The Mariners enjoyed a 5-1 win over North Queensland Fury in Townsville with McKinna getting the better of his former assistant, Fury's Ian Ferguson.

"Our finishing tonight was outstanding. On paper it looks like a very easy win, but I can assure you it was very hard," said McKinna.
 
"They put us under pressure and hit the woodwork twice. Danny Vukovic showed he is the best goalkeeper in the league with some of those saves, and we did the job.
 
"It's hard to come here, with the travel, the time and the humidity. The boys were running their legs off at the finish.
 
"It's an achievement to come here and get that many, it's a credit to the team, their finishing, their concentration and their hard work defensively, because they put us under a lot of pressure."
 
Goals to Pedj Bojic, Ahmad Elrich and John Hutchinson, as well as a powerful double to in-form striker Nik Mrdja confirmed back-to-back victories for the first time this season.
 
More significantly, the club enjoyed its most lucrative day at the office in history, scoring five goals in an A-League match for the first time ever.

"We've done well against teams at the top of the league but struggled against teams at the bottom. Although there's not much in it we've sometimes taken our foot off the pedal, and it was a big mental focus tonight to get back-to-back," said McKinna.
 
The win provides a huge confidence boost for the team, who will head back to Bluetongue Stadium next Friday night for the first time since the 3-0 victory over Gold Coast back in October.
 
"Going back to Bluetongue on the back of a great run is great for us. We have played five games (away from home), three wins, Brisbane, Melbourne and Fury, a draw against Adelaide and we got beaten by Newcastle.
 
"It's a huge achievement for the boys getting that form on the road, but going back-to-back gets that momentum going, it's a huge win for the club," McKinna said.
 
Pedj Bojic got the ball rolling tonight with his 22nd minute strike, and, along with outstanding goalkeeper Danny Vukovic, was a shining light.
 
"I'm enjoying the freedom to get a bit further forward now and getting more involved with the play, and tonight I was lucky enough to get on the scoresheet and help out with a few goals, so it's going well so far," said Bojic.
 
"This is probably the trickiest part of the season and to get the results we have been is pretty phenomenal for an away record.
 
"Now coming home, it's not as though the pressure is off us, because we still have to keep it on and keep the home record going, because we haven't lost at home yet this season."