The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Deveronvale take a stroll against out-of-sorts Clach
Home manager Charlesworth happy after season’s best show
Vale then added number four through a diving header from Scott in the 67th minute and substitute Graeme Watt added number five a minute from time, flicking home another Urquhart free kick.
Clach were left to play the last 19 minutes with only 10 men after substitute Deveronvale advanced to the second round of the Scottish Cup after hitting five goals without reply against a disappointing Clachnacuddin outfit.
After Vale had taken the lead through Martin Charlesworth in the 22nd minute there was only going to be one winner.
Vale doubled their advantage a minute before the break when Shawn Scott and Martin Finnis rose in the box with Scott claiming the final touch.
Four minutes after the restart another free kick into the box from John Urquhart, who had hit the crossbar earlier, caused panic in the Clach defence and Graeme Rodger fired home from seven yards. Scott Graham was shown a red card by inconsistent referee Tom Shaw.
Vale manager Charles Charlesworth was far happier with his team’s display and said: “We had a bit of a ropey start but after we got the first goal we just seemed to kick-on and as a group we probably performed better than we have so far this season.
“We asked our defensive wide players in our 4-4-2 formation to be a little bit different, and give us the width in attack. The key to our victory was that everyone seemed to be more confident, John Urquhart and Graeme Rodger were right on the button, especially with their deliveries into the box.
“Clach are a tough team to play against but as it was a cup game they threw more players forward to try to get back into the game.”
Lilywhites’ manager Iain Polworth pulled no punches, when he said: “I feel sorry for the club and also for the supporters who came down to watch us.
“Vale dominated, it was really men against boys as we were bullied all over the park. At 1-0 down I would have expected better from us, but we gave them a chance right on half-time by conceding a cheap free kick, and they had great deliveries all day and made us pay.
“We didn’t turn up – we were an embarrassment.”