SAUCHIE defender Stewart Houston believes his side learned the lessons of their defeat to Dunipace as they brushed aside Easthouse Lily in the King Cup.

The Reds' promotion push suffered another blow midweek as they were held to a 2-2 draw by the second from bottom Denny side at Beechwood.

They travelled to Midlothian on Friday night looking for an immediate response and duly obliged by thrashing the East of Scotland Conference A side 4-1.

Sauchie's reward for their emphatic win will be the visit of Newtongrange Star in the quarter finals on Saturday, May 4.

Houston told Advertiser Sport: "We knew it was going to be a pretty winnable game going into the game, but we knew we couldn't just expect to turn up and win.

"We got off to a really good start and were 2-0 after like five minutes and scored from our first two chances.

"It was a solid performance after a tough week. All we had to do was go out and get the job done and get into the next round and we did that.

"We found out last Tuesday just how difficult it can be to be the clear favourites. We didn't exactly go out and perform. We learned our lessons from that."

Ross Crawford continued his fine form by netting all four goals in Friday night's game as he made it seven in just three games.

And Houston hopes his form will continue for their two remaining league games against Haddington Athletic and Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale as the Reds go in search of a crucial six points to have any chance of securing a top-five place and promotion.

The 23-year-old added: "More goals for Ross is great for him and will give him a lot of confidence going forward.

"All we need to do is go out and win the last two games. We can't change anything that the other teams do. All we can do is win and keep the pressure on them.

"We can't change any of the previous results. What's done is done."