The Footballsouth Premier league match between Northern and Green Island at the Gardens on Saturday became a lottery due to the surface of the pitch.
Lumps and bumps, patches of wet sand and the plateau left from an old cricket pitch destroyed many promising moves.
Northern started well with spirited play under caretaker coach Murray Devereux and, forcing errors in the green ranks, Tom McLean beat keeper Nick Grant with a well-hit shot to open the scoring after seven minutes.
However Green Island's pace and energy overcame the corrugated conditions and forced Northern to defend in depth.
Malcolm Fleming's side turned on a gritty hard-running performance both on and off the ball, initiated by Taylor McCormack when he darted through to equalise in the 16th minute.
The front-running pace generated by McCormack, Joel Stevens and Jack Kirkwood repeatedly caught Northern defenders.
The erratic bounce of the ball favoured hungry attackers and, in the 24th minute, McCormack pounced on a handling error by Northern keeper Blair Brown, and it was 2-1.
Midfield powerhouse Cody Robinson made it 3-1, and Scott Gannon leapt high to celebrate his first Green Island goal minutes later for 4-1.
Northern was well served by Cam McPhail and Craig Wilkinson going forward but, at breakdown of play, the home team's shape was full of gaps.
The 6-2 win lifted Green Island into fourth place in the FPL, while Northern is now second-bottom with a 3-2 result over Mosgiel its only win of the season.
