SAUCHIE JUNIORS ran riot last weekend as they fired five past ten-man Luncarty.

The Reds kept their third clean sheet in a row as they paid a visit to the Fife side, wasting no time in opening the scoring.

Luncarty were dealt an early blow after their keeper was sent off for a challenge on Ross Kavanagh outside the box.

From there, Sauchie were unstoppable, with goals from Danny Smith, Ross Hutchinson, Scott Davidson and a brace from Brian Morgan securing the victory for the visitors.

Assistant manager Darren Cummings praised his side for being patient and taking their chances when they came.

“It was a slow start to be honest,” he told Advertiser Sport. “The first 15 minutes was quite cagey, dry and slow so we couldn’t get our fast flowing game going.

“We just had to be patient. Mark Smith and Ross Kavanagh were pressing at the front, ball has gone back to the keeper, closed the keeper down and then Kav has been brought down.

“The keeper got sent off and the game completely changed, we had total control and dominated from there.

“We were starting to move the ball around quickly and they just couldn’t live with us. We went into half time -0 up and after that we remained in total control.

“We’ll take five and the clean sheet, it’s our third clean sheet in a row and the boys are defending really well.”

Recent results have been a marked improvement for Sauchie, who got the season off to a shaky start.

Keeping their third clean sheet in a row has been a promising sign, alongside scoring north of 10 goals across their last few fixtures.

Cummings added: “It has been a slow start by our standards but we’re starting to get a few new signings in. The gaffer has made a couple of tweaks and they look a much more settled squad.

“We were playing some good football but we weren’t putting chances away, then when they went up against us, they were scoring.

“We were getting punished for every mistake but we’ve started to turn a corner now. It’s our third clean sheet and we’ve scored around 12 goals in those games.

“We’re working really hard and we know that every game is going to be tough for us, there’s no easy game.

“We need to keep trusting what we’re working on in training. We knew things would turn for us, the squad is too good.

“We can’t afford to have any more days off going forward, we need to defend properly, take our chances and it’s must win for us.

“We’ve had ambitions to win the league from the start of the season. Teams are coming up against us and having a right good go and we found it a bit hard to manage at first.”

New signings got their chance to shine against a weakened Luncarty side, with debutant Rhys Caves making his first appearance in a Sauchie shirt.

Caves signed for Sauchie at the start of the month, having previously played for Dundee United, Gretna and Caledonian Braves.

The midfielder was nursing a lingering injury when he signed, which kept him out of action for a little while, but he managed to get some minutes against Luncarty.

Cummings said: “Rhys came on, he had a little niggle when we signed him so we had to be patient before we got him on the park.

“He looks like a bundle of energy, lots of quality. He’s got an eye for a pass and likes to get forward so he’ll be a real asset to us.

“Sam Muir has signed for us as well and he looks like he’ll be a cracking player for us. That’s a couple additions we’ve made and hopefully they can help us kick on.”

Sauchie will face East Stirlingshire next in the second round of the Challenge Cup this Friday.

After going far in cup competitions last season, the Reds will be looking to take every opportunity they can get to bring home some silverware.