Aitken to the four as Shotts rattle in 13
Five county clubs in next round of Scottish Cup
Shotts excelled in their Scottish Cup second round tie against Muirkirk on Saturday scoring 13 without reply.
They were one of five county clubs to progress – Blantyre Vics beat Lochgelly Albert 3-0, Lanark United beat Dalkeith Thistle 2-1, Bellshill took a 1-0 win from St Roch’s and Thorniewood dumped Dundonald Bluebell 1-0.
Steve Aitken was the ace in the Bonny pack as he rattled in four and Dean Sutherland bagged a hat-trick.
Andy Cross, Ryan Kennedy, Ally Martin, Ross Foley, Dominic O’halloran and Danny Burns helped themselves to goals.
Manager John Gibson was forced to make late changes to the Blantyre side that beat Lochgelly 3-0.
Nadeem Zeb scored an early second-half opener from a Chris Walker pass, Sam Mckenzie scored direct from a corner before hitting the third with a low drive.
Gibson said:”it was a good, hard game played in a strong wind on a heavy pitch.
“I was thrown a bit at kick-off when I noticed that Lochgelly had made five changes from the side I had watched the previous weekend, so we had to do a little re-think ourselves.”
Vics also announced they have released Nathan Cassidy.
Ronan Kearney twice went close before firing Lanark United in front on 40 minutes with a low drive from Peter O’donnell’s pass.
The second half was something of a midfield battle until the 68th minute when Sean Mckenna scored with a low drive from a Scott Schoneville pass.
Dalkeith pulled a goal back in 83 minutes from a Dean Whitson header which resulted in a scuffle between the striker and keeper Alan Colquhoun, with both sent off.
Manager Paul Burns said: “It was a good game and we played well.
“We scored a couple of good goals and went close to adding a couple more.”
Thorniewood United beat Dundonald Bluebell 1-0 at Robertson Park with the winning goal coming from defender Thomas Denholm, one of four new signings who were making their debut.
The other newcomers were goalkeeper Martin Storey and forwards Darren Cook and Kyle Robertson, who was formerly with Bellshill Athletic and Shettleston.
Manager Gerry Bonham said: “It was a really good West v East cup tie.
“We went into the match as the highest-priced cup outsiders and it was a great pleasure for me, personally as manager, to beat the odds with a new-look side.”
Paul Brennan scored Bellshill’s winner at St Roch’s.