MARTIN MOONEY'S bid to turn Sauchie into East Stirling-lite never got going and the Reds’ attempt to play their way to safety has so far missed the mark.

But, Fraser Duncan’s masterplan to fill his side with more battering rams than the Sack of Rome looks like it could yet prove the answer to their relegation plight.

High-flying Broxburn Athletic, fresh from a Scottish Cup thumping of League Two Cowdenbeath, arrived in the Wee County expecting to steamroller their way to victory only for Sauchie’s own behemoths to have the last laugh.

Jordan Wright showed the kind of composure most strikers would sell their soul for when he rolled in the opener before Jon Tully powered home a header to start his latest spell with the Reds in style.

Simon White added a touch of Wee County gloss with a third and, if Sauchie do defy the odds to survive, this will go down as the day the fightback started.

Difficult times are still ahead and the Reds’ battle to beat the drop hasn’t yet been won or lost, but they could have finally stumbled upon the winning formula at the perfect time.

Out went the lovely triangles of the Mooney reign and in came Duncan’s band of bullies who clearly won’t accept their Premier Division fate without a fight.

For what they lacked in mobility, the effort of Duncan’s makeshift strikers Stevie Dolan and Wright couldn’t be doubted as they dug in to win free kicks, headers, and offer their side a way out whenever the visitors tried to turn the screw.

Wright, in particular, wasted little time in announcing himself to the Broxburn rearguard, barging an unsuspecting victim off the ball as he set the tone for 69 minutes of throwing his weight around.

He wasn’t the only one and the returning Tully – who only signed on Saturday morning – looked for all the world like he belonged beside David Cross at the heart of Sauchie’s defence, which looked vastly less likely to shoot itself in the foot as has been the way of things this season.

Tully was doing his best to influence both ends of the pitch in a frantic first half and probably should have put Sauchie ahead when Kyle Turnbull planted the ball on his head inside the box, only for the former Shire man to screw it wide.

If there was a ball that needed headed away or a man who needed roused during the last five minutes as Broxburn looked desperately for a way back into the game, he was there to drag the team by the scruff of the neck and even keep calm when tempers flared on the pitch and in the dugout following a late Ant McTaggart challenge.

In front of goal, he missed an even more glaring chance on the cusp of the break, this time failing to find the target with a free header; but it wouldn’t be long until he made it third time lucky.

Broxburn, for their part, had clearly underestimated the Reds and only called Darren Dolan into action once during a surprisingly comfortable half for the Sauchie stopper. Visiting gaffer Steve Hislop certainly did not hold back as he gave his side an earful during the break.

Hislop would have been even more incensed when Wright got the just rewards for his all action display shortly after the break as he steamrollered into the Broxburn box, picked up White’s clever flick, and fired the ball into the bottom corner.

It was Stevie Dolan’s desire to win the ball from a pondering Burn defender which made the goal and he showed every bit of the same heart when he had a hand in White’s late strike as the BSC Glasgow loanee reacted quickest to the striker’s saved effort to seal the win.

Tully, meanwhile, was the one who had made it two with a bullet header from Turnbull’s corner shortly after Wright’s opener, but his was a display which encapsulated everything so, so good about Sauchie who were worthy winners on the day.

The fight isn’t over yet but the Reds have picked themselves up off the floor. Game on.

SAUCHIE: D Dolan, Houston, Turnbull, Cross, Tully, McTaggart, Dawson (Donaldson 65), Faulds, S Dolan (Cummings 83), Wright (Comrie 69), White. UNUSED SUBS: McKeown, Munro, Finlayson, Young.