Roy Krishna delivered a star performance as Wellington Phoenix destroyed Central Coast Mariners in an 8-2 victory in the A-League on Saturday.

The 31-year-old scored twice and played a part in three other goals as Mark Rudan's side claimed all three points in spectacular fashion at Central Coast Stadium.

Krishna also hit the post in the closing stages as Phoenix ended a four-game winless run by equalling the highest-scoring game in the competition's history.

The Mariners, bottom of the table with only one win from 22 games, were behind after eight minutes when Sam Graham turned Krishna's cross into his own net.

Krishna lobbed goalkeeper Ben Kennedy to make it 2-0 and he robbed Sheffield United loanee Graham in the build-up to the third, with Sarpreet Singh setting up David Williams to drill home.

It was 4-0 before half-time thanks to another emphatic Krishna finish, and it was his cross that allowed Liberato Cacace to net his first A-League goal six minutes after the restart.

Singh prodded a finish beyond Kennedy for the sixth, and his throughball was converted by Louis Fenton only two minutes later.

Jack Clisby's fine curling strike got a goal back for the home side, before Stephen Mallon's free-kick made it 7-2, but Singh buried an eighth goal for the visitors two minutes from the end to secure his side's biggest A-League victory and only the woodwork denied Krishna a ninth.

Phoenix are fourth in the table, with a five-point gap to seventh-place Newcastle Jets, who beat the Mariners by the same scoreline last season.