Youth football: North Merchiston, Currie Colts and Penicuik Athletic safely through

North Merchiston under-14s were too strong for Redhall Star as they stuck four past their opponents without reply to go through to the second round of the Willie Bauld Memorial Trophy.

Bonnyrigg Rose, Penicuik Athletic, Newtongrange Star, Dalkeith Thistle, Arniston Rangers and Easthouses Lily in local derbies

Merchie raced into an unassailable three-goal lead at half-time on home soil. Troy Clark got their first of the day when he latched on to full-back James Pryde’s long ball before rounding the Redhall goalkeeper and firing into the net.

Striker Clark was in terrific form for Merchie and he doubled their lead soon after when he got on the end of midfielder Innes Tomlinson’s chipped pass and slotted home.

Clark completed his first-half hat-trick when he found the bottom corner of the net with another exquisite finish.

The visitors suffered a further blow after the break when they went down to ten men, but Merchie weren’t too harsh on their opponents in the second half as they only scored one further goal through Jonny Taylor after he was played in by Enrico Gomes.

Currie FC Colts 16s were 6-0 winners on the road at Loanhead as they eased through to the second round of the SPORTSassist South East Region Cup.

Harris Dunlop got the visitors up and running with an early penalty, but he missed a further spot-kick after being fouled himself. Dunlop bounced back, however, with a terrific controlled volley for number two. He was soon celebrating his hat-trick after he showed excellent composure to converting one-on-one with the Loanhead goalkeeper.

Aaron Gardiner put his name on the scoresheet for Currie before the interval as the visitors continued to simmer in the sun. Dunlop scored his fourth of the afternoon with a low drive from the edge of the box, and Euan Dove completed the scoring with a shot from outside the area.

Elsewhere, Penicuik Athletic 15s ran riot as they defeated Currie Star Colts in the SPORTSassist South East Region Cup, with Joe Dunlop, Adam Wilson and Jay Pearson all netting hat-tricks. Musselburgh Windsor 13s beat Edinburgh South Wildcats 6-0 with a brace each for Xander Johnston and Adam Mitchell.