Newly crowned league champions Deveronvale made light work of seeing off an understrengthed Lossie side to progress to the second round of the League Cup in one of their most comprehensive and impressive victories of the season so far. Ian Murray will grab all the headlines for surpassing Louis Smith forty or so year old record for goals scored in one season but it was all about a team effort on Saturday and Vale were head and shoulders above their hosts in every department.
A first-half hat trick from Murray followed Brown's all-important opener and by the interval the tie was all but over.
The second period saw Murray clinch his forty-fourth of the campaign and this was added to by Mark Chisholm's brace and a first goal of the season for the ever-present Scott Anderson. Vale blotted their copybook when they allowed the Coasters a consolation, which Barry Thompson wouldn't like to see again but all in all it was a very professional performance from the "Scot Ads Highland League Champions".
The Lossie players and management formed a tunnel and clapped their visitors to the field of play and this coupled by a large roar from the "Valley Crew" certainly set the stage for an excellent all round performance from the Banffer's, although the home side did work them hard especially for the first quarter of an hour of the contest.

Vale were dawning their lucky blue away kit for the third game running and started brightly with Darren McAllister seeing a lot of the ball early on down the right-hand flank. At the other end Forde found some room at the far post to get a clean header on target but his effort carried little threat and was easily saved by Thompson.
McAllister tried a long ranger but Main was equal to it as he gathered under his own cross bar before Dolan's free kick found Chisholm inside the Lossie penalty box but the midfielder failed to direct the ball goal wards. Brown then blazed wide before a two-footed tackle on Murray saw the striker go down inside the box but referee Cheyne seemed to think it was a fair tackle and play continued. Neat play between Murray and Dolan forced Vale's first corner of the match and from Dolan's flag-kick the Banffer's took the lead. A short one to McAllister was knocked back in by Dolan and as the ball broke loose off Murray's flick-on BROWN was on hand to stab high past Main from 8-yards. Another good piece of play from Murray was ended by Morrison when the big defender cutout "Molby's" lay-off inside the 6-yard box with Chisholm and Taylor both waiting to pounce.
A McAllister free kick then fell to Murray at the edge of the 18-yard box but the wee striker failed to keep his effort down and it sailed inches over Main's cross bar. Chisholm then fired straight down the throat of Main as Vale looked for a second. The home side just couldn't get out of their own half and Vale's relentless pressure finally rewarded them with a second. Murray and Chisholm played a one-two inside the area and as the latter looked to latch onto the ball in behind the Lossie defence he had the legs taken from him by Sim rash challenge. Referee Cheyne pointed immediately to the spot, which presented Ian MURRAY with the opportunity to score his forty-first of the season.
The striker's rather poor spot-kick was saved by Main but the wee man wasn't to be denied and followed up to knock the rebound home from close range. Five minutes later and it was all over for the home side. Stephen's delightful cross to the back stick picked out Mark Chisholm and his guided header was clinically fired home by Ian MURRAY from 6-yards. MURRAY completed his first-half hat-trick when Main could only parry a Taylor angled drive leaving that man "Molby" with simplest of tasks of knocking the ball home, although Main made him work for it by saving his initial effort from point-blank range.
Murray, who was now looking for one more goal to overtake Louis Smith's long standing record, was very unlucky not to grab another when he brilliantly lobbed Main only for Sim to get back and clear the ball off his own goal line. As the half-time whistle loomed Murray had another goal bound effort deflected wide by Youngson.

Lossie made a decent start to the second period and carved out a decent chance for Forde but the striker fired tamely at Thompson when well placed. Murray almost embarrassed Main when he caught hold of the keeper's poor clearance but the cheeky striker's audacious effort crept inches wide of the upright from a good forty yards out. Vale went nap on the hour mark when Scott ANDERSON rose unchallenged to head past Main off a Darren McAllister corner kick, for his first of season.
Two minutes later Ian MURRAY ran the full length of the Lossie half before coolly slotting the ball past the stranded Main to break the record the hit man has been chasing since the turn of the year, somersaulting into the air in celebration of his remarkable achievement. The visitors made a double substitution after 67 minutes when Levi Stephen and Matty Kinghorn were replaced by Terry Kidd and Nigel Montgomery respectively. A minute later saw the home side pull a goal back when Morrison's well-hit free kick bounced awkwardly in front of Thompson before it squirmed under the body of the big keeper and into the net.
Normal service was resumed however when Mark CHISHOLM restored the Vale's six-goal advantage when he ran onto a Dolan through ball before dispatching it past Main from 16-yards. Taylor's delightful turn and shot was deserving of a goal but Main did well to block the unfortunate striker's effort for a corner.
Murray fired straight at the Lossie keeper when he all the time in the world to pick his spot after a mix-up by the home defence inside their own penalty box. Moments later disaster struck for Vale and their goal scoring hero Ian Murray when the striker appeared to go over his ankle as he chased a through ball into the Lossie 18-yard box. A stretcher was called for and the pint-size hero of the visiting fans was carried off the field in an incident not too dissimilar to what happened to Mike McKenzie a few weeks back at Inverurie.
The Ten-Men continued to dominate proceedings however and Chisholm and Taylor combined well inside the Lossie box before the former smashed the ball off the face of his fellow player. Vale were now down to nine men but Taylor was soon back in the thick of the action after receiving attention from the sidelines. Vale weren't finished there and rounded off a strange afternoon with an eighth counter when Mark CHISHOLM headed strongly past Main following another McAllister corner kick with the unlucky home keeper completely obscured from the flight of the ball by body of Ritchie Taylor.

Vale face Cove rangers at Banff next Saturday in the second round of the competition, which is sure to be a cracker. Looking forward to next weeks encounter Vale boss Gregg Carrol said, "I'm sure it is going to be a really tough match for us and we'll need to be totally focused and committed because I expect that Cove will be nothing other than that". On the injury to Murray Carrol commented, "Ian went over his ankle and we took the necessary action by stretchering him off but we won't know the extent of the damage until the beginning of the week. However on a more positive note Mike McKenzie may be fit and raring to go in seven days time".

Vale:
Thompson, Dolan, Kinghorn (Montgomery 67), Dlugonski, Anderson, McAllister, Brown (Pressley 49), Taylor, Murray, L. Stephen (Kidd 67)
Subs not used: B. Stephen, Speirs

Lossie:
Main, Witkowski, Youngson, Sim, Morrison, Fiske, Green, Mathieson, Forde, #Dixon, Cameron Subs: McHardy, Scott, Maguire

Referee: G. Cheyne