Dunfermline made it a perfect start to their Premier Sports Cup campaign with a 5-0 win over Buckie Thistle.
Just more than 1500 turned up at East End Park as the Highland League outfit looked to build on their point versus Ross County.
However, goals from Rhys Breen, Lewis McCann – his third in two matches – Josh Edwards and a double from substitute Nikolay Todorov made it a comfortable night for the hosts.
Kick-off was delayed due to an issue with one of the Buckie buses but it didn’t disrupt Dunfermline’s momentum from their 2-0 win over East Fife on Saturday.
James McPake made two changes to his side, bringing in Paul Allan and Kyle MacDonald for Joe Chalmers and Craig Wighton.
It is the first time the Pars have won back-to-back competitive matches since November last year.
Right from the off
The visitors made seven changes for this one, but there was no lack of respect shown by James McPake’s men.
There were early chances for Breen, Allan and Mark O’Hara before McCann saw his header deflected wide.
More pressure followed – which eased slightly during two Buckie set-pieces – before Breen headed in Allan’s corner to open the scoring.
The defender then missed a very similar chance, this time from an O’Hara cross, but skewed his header across goal.
Another clean sheet
The standard was set during preseason, with Dunfermline conceding just once across four matches.
That goal came from an individual error from a young goalkeeper thrown in at the last minute due to an injury to Deniz Mehmet.
McPake said after the win over East Fife that clean sheets show their importance when you struggle to find the net at the other end.
Dunfermline may have got a fairly early goal in this one, and had 78% of the ball in the first half, but chances from Max Barry and Sam Pugh either side of half-time, with the score at 1-0, showed how precarious the lead was.
Breen may have scored a crucial goal, but his partnership at the back with Kyle Benedictus – who continues to wear the captain’s armband – is more crucial going into the season ahead.
On track to keep record going
Dunfermline have an impressive record in the group stages of the League Cup.
The Pars missed out on qualification when they were reintroduced for the 2016/17 season but have qualified each of the four seasons since.
They exited the second round on each occasion, losing out to Hearts, Celtic after extra-time and twice to Rangers.
McPake said several times during preseason that the side was aiming to be ready for when the competitive action starts.
The early start back and the bond formed between the players has seen them pick up two wins from two so far.
The biggest test of the group now lies ahead as Ross County await in Dingwall on Saturday.
The Premiership side began their campaign with a penalty-shootout win over Buckie, giving them extra motivation to take all three points this weekend.
3 talking points as Dunfermline Athletic get off to winning start versus East Fife
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