Kirkcaldy YM 0 Rosyth 9

ROSYTH went goal-crazy in Saturday’s South Division derby as they annihilated Kirkcaldy YM at Denfield Park.

Trebles from Tam Hampson and Scott Russell contributed to a crushing win.

Rosyth were always in control and superior to their helpless opponents and it didn’t take them long to set about securing the victory as Russell scored twice inside the opening seven minutes.

Talisman Hampson then took over and helped himself to two goals of his own to put the visitors four up after 25 minutes.

The home side tried to respond but could only muster a couple of half-chances before half-time and Dale Prattis made it five just after the hour mark.

The red-hot visitors continued to dominate and heaped more woe on the well-beaten hosts by adding four more goals.

Stanley Chitemere’s double took the scoreline to a magnificent seven before Hampson and Russell ensured there would be a debate over who would take home the match ball as they completed their respective hat-tricks as Kirkcaldy were finally put out of their misery.

Crossgates Primrose 3 Harthill Royal 5

CROSSGATES PRIMROSE were left empty-handed for the second successive match after letting a two-goal lead slip against Harthill Royal.

Dale Allan’s 30th-minute opener put them in front before Mark Wilkie doubled Primrose’s advantage four minutes later from the penalty spot.

The visitors pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time and they then went on to net twice more before the hour mark to turn the contest on its head.

With 10 minutes to go, Harthill struck a fourth goal and, although Andrew Watt’s 89th-minute goal gave Crossgates hope of snatching a draw, a fifth in added time secured the points for the visitors.

The result leaves Primrose ninth in the table with six points from six games ahead of this weekend’s visit to second-bottom Stoneyburn.

West Calder United 2 Oakley United 2

LEE RICHARDSON admitted he had mixed emotions after his threadbare Oakley United side came within six minutes of a fine win at joint-top West Calder United.

Fergus Lockhart and Barry Allan looked to have secured the three points with two goals in five second-half minutes but David Love’s equaliser spared the blushes of the hosts, who also finished with 10 men.

Richardson was without five regulars and drafted in three trialists – of whom two started – to avoid a selection crisis but he suffered a blow after 25 minutes when influential midfielder Kevin Gollan was forced off with a pulled hamstring.

Lockhart – himself only just returning to fitness after four weeks out with injury – was sent on but, despite an even opening period, West Calder took the lead five minutes from the break when Ross Morison lashed in after Oakley failed to clear from a corner.

The Blairwood Park men upped their game after half-time and, after a trialist and James McAteer both spurned excellent opportunities, pulled level with 20 minutes left through Lockhart.

They then turned the game on its head soon afterwards when the impressive Allan netted but injury haunted Oakley again when they lost centre back Willie Gardiner with 10 minutes left.

That seemed to upset the visitors and, after they survived West Calder hitting their bar after they were reduced to 10 men for two yellow card offences, they conceded when Love’s shot from the edge of the area came through a crowd of players and nestled in the bottom corner.

Richardson said: “It was a strange game. If you’d said to me before the game that we’d come away with a draw, I’d have snapped your hand off considering we had five players missing and were down to the bare bones.

“It was probably a fair result on the balance of play but I think if Willie hadn’t been injured, we would’ve held on.

“You’d take a draw against a team that’s unbeaten at the top of the league and we were playing with four walking wounded near the end. The desire from the players over the last few weeks on the park has been fantastic.”

Richardson added that he should have captain Jon Tully, Joe Dawson and Lee Halpin available for this weekend.

South of Scotland Challenge Cup: Selkirk 0 Kelty Hearts 4

THOMAS COURTS was left purring by his side’s performance as Kelty Hearts strolled past Lowland League outfit Selkirk in the South of Scotland Challenge Cup.

The New Central Park boss had anticipated a tough test for the East of Scotland League newcomers against their higher-league opponents but they struck three first-half goals to make light work of this tie.

Kelty have hit a staggering 23 goals in their opening three league games and, despite sitting sixth in their division, Selkirk had no answer to Courts’ in-form side.

Errol Douglas helped himself to a hat-trick and it didn’t take him long to find the net when he took an excellent touch from Scott Dalziel’s cut-back to take the ball away from his marker before rifling an unstoppable shot high into the net.

The visitors were in the ascendancy from then on and, midway through the half, they struck again when Stephen Husband’s excellent set-piece delivery from the right was met by the leaping Dalziel to head home from eight yards.

The tie was all but over before the break when Dalziel again turned provider, this time latching on to Ross Philp’s pass that took two home defenders out of the game before squaring for Douglas, who stroked home from close range.

Kelty continued to dominate after the break and Douglas completed his treble and the scoring when Garry Leighton’s long diagonal pass 10 yards inside his own half was missed in the air by a Selkirk centre back.

The striker didn’t know too much about it as the ball struck his head but fell perfectly for him to side-foot home from 12 yards and send Kelty into the next round.

Saturday’s fixtures (kick-offs 2.30pm): East of Scotland League Cup First Round – Kelty Hearts v Preston Athletic. Scottish Junior Cup – Rosyth v East Craigie. McBookie.com South Division – Oakley United v Easthouses Lily, Stoneyburn Juniors v Crossgates Primrose.