A Dylan Easton hat-trick helped Raith Rovers comfortably past an under-strength Peterhead 6-0 at Stark’s Park.
Raith’s big summer signing, who followed manager Iain Murray from Airdrieonians to Kirkcaldy, ran the show and Raith’s supremacy never looked in doubt.
Liam Dick and Jamie Gullan also got themselves on the scoresheet before a late Aidan Connolly free-kick, as the hosts showed little mercy against a Blue Toon side short on bodies.
Jim McInally’s side are at home on Saturday in their third group game against Dumbarton.
Peterhead were only able to name 12 players in their squad and had no replacement goalkeeper on the bench. Sandy Wood, who signed on a short-term deal prior to the Aberdeen game, started between the posts, despite not having played senior football in six years.
Recent loan arrival Jack Newman has headed out to Spain with parent club Dundee United on their training camp while the Blue Toon are awaiting the results of a scan on Hamish Ritchie. It is feared the midfielder has sustained cruciate ligament damage.
The last time Wood was involved in SPFL football was for Montrose in January 2016 and has spent the last five years playing junior football for Banchory St Ternan.
Aside from gathering a couple of early through balls, his first meaningful action was to parry a long-range effort from Sam Stanton. Connolly followed that up by whistling a shot just over the crossbar.
The new Peterhead stopper was picking the ball out of his net on 16 minutes though, as Kieran Mitchell’s centre was acrobatically turned in by Easton on his Raith debut.
It was largely one-way traffic in the first half and Connolly nearly caught Peterhead napping from Stanton’s quick corner, however his shot was narrowly off target. Gullan had his attempt at goal blocked by David Wilson as the pressure intensified.
Eventually it told. Cody McLeod was caught in possession 30 yards from goal by Easton and he weaved his way through the Blue Toon defence, before taking a shot which was deflected beyond Wood by Paul Dixon.
Peterhead struggled to get their front two, Ola Adeyemo and Conor O’Keefe, in the game and spent much of the first 45 in their own half.
Things got worse for the visitors at the start of the second half as Easton completed his hat-trick, with a shot from the edge of the box creeping just inside the near post.
Wood was required to beat away a shot from Gullan and the lively Mitchell continued to threaten, with Raith sensing the chance to rub salt into the wounds. Dick headed in a fourth after the hour and Gullan slid in from close range to add a fifth.
Peterhead sank deeper and deeper towards their own goal and it became more like a training exercise for Raith. Connolly arced a superb free-kick in from 30 yards as stoppage-time approached.
The player availability situation is not likely to improve before the weekend for McInally, with Andy McCarthy and Russell McLean still out for another month. Jason Brown, who is serving a three-game ban, will be back for the Stirling Albion game on July 23.
