Sean Maguire bagged a hat-trick as Cork City defeated second placed Dundalk 3-0 at Oriel Park.
The away side already had a commanding lead at the top of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division and that advantage has now been extended to 18 points as clubs pass the halfway point of the season.
Maguire, who has been tipped for a place in the Ireland senior squad, continued his prolific contribution to the Cork City cause with three goals spread across the 19th, 70th and 90th minutes for his 14th, 15th and 16th goals of the season.
Reigning champions Dundalk remain second but below them there were changes.
Derry City move three points behind Dundalk after a 2-1 win over bottom side Galway United.
Early goals from Ronan Curtis and Nathan Boyle had the Candystripes in control, although Gary Shanahan pulled one goal back on 25 minutes.
Bray Wanderers slipped out of the Top 3 after losing an eight goal thriller 5-3 at Limerick.
Chiedozie Ogbene scored an early brace for Limerick while Rodrigo Tosi, Bastien Hery and Dean Clarke also netted for the home side.
Ryan Brennan, Aaron Greene and Gary McCabe scored for Bray.
Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic drew 1-1 at Tallaght Stadium with Graham Burke scoring an early opener for Rovers and Christy Fagan levelling for Pats.
The games between Bohemians and Drogheda United, and Sligo Rovers and Finn Harps both finished scoreless.
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