AUCHINLECK Talbot's squad depth paid dividends as they eased through into the third round of the West of Scotland Cup over the weekend.

Tommy Sloan's men earned progression on Saturday, October 5, with a confident 6-0 win away to First Division outfit Vale of Clyde.

Six different players got on the scoresheet with Ross Smith, Kyle McAvoy, Neill McPherson, Connor Boyd scoring in the second half after Alex Nimmo and Austin Sime gave the Beechwood Park side a 2-0 lead at half-time.

(Image: Craig McGhee)

Speaking to Talbot's own media team following the match, captain McPherson said it showed the quality the East Ayrshire side have right across their ranks.

He commented: “When you’re winning comfortably you want to try and get as many boys on the scoresheet as you can, so the confidence is high throughout the team.

“It’s good to see there were six different scorers in the team today, and there’s more than that, everyone has quality to go and get us a goal.”

(Image: Craig McGhee)

The central defender was also happy with how the team navigated the potential banana skin tie.

McPherson added: “It was a bit of a different pitch from what we’ve played on the last few weeks, it was a wee bit tighter.

“We knew it was going to be a case of winning the battle first before we got to play.

“The first 15 minutes we were slow out the traps, but once we got on top we didn’t look back and we’ve gone on and won comfortably.”

Now, the skipper is hoping his side can carry on their strong form of the last couple of weeks.

(Image: Craig McGhee)

After a month that saw Auchinleck exit the Scottish Junior Cup, and fall to their first league defeat, Talbot have bounced back with consecutive victories in the senior Scottish Cup - and then league cup on Saturday.

McPherson continued: “It’s going to be a long season, we’re looking to go as far as we can in the cups we are in.

“We’ve been on the road for last few weeks, we’re looking forward to getting back home.

“We need to take confidence from two big wins the last two weeks and go again on Saturday.”

Auchinleck are back in cup action on Saturday, October 12, as they host East of Scotland side Jeanfield Swifts in the South Challenge Cup - with kick off at 2pm.