Cove Rangers surrendered to a 5-0 defeat to Ayr United as Josh Mullin tore through the home side time and again.
Mullin scored twice and set up two more as Ayr coasted to victory at the Balmoral Stadium, against a shot-shy Cove side who looked bereft of ideas.
Nick McAllister opened the scoring for the visitors, with Ben Dempsey putting them two clear in the second half before Mullin struck himself.
Fraser Bryden added a fourth late on before a delightful free-kick from Mullin rounded off the scoring.
Cove have now shipped 13 goals in three games since manager Paul Hartley returned to the dugout at the start of the month.
It was the first of a double-header between the two sides, with a Scottish Cup tie back in Aberdeen on Tuesday night.
Cove handed debuts to Scott Fox, Jason Naismith and Tony Weston, while Miko Virtanen was on the bench. Shay Logan made his return from injury.
With nearly a fortnight since their last game and new recruits at his disposal, manager Paul Hartley was able to revert to the system which served Cove so well last season.
Naismith tucked in on the right of a back three, alongside Morgyn Neill and Kyle McClelland, in an effort to shore up what has been a weak spot for the Aberdeen side this season.
It was they who were put to the test first, with Jayden Mitchell-Lawson finding space between Neill and Naismith to get a shot away. Fox was down to block the initial effort and Josh Mullin’s rebound was deflected wide.
But it only took Ayr four minutes more to take the lead. Mullin’s free-kick into the box was deflected by Kyle McClelland into the path of McAllister to turn in.
Ayr, as y0u would expect from a team challenging at the top end of the Championship, looked like a more cohesive unit. Mullin was constantly finding pockets of space to get on the ball, while Mitchell-Lawson sought to use his rapid pace to get in behind.
Cove lacked fluidity and their play in the final third was suffering because of it. Bar a half-chance for Mitch Megginson, when he failed to control a Brody Paterson cross, they offered little in front of goal.
Virtanen was brought on at half-time as Cove switched to a back four and it nearly yielded instant results, with Charlie Albinson spilling a Naismith header and Alex Kirk being required to clear.
But with another set-piece in their favour, Cove were countered in with ruthless efficiency.
The ball was cleared to Mitchell-Lawson on the half-way line and he fed Mullin, who carried forward before delivering a pin-point centre for Dempsey to finish first time.
Mullin finally got his name on the scoresheet just after the hour mark. Slack play from Megginson was latched on to by Dipo Akinyemi, who laid it inch-perfectly into Mullin’s path. The former Ross County and Livingston man gave little quarter in front of goal, burying his shot into the bottom corner.
Bryden came off the bench to have his say, picking out the top corner superbly from the edge of the box with eight minutes to go.
Cove took off Megginson and Connor Scully, likely to protect them for Tuesday’s contest with this game out of reach.
But on this showing, a remarkable improvement is going to be needed for a reverse result. Not only did the defensive frailties remain but their attacking prowess, something which has been almost a given over the last few years, was sorely lacking.
Mullin made matters worse and capped off his top-class display, floating a free-kick in off the crossbar.
COVE RANGERS (3-4-1-2) – Fox 5; Naismith 5, Neill 5, McClelland 5 (Virtanen 46), Logan 5, Yule 5, Scully 5 (Vigurs 76), Paterson 5, Megginson 5 (Glass 76), McIntosh 5, Weston 5 (Longstaff 59). Subs not used – Gourlay, Ross, Reynolds.
AYR UNITED (4-2-3-1) – Albinson 6; McAllister 7, Kirk 6, McGinty 6, Reading 4 (Houston 16), Smith 6 (Bangala 73), Hewitt 6 (Ashford 79), Mullin 9, Dempsey 7, Mitchell-Lawson 7 (Bryden 78), Akinyemi 7 (McKenzie 79). Subs not used – McAdams, Bilham, Watret, O’Connor.
Referee – Graham Grainger 6.
Player of the match – Josh Mullin.