Lochar Thistle secured their place in the Cree Lodge Cup semi-final with a commanding 5-1 victory over Abbey Vale.

From the first whistle, the Dumfries outfit’s intent to suffocate their opponents was evident. And it took just three minutes for that to pay dividends. Striker Tam Coles latched onto the ball 40 yards out, powerfully muscling his way through a retreating Vale defence before rifling a brilliant strike past former Lochar goalkeeper Darren Holt.

Thistle continued to pour forward and doubled their advantage in the 11th minute.

Man of the match Olly Meechan showcased his sublime footwork, jinking past three defenders on a dazzling run before standing up a perfectly weighted cross to the back post. Robbie Ferguson anticipated it beautifully, diving low to head home from six yards out.

Thistle could have easily gone into the break further ahead with 40 minutes on the clock.

Ted Bowie seemed destined to extend the lead, but Holt reacted smartly to save with his feet, keeping the half-time score at 2-0.

The visitors attempted an early second-half fightback, giving Lochar a brief scare but Thistle quickly re-established control.

A flurry of missed opportunities followed as Lochar looked to kill the tie.

Holt pulled off a superb one-handed save to deny Bowie once more, and Ferguson hit the side netting on a break where squaring the ball to a completely unmarked Taylor Davidson looked the better option.

The third goal finally arrived on the hour mark when Coles chased down a flick-on from Ferguson. The ball broke to Meechan at the edge of the area and the winger calmly stabbed it low into the bottom corner past the stranded Holt.

The dominance continued into the final quarter of the match. In the 77th minute, Ferguson claimed his second of the afternoon, expertly nodding home at the front post from a precise Jack Caskie corner.

Vale managed a brief consolation just two minutes later when a deep free-kick fell kindly to Tom Forster inside the box, who fired past Jake Gemmell to spoil the clean sheet.

However, Lochar saved the best for last, putting the icing on the cake in added on time with a goal of sheer technical brilliance.

Patient build-up play in midfield involving Greig Corbett, David Adams and Dev Nicholson unlocked the Vale defence.

Ferguson then turned provider with a neat back-heel into the path of debutant substitute Luca Rinaldi, who capped off a dream cameo by curling a right-footed shot in off the post from 15 yards.

In the league, Annan Athletic CFC hammered Wigtown 7-3 at Trammondford Park, whilst Saltire City beat Lochmaben 3-2 and Nithsdale Wanderers defeated Mids 3-2 at King Edward Park.