Fort William cruised into the second round of the Scottish Cup with a 5-0 thrashing of Lowland League side Vale of Leithen.
Goals from Jordan Andrew, Robert Nevison, Ross Gunn (2) and Roderick Kennedy saw the Claggan Park men ease to victory.
Vale, sitting bottom of the Lowland League, ended the match with 10 men after Lewis Hall saw red with eight minutes to go. Fort striker Iain MacLellan, who returned to the club from Rothes last week, chipped in with two assists after coming on as a substitute in the second half.
He said: “The first half was actually quite tight.
“It was quite a scrappy game.
“We came out of the traps flying in the second half and as soon as we got the second goal there was only going to be one winner.
“We went into cruise control and played our game.
“I was desperate to get on and it was pleasing to come off the bench and get a couple of assists.
“The important thing was to get through to the next round. It was a good performance so hopefully we can keep it going.”
MacLellan is relishing being back at Fort and hopes to help the team continue their promising start to the new campaign.
The Claggan Park men ended last season’s campaign without a win but have already chalked up four victories this term, including three in cup competitions.
The 26-year-old added: “I just wanted to get back to playing football.
“It started great at Rothes but I fell out of the team and then I suffered a bad shoulder injury and was out for a few months.
“I struggled to get back into the team and I spoke to the manager who thought it would be best to try to find me a new team.
“I spent the summer getting in touch with a few clubs to see what would be the most viable.
“Fort William was the one that made the most sense and it is exciting with the players who have come on loan from Caley Thistle.
“My mind was made up before Rothes appointed Ross Jack. I never had any contact with him.
“It just made sense to move to Fort William.”
Elsewhere, Strathspey Thistle defeated Lossiemouth 2-1 in an all-Highland League encounter.
Stephen Rennie put the Jags in front after 24 minutes before Brodie Allen restored parity four minutes into the second half.
The sides were level for only a minute with Liam Taylor netting the winning goal soon after.
