Hat-trick hero Burns is on fire for Shotts
Danny Burns helped himself to a hat-trick as Shotts thumped Irvine Victoria 5-1 in Ayrshire on Saturday.
That saw Shotts rocket up two places to fifth in the Mcbookie. com Championship table.
They are now six points behind idle Blantyre Vics, having played two more games.
Mikey Mcwilliams put the visitors ahead with a header in 14 minutes.
But it took until three minutes into the second half before they got their second, with the first of Burns’ hat-trick, and John Henderson rounded off the rout.
Joy Goma pulled a goal back for Vics, but they had Jordan Craig dismissed for a second booking.
Lanark United stretched their lead at the top of League 1 to three points over Ardrossan Winton Rovers, with a 3-2 win over Carluke Rovers at the John Cumming Stadium.
Larkhall Thistle shot from ninth to sixth with a 4-1 win at home to basement side Royal Albert.
Lesmahagow lost 4-1 at struggling Girvan and remain in fourth place, but Shettleston are a point behind them with six games in hand.
Third-bottom Wishaw did Lanark a favour by holding Ardrossan to a 2-2 draw.
Idle Bellshill slipped down a place to seventh, after their game at home to Port Glasgow was postponed.
Carluke took the lead in six minutes through Jordan Conlon, but Mark Haddow levelled for Lanark three minutes later.
Despite striker Ian Watt being sent off, Kieran Brannon had United 2-1 ahead in 45 minutes, and a Lewis Hill penalty saw them high and dry in 65 minutes, though Jamie Dickson pulled a goal back for Rovers with five minutes left.
Larkhall Thistle raced to a 4-1 lead at the interval, with Mark Cuthbertson getting the ball rolling, before Jack Currie bagged a double either side of a strike by Bartosz Mackiewicz. Adam Richardson scored Albert’s consolation.
Albert are still only four points behind East Kilbride Thistle, but having played a game more.
Kris Jarvie scored for Lesmahagow in 60 minutes at Girvan, reducing the leeway to 2-1 after strikes by Andy Reid and Craig Harvey had put the hosts ahead.
As they were chasing a leveller, they conceded a penalty, which Reid converted, and Kieran Balfour ran the length of the pitch to score a fourth deep into stoppage time.
Wishaw went close to causing an upset at Ardrossan Winton Rovers on Saturday.
The hosts took the lead when Chris Mcintyre headed into his own goal, but two goals in three second-half minutes had them ahead, as Ryan Smillie levelled from the spot in 47 minutes and Greg Miller put them ahead two minutes later.
That is how it stayed until Liam Mcmenamay bagged an equaliser in 87 minutes. Newmains United bagged only their fifth win of the season in League 2, beating Lugar Boswell Thistle 3-2.
That keeps them 12th-place in the 15-team league, five points ahead of Saltcoats Vics, but nine behind St Anthony’s.
United went 3-0 up inside 39 minutes, with goals from William Mcglone, co-manager Craig Gupwell and David Menelaws, with Lugar netting twice to provide a nervy finish.
It’s been so long since Gupwell last netted he can’t remember his last goal, but he said: “I am just glad to have broken my duck for Newmains, and if the deliveries continue coming, I’m sure it won’t be the last goal I score this season.”