McBookie.com South Division: Oakley United 6 Crossgates Primrose 1

A POWERFUL second-half display helped Oakley United take the derby bragging rights as they hit Crossgates Primrose for six on Saturday.

Lee Richardson’s side were buoyant after knocking mid-table Super League side Broxburn Athletic out of the East of Scotland Cup in their last outing and they surged away from their South Division rivals with a dominant performance.

Primrose manager Alan Campbell conceded his side were second best at Blairwood Park but, despite losing a goal after just 25 seconds, they were in the game until a two-goal burst before the break put the hosts in control.

A threadbare Oakley squad was without the services of centre back and skipper Jon Tully but he wasn’t needed as they made a lightening start.

In-form winger Derrick Murray fired them ahead almost straight from the kick-off but Crossgates rallied, pulling level thanks to Mark Wilkie’s 23rd-minute penalty, with Murray the sinner in conceding the spot-kick.

Oakley had had a claim of their own turned down minutes before the award but regained the lead thanks to Lee Duffy’s excellent strike from outside the area, which was added to just before half-time by James McAteer’s far-post header.

From then on it was all about the home team and Joe Dawson’s double and a Duffy penalty, following a foul on Barry Allan, earned Richardson’s men an impressive victory.

“In the second half, we ran riot and played some really good football,” the Oakley boss beamed.

“Young Joe Dawson scored two crackers but our second-half performance overall really was fantastic. In the first half it was nip and tuck; it was a proper junior derby and I thought it was a really good game to watch.

“We’ve been trying to get them to play like that all season but we’ve had people on holiday, injured and suspended, so we’ve not always been able to play the same back four.

“In the last three games we’ve played some really good stuff and it’s starting to click for us. We played Lee Duffy in midfield and his calming influence was great. The experience he’s got is fantastic and the boys are all learning from him.

“We were down to the bare bones and I’m struggling for a team this week; I’ve only got 11 players, and two of them are goalkeepers!

“It’s not ideal going to the team second top (West Calder United) with half a team.”

Primrose counterpart Campbell had no complaints about the outcome, and commented: “We lost a goal after 25 seconds which was utterly bizarre, and then we lost our captain Chris Hughes to a hamstring injury, who’s a big player for us. For the first half-an-hour there wasn’t much in the game; we equalised and were doing OK but then lost a couple of silly goals before half-time. They stepped it up after that and there’s no complaints from me about the result.

“We’ve got to get together and work in training to try and find consistency in our results and performances. It’s been stop-start for us but we’ve got to remember where the club has come from.

“They only won four games last season so that tells you how much rebuilding we have to do.”

Rosyth 5 Craigroyston 2

ROSYTH turned on the style as a clinical second-half display helped them record a convincing win over Craigroyston on Saturday.

Mark McCulloch’s equaliser ensured that Rosyth went into half-time level at 1-1 but they made sure of a second win of the campaign thanks to strikes from Steven Slimmings, Stan Chitemere, Gregg Page and an own goal, with David Swan’s reply for the visitors nothing more than scant consolation.

The victory leaves Barry Cockburn’s side eighth in the table on six points, just two adrift of Armadale in fourth, while top two Edinburgh United and West Calder United lead the way with maximum points from their opening five games.

East of Scotland League: Kelty Hearts 7 Ormiston 0

KELTY HEARTS boss Thomas Courts believes that his players are relishing the “more technical” challenge that they are facing in the East of Scotland League.

And he says that there will be no margin for error if they want to achieve their aim of winning promotion to the Lowland League at the first time of asking since leaving the junior ranks.

The on-form New Central Park outfit maintained their 100 per cent winning record in the league as they reached seventh heaven against Ormiston on Saturday.

Scott Dalziel put Kelty ahead in the first half before Sean O’Neil and Stephen Husband scored early after the break to give them a 3-0 lead.

Dalziel’s second of the match and further goals from Husband, Errol Douglas and Stuart Cargill sealed a fine afternoon’s work to leave Hearts top of the table on goal difference.

They’ve hit the net an astonishing 23 times in just three games but Courts said: “Externally, people might think Kelty are racking up all these goals so it’s too easy for them. That’s not really true; against Coldstream (5-2 win) it was a much closer game than the score suggests and for 45 minutes on Saturday – although we were 1-0 up at half-time and I thought we were always comfortable – I didn’t feel like we were near our fluid best.

“We scored a couple of early goals after half-time and after that the floodgates opened.

“As a club and a group of players, we’re enjoying this new venture. Teams are more flexible in terms of their formations than in the juniors and I think have more in-game intelligence.

“From what I’ve seen so far, the East of Scotland and Lowland leagues are more technical and it’s causing our players to think more and make more decisions. A lot of teams are tactically astute and I think that’s a challenge the players are enjoying.”

Kelty travel to Lowland League Selkirk on Saturday in the South Challenge Cup and Courts added: “They’ve had a good start in the Lowland League. Their manager is experienced, they’re coached very well and are sitting fifth, but we’ll go there to try and impress our game on them.

“It allows us to see how these teams operate and maintain our journey from a junior club. We only want to be in this league for a season in the best-case scenario but it is a work in progress.

“We’ve been a successful team over the last three years, have good players and are capable of competing to win the league, but the lads know there’s no margin for error.”

Saturday’s fixtures (kick-offs 2.30pm): McBookie.com South Division – Crossgates Primrose v Harthill Royal, Kirkcaldy YM v Rosyth, West Calder United v Oakley United. South Challenge Cup: Selkirk v Kelty Hearts.