Buckie Thistle moved back to the top of the Highland League on goal difference thanks to a whirlwind start against Clachnacuddin at Grant Street Park on Saturday.
The Jags were determined to put the midweek defeat at Keith behind them as they netted four times in the first 20 minutes.
Jags manager Graeme Stewart got the response he was looking for after his side’s only league defeat of the season.
He said: “We spoke before the game about starting games well enough. We needed to get to starting games the way we did at the beginning of the season, scoring goals in the first 20 minutes, and that’s what we did today.
“The first 20 minutes was as good as we’ve played this season.”
He added: “This is always a hard place to come to, so it was a great win. It gives us a bit of confidence because Wednesday took a bit out of us. Hopefully, that’s the start of us playing well again.”
Stewart also explained his decision to take off leading scorer John McLeod after just quarter-of-an hour.
“He tore a buttock muscle, so as soon as we were 3-0 up we decided not to risk him. We felt we had enough in our locker to get by in the game.”
Buckie took the lead in the sixth minute when a Chris Angus shot was parried by Clach goalkeeper Aiden MacDonald and McLeod was first to react to slot home the rebound.
It was 2-0 three minutes later when a Jay Cheyne cross was knocked on by McLeod and Lewis MacKinnon’s close-range header was adjudged to have crossed the line by the stand-side official.
In was one-way traffic at this stage and McLeod added his second of the game in the 12th minute when he beat MacDonald to a long through ball and slotted it low into the net.
But that was to be McLeod’s last contribution to the game and he was replaced by Stuart Taylor.
The change did not interrupt the flow of the game.
Good work from Sam Urquhart inside the box in the 19th minute set up Drew Copeland for a cool finish into the far corner of the net.
But Clach reduced the deficit three minutes later when a Blair Lawrie cross was met by Michael Finnis, whose glancing header went in off the inside of the post.
The second half was a bit of an anticlimax after an action-packed first 45 minutes.
The home side almost pulled another goal back on the hour mark when Finnis struck the crossbar after Jags goalkeeper Ross Salmon did well to get a hand to a Daniel MacLennan piledriver at his near post.
At the other end Shaun Carrol, who had just replaced the patched up MacKinnon, fired in a free kick which MacDonald kept out.
But it was the Jags who had the last say when debutant Craig Cowie netted at the far post after Sam Urquhart and Angus combined in the build-up.
Clach manager Iain Polworth said: “We can’t defend the way we did. We had chances to make it a bit closer but they deserved to win. They started really well, they were sharper, and they wanted it more than us.”
