Coldstream 6-0 Kelso United: John Crawford nets 100th goal

An own goal, and strikes from Jordan Lauder and Connor Devaney completed the rout in a one-sided Qualifying League group C tie at Home Park.

Playing at their newly-enclosed home ground for the first time, Coldstream were always hot favourites against a Kelso team struggling for players.

The visitors had to draft in a number of trialists at the last minute in order to raise a team for the fixture.

Frustrated by the shortage of players, Kelso manager Prof Blaikie announced to his squad after the match that he would be standing down as soon as the club can find a suitable replacement.

If it was a day to forget for Kelso, it was one to remember for Crawford.

The big striker from Eyemouth went into the match knowing he needed to find the net once to reach a century of goals for the club he joined four years ago.

It didn’t take him long to reach the landmark figure, a trademark header from six yards into an empty net doubling Coldstream’s lead after just ten minutes.

The home side had taken the lead four minutes earlier when a Jonny Simpson cross from the right was turned into his own net by a Kelso defender.

The second, and Crawford’s landmark goal, came from a move down the same flank. When Kelso goalkeeper Elliot Turnbull came for and missed Simpson’s deep cross he was left in no-man’s land.

Ben Jackson head back across goal to leave Crawford with an empty net to nod home from close range.

The home side were always on the front foot, but the third goal didn’t arrive until five minutes from half time. The ball broke kindly in front of Lauder at the left edge of the box and the striker who left Kelso to join his home town club in the summer rubbed salt in the visitors’ wounds by finding the corner with a sweet left-foot strike.

Both teams made changes early in the second half, but the pattern of play remained the same.

Coldstream’s fourth goal, their best of the afternoon, arrived just five minutes after half time when Richard Baxendale drilled a long pass into the feet of Lauder.

He laid it off first time, straight into the path of Devaney, who had timed his run to perfection. One-one-one, the former Aberdeen midfielder showed composure to side-foot past Turnbull.

But Crawford grabbed the limelight with two poacher’s goals before the end. He converted the first from six yards from a cross on the right and poked home his third of the day over the line from a yard out right on the final whistle.

Coldstream: M Walters, G Hay, R Baxendale, M Allan, K Ainslie (D Powling 74), B Jackson (A Douglas 59), C Devaney (R Graham 59), J Hay, J Crawford, J Simpson, J Lauder.

Kelso United: E Turnbull, B Herdman, S Angus (J Logan 45), D Bowie (O Benzies 74), K Cromarty, S Spoor, S Bonnington, D McNulty, J Waugh, M Lockhart, D Boyne. Sub not used: L Hill.