Jags put five past Montrose as Stranraer sweep Stenhousemuir aside

ZAK RUDDEN scored twice as Partick Thistle moved up to second in Scottish League One with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Montrose.

Stuart Bannigan, Scott Tiffoney and Shea Gordon were also on target at Firhill as the

Jags moved within a point of leaders Falkirk, although they have now played a game more.

Rudden set up the convincing win with his first-half double, turning in a Richard Foster cross after 20 minutes and then lashing in a second from outside the box eight minutes before the interval.

The one-way traffic continued after the break as Bannigan curled in a free-kick, Tiffoney added another and Gordon tapped in the fifth 13 minutes from time.

Dumbarton, meanwhile, climbed above relegation rivals Clyde with a 1-0 win at Broadwood.

Nat Wedderburn scored the only goal of the game in firsthalf injury time as he headed home from a Ross Forbes freekick.

In League Two, Stranraer stepped up their promotion bid with a comprehensive 4-0 home win against play-off rivals Stenhousemuir.

Stevie Farrell’s side scored three goals inside four first-half minutes through James Hilton, Thomas Orr and Ruari Paton to take complete control.

Paton’s shot from outside the penalty area early in the second period hit a post, but the Irish striker doubled his tally in the 73rd minute, while Stranraer created plenty of other chances.

The Blues leapfrogged Elgin into fourth place, the last playoff spot, while Stenhousemuir stayed sixth but slipped six points off the pace in the race for a top-four finish.