Detroit City FC demolished Sporting JAX 6-2 on the road Saturday night, powered by a five-goal masterclass from Darren Smith. Kobe Hernández-Foster added a late sixth, while Emil Jääskeläinen and Kieran Sadlier scored in a losing effort for the hosts.

Sporting JAX actually struck first. Jääskeläinen finished from a Rafferty Pedder delivery in the ninth minute to give the home side an early lead. It lasted four minutes. Smith equalized in the 13th, then put Detroit ahead in the 26th after a pass from Ben Morris. He completed his first-half hat trick deep into stoppage time before the break, sending Detroit into halftime with a 3-1 cushion.

The second half brought no relief for JAX. Smith grabbed his fourth in the 57th minute, converting after work from Preston Tabort Etaka, and the game was effectively over. Sadlier pulled one back for the hosts in the 69th minute, set up by Jääskeläinen, but it was little more than a consolation. Smith wasn't done — he netted his fifth in the 81st minute, fed by Hernández-Foster, before Hernández-Foster got on the scoresheet himself in the 92nd minute to cap the rout.

The match grew increasingly fractious as the deficit widened, with six yellow cards handed out across both sides — three to each team — though the referee's notebook stayed free of any reds.

Smith's five-goal haul marks one of the standout individual performances of the USL Championship season so far, and the emphatic away win will give Detroit City FC serious momentum heading into the summer stretch of fixtures.