Amateurs: Tollcross Thistle crack whip against Danderhall

It didn’t take long for the home side to get going despite a three-week winter hiatus having ended the year with a disappointing Scottish Amateur Cup exit to Rothie Rovers.

Indeed, they were ahead inside 18 minutes after Stewart O’Neill and Chris Cairns linked up well to cut the ball across goal for Chris Reid to fire home. Striker Reid then beat the offside trap to latch on to Jason Bell’s through ball, and exquisitely lobbed the keeper from the edge of the box.

He completed his hat-trick inside the opening 45 minutes when he took possession from Jack Millar, strode forward and dispatched the ball past the Danderhall keeper.

The visitors pulled one back early in the second half, but any hopes of a revival were quashed within two minutes as Cairns netted a penalty.

O’Neill then added the fifth after being played in by Cairns, and John Ferguson grabbed his first goal in Tollcross colours with a fine chipped effort.

Kieran Glen stroked the ball home from the outside of the area for the seventh, and Calvin Muttit left the best for last after he beat four players from inside his own half following goalkeeper Youssef Bejaoui’s throw out and placed the ball into the net.

St Bernard’s marked their return to competitive action with a 3-0 win over Linlithgow Thistle in the Premier League.

Thistle had come into the match in fine recent form, but they found the home side at their best.

Paul Dickson handed his side an early lead when he volleyed home from close range, and Rees Smith made it two when he unleashed an unstoppable strike from 25 yards out which flew into the net. Smith sealed the win in the second half when he pounced on a goalkeeping error.

North Merchiston Vale edged a terrific thriller 4-3 against Edinburgh Harps in the second round of the Logan Cup. The home side did it the hard way after twice going behind in the first half, with Murray Duff securing Vale’s winner.

They equalised after the break through Cem Uysal’s long distance effort and there was no stopping Vale from there on with Luke Leiper and Robbie Armstrong putting the home side in the ascendancy, before Harps pulled a goal back late on.