
Already missing eight players to injury and illness, the Phoenix also lost defender James McGarry to a positive COVID-19 test, forcing manager Ufuk Talay to play Louis Fenton as a makeshift left-back.
The move backfired, as Fenton gave away two penalties, converted by Marco Urena and Jason Cummings.
Between his side's two spot kicks, winger Beni N'Kololo scored in the 24th minute to give the Mariners a 3-0 halftime lead, before the Central Coast bench came to the fore.
In the 68th minute, 17-year-old forward Garang Kuol scored the Mariners' fourth, before Matt Hatch completed the scoring in injury time, firing past a stranded Oli Sail on the second attempt for the fifth and final goal.
Defeat leaves the Phoenix seventh on the A-League ladder, one point behind sixth-placed Adelaide United.
However, the Wellington side have two games in hand on Adelaide and fifth-placed Sydney FC, as well as one on Macarthur FC in third, all on 28 points. Melbourne Victory sit fourth, with a game in hand on the Phoenix.
The depleted Phoenix's gruelling schedule doesn't get any easier either, with Western United on Saturday and Perth Glory on Thursday.
Central Coast Mariners 5 (Urena, N'Kololo, Cummings, Kuol, Hatch) Wellington Phoenix 0
