Formartine United moved up to sixth following a 5-0 victory over a shot-shy Huntly.
Formartine manager Paul Lawson said their first-half display in a third successive win gave his side a good platform to build on.
He said: “Similar to last week (a 6-0 win at Nairn County), we did a lot of work in the first half and played really well and it sets you up for the second half. The important things was to not let standards drop and we managed to see the game out with two late goals.
“Everyone played their part. We even asked the substitutes to come on and make an impact and we got two further goals, with Gary McGowan and Jordan Leyden both scoring late on.”
With 24 minutes gone, Daniel Park swung in a free-kick for United captain Craig McKeown to head home the opener.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when Huntly lost possession following a throw-in and Scott Lisle went past Bradley Manson and Logan Johnstone unchallenged before slotting the ball under the advancing John Farquhar.
Huntly created little in the way of chances in the first half, with Logan Johnstone seeing an effort blocked late on in the half following a Kai Ross corner. Thirty seconds into first-half stoppage time, Formartine made it three with Graeme Rodger finishing off a well-worked move with a low drive.
In the 79th minute, Jordan Leyden played a ball behind the onrushing John Farquhar allowing Gary McGowan to tap in from close range.
With four minutes left, Leyden found himself with space to run into before firing home a low shot to complete the rout.
Huntly failed to register a single attempt on target and assistant manager Ricky Cheyne felt performances dropped after conceding the opening goal.
He said: “At the first goal, there were basic errors, no talking at the back and some confusion which allowed them to get in to score.
“The second was bad use of the ball from ourselves and they caught us on the break.
“We didn’t get going on the day and our passing was poor. Formartine grew in confidence after going ahead.”
