AT SOME point, Sauchie will finally catch a break.

Unfortunately, they will have to wait a little longer as it seems the Wee County faithful are paying the collective price for walking under enough ladders to last a lifetime.

First, it was the lengthy wait to discover which league they would be playing in this season. Then, on the very same day, it was the shock resignation of Iain Diack.

Martin Mooney, who rode into the Wee County so full of promise, was already on the back foot by the time he took the reins. Despite plenty to suggest he was the man to turn the corner, injuries, suspension and stuttering form soon put paid to that.

Personal reasons have temporarily curtailed his own time at the helm and for now it's been up to his trusty deputies Darren Cummings and Darren Petrie to steer the good ship Sauchie.

But, it's a vessel which isn't clear of the choppy waters quite yet and Saturday was a timely reminder of the job at hand.

Civil Service Strollers might not be a name held up in the annals of Scottish football, but make no mistake they are sitting mid-table in the Lowland League for a reason and didn't need the charity of Sauchie to leave their mark.

The help of referee Stewart Luke was hardly required either and Josh Morris couldn't believe his luck when his foul on Brett Young went unpunished to leave him with an open goal. He made no mistake with the opener.

Not content with one contentious decision, the referee was on hand at the death to deny the increasingly desperate hosts a blatant penalty when a beleaguered Civil Service Strollers player palmed a goalbound header away. In his defence, the linesmen-less official was the wrong side to see it unlike those baying for blood in the Jimmy Millar stand.

This was a much better performance from the Reds than the end result suggested as they matched the visitors blow for blow. They played their hearts out and it was in no small part to the displays Stewart Houston, Kris Faulds and David McCaughie.

But it was the performance of Wee Sauchie starlet Jeremiah Otonti, who showed so much in his first ever game for Petrie and Cummings' side, which suggested the future could be on the verge of brightening.

The Strollers took the lead after only 12 minutes through Morris but Sauchie refused to wilt. Faulds, often the lynchpin of attack, nearly broke the bar with a free kick before Mark Finlayson got on the end of a wonderful David Cross ball over the top to threaten. His chipped effort just didn't quite find the lift to beat Josh Donaldson.

Chances at both ends were few and far between but Young's handling was tested by a stinging drive from a long range effort and Civil clipped the bar as they looked to make it two.

But Petrie and Cummings' boys steadied the ship to force the issue in the second half with McCaughie, Faulds and Graeme McGregor doing their best to address the deficit.

McGregor got his just rewards on the hour mark when he got on the end of Faulds' inviting delivery to loop an effort into the net and suddenly the shock looked on.

Wave after red wave crashed toward the visitors' goal in search of a priceless winner. First, Cross saw a header hooked off the line before Otonti mistimed his jump to squander another golden opportunity.

Then came the hammer blow to end Sauchie's hopes almost as quickly as they had begun. Morris popped up unmarked to nod the winner beyond the reach of Young and any whispers of another rousing comeback ended when Luke waved away the late penalty claims.

The dark days are not quite over yet. But, just beyond the pines which surround Beechwood, a glimmer of light is shining through.

SAUCHIE: Young, Houston, McKeown, Cross, Turnbull, Faulds, Finalyson (McTaggart 46), McGregor, McCaughie, Otonti, Munro. UNUSED SUBS: Sharp, Dawson, Blyth, McKara, Dolan