FIVE-STAR Sauchie booked a place in the quarter finals of the East of Scotland League Cup with a 5-0 demolition job of Blackburn United.

The Reds hosted the West Lothian side at Beechwood on Saturday and tormented the visitor’s goal right from the first whistle.

Sauchie were ruthless in their chances created, earning a penalty in the opening stages, which Danny Smith converted confidently.

Brian Morgan doubled Sauchie’s lead not long after, nodding the ball over the goalkeeper to net a second for the hosts.

Further chances came Sauchie’s way, but they couldn’t get them over the line – Sam Muir put one over the bar from just outside the box, while Ross Kavanagh misses from close range.

Kavanagh wouldn’t say quiet for long though, scoring two in quick succession to take Sauchie’s lead from two to four.

The Reds went into half time with a strong advantage, giving Blackburn a mountain to climb if they hoped to salvage their cup aspirations.

However, Sauchie were adamant not to let Blackburn have a look on goal, remaining tight at the back and letting Mark Smith add a fifth to their goal tally for the afternoon.

Manager Fraser Duncan was delighted to see his side put on a confident display against Blackburn and looked forward to the next tie.

Speaking to Advertiser Sport, he said: “The boys are eager to stay in this competition as long as we possibly can and they did really well in it.

“There’s been a bit of a disappointment at how early we’ve exited cups this year so we wanted to try prove something in this competition.

“We got right in about it and did the things we wanted to do; passed the ball about really well, and looked a real danger going forward.

“We’re keeping clean sheets at the back which is really pleasing for me. We’re looking for a strong finish to the season in the next few weeks.

“To go four up at half time was great and we came out and created more chances in the second half but just couldn’t score them.

“If you said to me before the game, you’ll win 5-0 I’d have taken it off you right away. It could have been a lot more, we were lethal and clinical and I was really impressed.”

At the time of writing, Sauchie await the results of the other cup game between Lochore Welfare and Hill of Beath.

The winner of that tie will face the Reds in the quarter finals of the cup, with Sauchie now placing the cup as their priority for the tail end of the season.

Duncan added: “We want to finish as high as we possibly can in the league and keep putting points on the board.

“I am expecting Broxburn to have the league tied up this week so then once that’s finished, it’s about us battling for the remaining top spots.

“We want to try and finish every game until the end of the season. We’ll hopefully have a cup final to look forward to as well.

“The cup is basically our priority at the moment.”