Paul Ifill scored twice and had two assists to his credit as a Wellington Phoenix selection beat Miramar 5-2 in a training game at Porirua Park on Tuesday night.
Stein Huysegems also netted twice after scoring a hat-trick seven days earlier against Olympic, and Justin Gulley added the fifth goal.
Phoenix head coach Ernie Merrick said it was a good work out for his team, and an opportunity to assess trialists.
“Miramar pressed us and made it difficult for us to break them down,” Merrick said.
“You can see why they are at the top of the Central League.”
Another plus for Merrick was that Costa Rican international Carlos Hernandez got 35 minutes under his belt in his first appearance fore the club before being replaced at the break.
Ifill opened the scoring following good work by trialist Alex Rufer and Louis Fenton and the striker, who played against Manchester United three days earlier, added a second before the break with Huysegems also netting.
Gulley made it 4-0 early in the second half before Miramar cut the deficit through goals from Henry Fa-arodo and William McIntyre.
Huysegems completed the scoring with an accomplished finish from a superb cross by Ifill. The final score was 5-2.
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