Adelaide United have set a new Hyundai A-League record after thrashing a hapless North Queensland Fury 8-1 at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night, with Marcos Flores and Sergio van Dijk both netting hat-tricks.
No team had scored more than six goals in a game, with the previous best being six goals to Melbourne Victory (twice), Adelaide and Wellington.
But the Reds eclipsed those records and the previous biggest winning margin of six, while Flores and van Dijk became the first team-mates to score hat-tricks in the same game.
Reds’ boss Rini Coolen applauded his side’s performance but played down the emphatic score line as United still faces a a fight to secure second spot.
“I didn’t know it was a record,” he said.
“For us the most important this is we have five more games to go. If you get a performance like this, winning the game and making the crowd happy with a lot of fantastic goals … the whole game makes us real happy.”
North Queensland coach Franz Straka was lost for words after the record-breaking defeat, labelling the Fury’s performance as a disaster.
“For Fury fans it was a disaster. I’ve never lost a game 8-1,” he said.
“I can’t believe what we did on the field. So many easy mistakes, individual mistakes.”
Flores opened the scoring on four minutes when van Dijk received the ball out wide from Iain Ramsay and whipped in a cross for the Argentine who outjumped his marker to head past Justin Pasfield.
After the opening goal the Fury outplayed the Reds and should have equalised through David Williams who missed when it seemed easier to score.
Jack Hingert powered a low cross into the box, beating two Adelaide defenders and Williams slid through but sent his shot well over the bar from inside the six-yard box.
Just before the half hour Flores was involved again when, after a series of one-twos, he continued running and released Dodd with a delightful through ball.
The Reds skipper ran onto the pass from the top of the box curled his shot into the side net leaving Pasfield no chance to make it 2-0.
In the 37th minute the pair combined again for Flores’ second after some brilliant skill from Dodd.
The speedy winger won a header and collected the return pass from van Dijk before skipping past Erik Akoto and into the Fury penalty area.
Dodd baulked his defender before looking up and firing across a cut back for Flores to run on to and slam into the back of the net.
The Argentine’s superb vision and passing created United’s fourth five minutes later, again releasing Dodd down the right.
He muscled his way in front of his opponent and raced towards goal and cracked low and hard only for the Fury keeper to get down low and parry the shot.
Pasfield could only push the ball into the path of Ramsay who stormed in to smash the rebound into the net.
A minute after half-time van Dijk got on the score sheet after another wonderful build up out of defence.
Dodd burst down the right and supplied the cross to the back post for Ramsay who was able to cushion a header back into the danger zone.
Van Dijk was left unchecked and lofted his header over Pasfield.
In the 67th minute, the league’s leading scorer got his 15th of the season after another sublime pass from Flores.
Van Dijk collected the through ball in his stride, held off his defender before firing a rocket into the bottom corner past a hapless Pasfield.
United replaced Francisco Usucar and Nigel Boogaard with Paul Reid and Robert Cornthwaite and the substitutions appeared to upset the tide with North Queensland grabbing a consolation through Panagiotis Nikas.
Nikas curled a shot past Reds ‘keeper Eugene Galekovic from 20 metres.
It mattered little when van Dijk completed the Hyundai A-League record for most goals in a game by one team with his second-half hat-trick in the 83rd minute.
Substitute Matthew Leckie, in his first game in four months, threaded a ball through for Cameron Watson, whose cutback was smashed into the roof of the net by the Reds’ marksman.
Flores’ third and United’s eighth equalled the league record for the most number goals in a game (9), which was previously set by the epic 5-4 win by Sydney over Central Coast during 2007-08.
Reid whipped in a free kick to the near post and the Argentine slipped into space and flicked it on past Pasfield.
Adelaide United 8 (Flores 4, 37, 87, Dodd 28, Ramsay 42, van Dijk 47, 67 83)
North Queensland 1 (Nikas 72)
Crowd: 10, 986 at Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
