DELIGHTED Sauchie Juniors boss Fraser Duncan heaped praise on his players after their thumping 5-0 win away to Newburgh saw them advance to the second round of the Scottish Cup last weekend. 

The latest victory, their ninth win in a row, saw the Wee County outfit maintained their 100 percent record in all competitions this season and the gaffer admits the players continue to give him a selection headache every single week at the moment. 

Duncan told Advertiser Sport: “Last weekend was a great result for us because you never know what to expect when you go there. It really was into the unknown for us, but I thought the whole team were absolutely superb and it was a great day out for the whole club.

“Newburgh have a lovely setup there. The pitch was in great condition and the facilities were excellent so we cannot fault them. 

"They are a Super League team up there and they’re sitting sixth with some good results, so we were wary going in, but as soon as the game started you could tell there was a real gulf in class.

"Our boys just went about their jobs really well and got the job done. The whole team played really well so I am really happy to go there and win 5-0 to advance in the cup. 

“I had to leave out Ryan Millar, who has been suffering from a bug this week, but it gave Daz Cummings the chance to come back in and he did very well.

"Mark Sharp also came into the side with Iain Syme being on holiday and I thought his defending and his contribution to the whole game was outstanding. They have both now given me a selection headache for this week, but it is a nice problem to have.” 

Duncan was quick to heap praise on veteran striker Iain Diack after the former Albion Rovers and Stenhousemuir hitman struck his second hat trick of the season already during the emphatic cup win in Aberdeenshire. 

He said: “Iain Diack has been tremendous for us this season. He is doing a lot more coaching with us this season and he is always coming in with fresh ideas every week.

"At the same time though, he is still working on his own game and you can see that paying off for him with the goals he has scored already. I should maybe have made him a coach sooner.

“He took his goals well on Saturday, but I also think the quality of service he is getting now is first class with the three in behind him.

"Josh Flood, Ryan Millar and Brian Morgan all have the quality to feed the strikers and with the likes of Daz Cummings and James McAteer there as well, we have great competition for places across the whole team.”

The 32-year-old boss is now preparing his side for a difficult test against the only side to run them close this season, as Haddington Athletic are the visitors to Beechwood Park for the second time this season on Saturday.

But the talented young manager revealed he will also be keeping one eye on this weekend’s draw for the next round of Scottish Cup in the hope his side can finally catch a bit of luck with a home tie. 

Duncan added: “Obviously, we want to stay in the Scottish Cup for as long as we possibly can because there is no doubt it is a motivator.

"Players get extra confidence from being involved in it and so hopefully this Saturday’s draw can bring us some luck with a good home draw. We haven’t had a home draw in about four years so we are surely long overdue a home game at Beechwood in the Scottish.

“Haddington will be another tough game for us and to be honest they are the one team that has pushed us the most this season.

"It was a last gasp winner for us when we beat them in the East of Scotland Cup. That game was a really tight affair and I expect that this one will be exactly the same again. We go into the game full of confidence and desperate to keep our winning run going.”