John Russell got his spell as permanent Sligo Rovers manager under way in ideal fashion as his Bit O'Red side saw off Finn Harps with ease at the Showgrounds.
Aidan Keena and Karl O’Sullivan struck inside the opening seven minutes of this tie, while Keena completed the rout five minutes from time when he headed home Will Fitzgerald’s cross.
The win sees Sligo return to fifth spot, two points ahead of Bohemians with an extra game played.
Without the suspended Greg Bolger and Adam McDonnell, Sligo made three changes from their under-par performance against UCD three weeks ago, Lewis Banks, David Cawley and Max Mata returning to the side.
Harps boss Ollie Horgan made two changes from their pre-break draw with Derry City, giving starts to Barry McNamee and Yoyo Mahdy, while also including new signing Dylan Duncan, last with QPR, in his match-day squad.
Sligo came out on top in both these sides’ previous meetings this year and things looked good early on for the hosts as they raced into an early two-goal lead.
Keena, who netted a hat-trick in the first meeting of the season between the sides, had Rovers ahead with just three minutes played.
O’Sullivan’s initial cross was repelled by the Harps defence, only for the ball to fall to Keena, who fired an effort from the edge of the area past a number of defenders, including a man on the line, who could do little about keeping the ball in play.
Thing got worse for a Harps outfit in search of just their third win this term when they fell further behind four minutes later.
The Donegal side failed to deal with what seemed a fairly innocuous ball over the top from former player Shane Blaney, allowing O’Sullivan to beat goalkeeper Mark McGinley to the ball, before tapping home from close range.
Despite their early advantage, a sometimes sloppy Rovers did look careless in possession at times and were almost caught out on 13 minutes.
Netminder Ed McGinty kept the scoreline intact when he got down to push away Eric McWoods’ attempt from the angle after the midfielder found himself in oceans of space on the Harps left.
McGinty had to atone for his own error before the break. The Glasgow native allowed Filip Mihaljevic’s shot through his legs, only for the Ireland underage international to recover in time to claim the ball at the second asking.
There were chances for Rovers’ Paddy Kirk and Cawley before the interval, while Rob Slevin fired over from distance for the visitors 10 minutes into the second period as Harps looked to navigate a way back into this tie.
Rovers should have had their third on 67 minutes when Max Mata’s neat flick played in Keena. But the former Falkirk striker got it all wrong at the crucial moment as he seemed to get his foot caught in the turf, only managing to fluff the ball well past the target.
McGinty was on hand to keep Harps scoreless again 11 minutes from time. Mihaljevic and McWoods combined, but the latter saw his low drive pawed away by McGinty.
Russell's charges put the game to bed on 85 minutes when Keena nodded home Fitzgerald's chipped cross, with the Mullingar man heading home from point-blank range.
Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; Lewis Banks, Shane Blaney, Garry Buckley (Nando Pijnkaer HT), Paddy Kirk; Niall Morahan, David Cawley (Kailin Barlow 81); Karl O’Sullivan, Will Fitzgerald; Aidan Keena; Max Mata (Seamas Keogh 68).
Finn Harps: Mark McGinley; Rob Slevin, Jose Carrillo, Conor Tourish; Ethan Boyle, Regan Donelon (Mark Timlin 79); Barry McNamee, Eric McWoods, Ryan Rainey; Filip Mihaljevic (Luke Rudden 82), Yoyo Mahdy (Dylan Duncan HT).
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