Hot-shotts fire their way up table with 5-0 victory

A five-star display saw Shotts land on top of the Mcbookie.com Championship on the opening day of the season.

A remarkable second-half demolition job saw the county side beat Petershill 5-0 in Glasgow.

A goal-less first half was probably greeted more favourably by Petershill, while Shotts were given a rocket.

The visitors took the lead five minutes into the second half, when Barry Eley’s cross was volleyed in by Adam Hunter.

Shotts doubled that lead five minutes later, when Paul Mcgeough set up Craig Hastings to go on a run before he slotted a shot into the bottom corner.

Hunter and Hastings then turned provider, setting up Jordan Love for a simple tap-in finish in 67 minutes.

Hastings grabbed his second and Shotts’fourth in 74 minutes from a Dean Sutherland throw-in, and Sutherland was also provider for Mcgeough to score the fifth in 84 minutes.

Newly-promoted Blantyre Vics landed second bottom of the table following a 4-1 opening day defeat at Cumbernauld United.

Promotion-chasing United took the lead just before half-time when Chris Hall set up Scott Thomson and he finished high past Liam Campbell.

Vics nearly pulled level early in the second half when the ball fell to Kieran Coleman 12 yards out, but his shot was pushed over the bar by Darren Hill.

The hosts doubled their lead on the hour-mark when Campbell fouled Paddy Mccabe in the box and Kieran Mcaleenan scored the first of his hat-trick from the spot.

Mcaleenan put Cumbernauld 3-0 in front with a curling effort into the top corner in 72 minutes.

Mccabe then turned sinner and was penalised for a foul on Aaron Black inside the box, allowing Ross Caldwell to pull a goal back for Vics from the spot four minutes later.

Any hopes Vics had of a comeback were thwarted in 85 minutes when Mcaleenan completed his hat-trick with a 20-yard rocket.

A busy week saw Blantyre host Darvel last night (Wednesday) while Shotts entertained Cumbernauld United. On Saturday, Blantyre are at Dalry Thistle, while Shotts entertain Cumbernauld. That will provide preparation for Shotts as they visit Lanark United in the Sectional League Cup last 16 the following Wednesday, with the winner going through to a quarter-final date with either Cambuslang or Rutherglen two days later.