A flurry goals in either half without return helped a clinical Edinburgh City side progress with ease into the 4th round of the South East Region cup. Hat-tricks from James Clare and Luke Rathie were accompanied by goals from McNamara, Elliot, Gilmour and Turnbull to finish off the rout.

The outcome of the match seemed difficult to predict, with City experiencing a mixed start to their league campaign with 3 wins being matched with 2 losses, whereas Thistle tasted victory in both of their fixtures so far.

Despite the even predictions in the build-up to the cup tie, the gulf in class was evident very early from kick-off. Cai McNamara was first to get his name on the scoresheet for City with just a minute on the clock. His determination to break beyond the defence set the tone early on as he raced through and slotted the ball beyond the goalkeeper.

Bathgate barely had any time to register what had unfolded before the ball was in the back of the net again, this time through one of their own players, but at the wrong end. Elliot raced down the wing – a sight that would become familiar – and crossed a ball into the path of Clare who attempted to get a flick, but the final touch appeared to come via a defender. 

City – who could only name one substitute due to a shortage of numbers – showed their ruthlessness again as the notched up another two goals before the tenth minute. Clare took the ball in the centre and drove beyond the defence with scorching pace, rounding the goalkeeper and slotting in, with his second goal an exact carbon copy of his first, with the same outcome.

McNamara, one of many attacking forces for the Edinburgh side, looked capable of scoring whenever he burst forward, and added a second goal to his tally on 15 minutes. On this occasion, it was a simple tap in from just yards out as Elliot’s searching cross into the area left him with an easy finish.

Clare turned provider when put through on goal, lifting a ball over the head of the onrushing goalkeeper and leaving Elliot with a header from 3 yards out which he duly converted. Composed strikes inside the penalty area from the towering Rathie, and his diminutive midfield partner Danny Turnbull took City into the break with an impressive-lead. 

Bathie was proving to be a real handful on the right side of midfield, with his pace and agility combining perfectly with his strong physique, and with 40 minutes on the clock he claimed a well-deserved hat-trick by manoeuvring his way beyond the Thistle defence with some clever footwork, before slotting into the far corner.

Turnbull – appropriately named “Xavi” by his coaches and teammates – was displaying a masterclass in midfield play that the Spaniard would have been proud of. His eye-of-the-needle pass allowed Rathie to race through on goal and score his fourth in the 43rd minute, again showing composure to simply round the keeper before finishing. 

Aaron McNicol had a great chance to score a consolation goal for Thistle midway through the second-half, as a slack touch gave him a decent opening within the penalty area, but he snatched at the chance and send his resulting shot wide.

A frantic few minutes around the 50th minute mark saw City extend another three goals between the two sides, close range finishes from the ever-alert Clare were accompanied by Elliot’s second strike of the tie, adding to what was going to be City’s largest win of the new season by some margin.

Edinburgh City rounded off the scoring with two brilliant team goals, both featuring over twenty passes, which summed up their impressive teamwork throughout the match. The first came as Aidan Dewar cut a pass across the goal-face for Cameron Gilmour to squeeze in a shot from an unlikely angle. The final goal of the day came in a similar manner in the final minute, this time the powerful Rathie turning provider with a goalmouth pass, allowing Clare to score his fifth of the evening, to cap off a perfect day’s work for Edinburgh City.