A hat-trick from Blair Lyons helped Montrose defeat Breedon Highland League champions Fraserburgh 4-2 in the Premier Sports Cup.
Lyons netted a first half treble for the Gable Endies in the Group B clash at Bellslea and, despite Sean Butcher’s second half header, the Broch were unable to mount a comeback.
Graham Webster hit a late fourth for Montrose before Butcher netted again for the hosts in stoppage time.
Fraserburgh manager Mark Cowie was without a number of important players. Captain Willie West and goalkeeper Paul Leask were absent from the side which lost 3-1 to Kilmarnock on Saturday, with new signing Jordan Guild benched.
Paul Campbell, Jamie Beagrie, Ryan Cowie, Aidan Combe and Lewis Davidson were also missing.
Joe Barbour came in between the sticks, with Breedon Highland League player of the year Scott Barbour returning and Connor Grant also starting.
Hosts hit by fast start
The game started in lively fashion with Montrose skipper Paul Watson trying to catch out Joe Barbour with an effort from the halfway line.
At the other end, Lewis Duncan had a shot blocked from Ryan Sargent’s cross.
But the Gable Endies took the lead in the 11th minute when Lewis Milne’s corner from the right wasn’t cleared and Lyons pounced to score from six yards.
Five minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead and it was from the same source.
Milne’s corner from the right was flicked on and Lyons hooked the ball into the net at back post.
It should have been 3-0 midway through the first half when Lyons rolled a ball across from the box from the left for Graham Webster, but he fired against the left post from eight yards.
But shortly after the half-hour mark, livewire Lyons completed his hat-trick. Milne broke into the box and although Barbour did well to block his shot, Lyons was on hand to knock home the rebound.
The Broch struggled to create chances in the first half, but as the interval approached Bryan Hay had a header cleared off the line after Duncan hung up a cross from the left.
Broch keep battling
Early in the second half Butcher wriggled clear on the right side of the area, but his cross-cum-shot didn’t find the net or a team-mate.
Despite facing an uphill and improbable task to take something from the contest, the Broch kept battling away.
Just after the hour, poor control let Scott Barbour down when Grant’s clearance dropped in behind the Montrose defence.
Seconds later, referee Chris Fordyce turned away strong home penalty appeals when Liam Callaghan appeared to handle.
But, on 65 minutes, they did score with Barbour crossing from the right and Butcher beating goalkeeper Aaron Lennox to the ball before directing a header into the right corner.
Suddenly Fraserburgh were on the front foot and asking the visiting defence more questions with plenty of balls into the box but, despite their best efforts in the final quarter, they couldn’t score again.
Webster fired home Montrose’s fourth from 12 yards in the 90th minute and in stoppage time sub Jamie Maclellan’s low cross teed up Butcher to finish from 12 yards.
Before the game was over, Broch sub Zane Laird was red carded for an off-the-ball incident.
Fraserburgh round off their Group B campaign against Stenhousemuir of League Two at Ochilview on Saturday, and then a trip to Firhill to face Championship outfit Partick Thistle next Tuesday.
