Roy O'Donovan scored twice as Newcastle Jets battered sorry Western Sydney Wanderers 5-1 at a damp ANZ Stadium on Friday.
The Jets had won just once in seven A-League outings before making the trip to the out-of-sorts Wanderers, whose abysmal winless run now stretches to 10 matches.
In fairness there was little the hosts could about the opening goal as Dimitri Petratos bent an unstoppable left-foot effort into the top-left corner in the 18th minute.
Jason Hoffman quickly doubled the lead following a bout of pinball in the box and O'Donovan scored his first on the rebound from a saved penalty, which was awarded after Marc Tokich was judged to have fouled Ronald Vargas in the area, on the stroke of half-time.
A five-star performance from the boys tonight - what a win! #WSWvNEW#ALeague#MadeOfNewcastlepic.twitter.com/hcTzDQSmG2— NEWCASTLE JETS FC (@NewcastleJetsFC) February 1, 2019
Four minutes after the restart, home goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic made a hash of Petratos' cross and Matthew Ridenton provided the easy finish.
Tokich was the guilty party again just before the hour when his needless hack on Hoffman saw the Jets awarded a second spot-kick, which O'Donovan converted into the bottom-right corner.
Mitchell Duke grabbed a consolation for the hosts, but their season continues to unravel. The Jets are now eight points behind sixth-placed Wellington Phoenix, who have a game in hand.
