It was Coleraine rather than Storm Boelo who wreaked havoc at Seaview on Saturday as they romped to a 5-0 victory over 10-man Crusaders.

Their biggest win of the season, and a fourth in a row since defeat by Linfield at the end of September, helped them leapfrog the Blues and return to the top of the Irish Premiership table.

It was a clinical and professional display from Ruaidhri Higgins’ side in difficult conditions as they picked up a seventh away win from seven games on the road this season to open up a two-point gap at the summit.

There were four different scorers on Saturday (alongside an unfortunate own goal from Crusaders’ Jacob Blaney) and all four were well-crafted.

After Scot Rough was sent off for a lunging challenge on Ben Wylie after 11 minutes, the midfielder produced a fine poked finish into the far corner for the opener seven minutes later.

Then, Senan Devine added a super second when he rifled into the top corner from range.

Captain Joel Cooper swept home a third to finish off a flowing team move before the break, with Blaney then turning home a corner for their fourth in the second half.

Former Crusaders striker Adam Brooks got off the mark for his new club as he slid in to score a fifth, again after some patient build-up play, to complete a satisfactory afternoon for the Bannsiders in north Belfast.

“It’s a good day for us. We scored some brilliant goals. The first three goals are exceptional team goals,” Higgins told BBC Sportsound.

“Don’t get me wrong, the sending off definitely helped us, it was really early in the game.

“Seaview has been good to us in the last year, we have got good results here and scored lots of goals here and delighted with our afternoon’s work.”

Former Glentoran captain Paul Leeman, who was at the game as a co-commentator for BBC Sport NI, said that Higgins’ side produced a “totally dominant display” in easing to victory.

“From the start of the game they came out with a real purpose, took the game to Crusaders early on and it looked like it would be difficult for Crusaders to contain them,” he added.

“The second half they were professional. They controlled the game, managed the game and we saw some great goals. Coleraine really showed their quality.”

Leeman singled out Wylie and Devine as standout performers, with both making meaningful contributions on a day in which the league’s top scorer Matthew Shevlin struggled and missed a big chance to score.

With the game all but over as a contest after 40 minutes, the biggest challenge for Coleraine in the second half was the elements, which Higgins remarked were “as bad as you’ll see”.

“The rain and wind blowing a gale, it was difficult but I thought our players were really professional, applied themselves brilliantly and we got to use our squad today as well which was important.”

A raft of second-half changes, including the introductions of the likes of Brooks, Lyndon Kane and Joe Thomson showed Coleraine’s depth and helped them keep the intensity high against a young Crues side, with everyone desperate to stake a claim to play a greater role in upcoming big games against Glentoran and Linfield.

The stats make good reading for Higgins’ men, who are living up to the billing as favourites to end a 52-year wait for the Gibson Cup this season.

The Irish Cup holders have only dropped five points from their 13 league games and last season’s top scorers have already bagged 31 goals during this campaign while conceding just 12.

Taking on Glentoran in Duncan Ferguson’s first game in charge on Friday followed by an away game against in-form Linfield on Saturday, 7 November in their next two games, both live on BBC iPlayer, will present much stiffer challenges for Higgins’ side than they faced against the Crues.

Yet, they have already shown they can win in many different ways this campaign; whether it be ugly against the likes of Limavady, by coming from behind as they did against Larne, or in stylish fashion befitting of the quality they have in their squad, as they did on Saturday.