It took Stephen Baxter's side just three minutes to open the scoring when Chris Morrow turned home a Stephen Shaw free-kick at close range.

And six minutes later another Shaw left wing free saw Colin Coates rise to glance a header past Robert Robinson.

Goal number three arrived after half-an-hour when Ciaran Gargin collected a David Larmour ball down the left wing and carried it forward before despatching it low into the far corner.

The shell shocked visitors might have pulled one back before the break through Bryan McCrystal only for his 25-yard effort to be tipped onto an upright by Crues keeper Neill Armstrong.

However they fell further behind a minute into the second half when Davy Munster outsprinted everyone else to reach a long ball out of defence which he duly chipped over Robinson from just inside the area.

David Rainey then turned home the fifth on 63 minutes following an excellent build up move from Larmour and Shaw while Morrow grabbed his second of the game on 75 minutes with a header from a Colin Beggs cross.

Then, three minutes after that, Gargin got his name on the scoresheet again with a header also from a Beggs cross.