Wellington Phoenix jumped into second place on the A-League ladder with an entertaining 3-1 win over Melbourne Heart at Westpac Stadium on Sunday.
The Phoenix started superbly in front of the 13,601-strong crowd, their best of the season, with Paul Ifill finding the net barely two minutes after kickoff.
A searching Chris Greenacre cross found Heart left back Aziz Behich, whose muffed clearance fell perfectly for Ifill.
The English striker’s uncanny ability to create space for himself combined with a clinical right-foot finish to leave Heart ‘keeper Clint Bolton no chance.
Jonatan Germano helped the visitors reply in the 34th minute, the Argentine midfielder slipping the perfect ball through for Alex Terra to guide past Wellington ‘keeper Mark Paston.
The Phoenix kept calm, and continued to pressure Melbourne’s youthful defence in the second half, slicing through in the 53rd minute when Leo Bertos’ well-timed run down the right was rewarded with a headed goal from Greenacre.
Continuing to play at pace, the Phoenix put the result beyond doubt 10 minutes later when Ifill notched up his second, rounding Bolton with ease after latching onto a probing Manny Muscat ball into the area.
Going into Sunday’s game, the Heart had picked up just two points from their past five matches, and hadn’t recorded a win since December 29.
But when the two teams last met in early December, the Heart snuck home 1-0 and, despite their recent poor run, went into the match just a point behind the then third-placed Phoenix.
The Phoenix’s defence was boosted by the return of Muscat from Melbourne, where he was awaiting the birth of his first child.