Teerasak Poeiphimai fired a double to guide hosts Port to a 4-1 hammering of Sukhothai in a Thai League 1 clash on Tuesday night.
The victory pushed Port past defending champions Buriram United to the top spot with a full 12 points from four matches. Buriram could reassume the role of the top-flight leaders tonight if they beat Khon Kaen in a northeastern derby.
The defeat restricted Sukhothai to four points and they slipped to ninth place in the table.
Port coach Rangsan Viwatchaichok said what really inspired his men to the thumping victory over Sukhothai was the support of the home crowd.
"It was a good game from our players -- we played really well tonight," said Rangsan.
"We have moved to the top spot again in the standings and I hope our fans will keep on cheering and supporting the team."
Port took the lead after eight minutes when Bordin Phala struck home. It was followed by another goal for the home team when Pakorn Prempak's corner kick found defender Isaac Honny for a header nine minutes later.
In the second half, Sukhothai tried to launch attacks, but their efforts failed to trouble the Port defenders in any way.
Shortly after the Fire Bats' Hikaru Matsui was denied by Port goalkeeper Worawut Srisupa, the hosts got their third goal of the match through second-half substitute Teerasak.
Sukhothai's Matheus Custodio made the score look somewhat respectable by finding the net in the dying moments, but Teerasak struck again in added time to complete the rout.
Meanwhile, Nongbua Pitchaya came back from three goals down to steal a point at Lamphun Warriors in the other game on Tuesday night.