Moray welfare football: Aberlour Villa defeat Hopeman to go top of table while RAF Lossiemouth hit seven and Cullen surprise FC Fochabers
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Aberlour Villa are the new leaders of the Moray welfare league after ending previous table-toppers Hopeman's unbeaten start.
Hopeman had won three out of three in the league and knocked Villa out of the Mike Simpson Cup prior to Friday night's league meeting at Cameron Park.
The visiting Villa made a perfect start when a corner kick on two minutes forced home player Connor McArthur into scoring an own goal.
The match remained in the balance with neither side finding the net for the remainder of the first half and a large chunk of the second.
But Aberlour found an extra gear in the closing stages and when Gavin Cameron tapped in their second goal on 75 minutes, Hopeman had a mountain to climb.
Victory was sealed for the away side when Darren Mitchell made it 3-0 on 82 minutes and Ross Low added a fourth two minutes later.
Hopeman did manage a last minute consolation from Chris Greene's spot kick.
Cullen made it back-to-back wins by exacting a measure of revenge on an FC Fochabers side who thumped them on day one of the season.
Fochabers won 5-1 at Cullen in the league opener and were expected on home soil to come out on top in the second meeting between the sides this term.
But Cullen, who got off the mark for the campaign with a win over Craigellachie in their last outing, made a strong start to Friday's contest.
Fochabers survived their woodwork being struck in the opening stages but soon fell behind when Shaun Findlay slotted home from a well placed cross.
It got even better for Cullen when Ethan Blanchard broke through the home defence to go one-on-one with the keeper and slot home, giving his team a well-deserved 2-0 half time advantage.
Fochabers were thrown a lifeline when Ryan Higgins nodded home from a corner kick.
But their joy was short-lived as Blanchard struck again for Cullen, finding the net from close range.
The deficit was again reduced to one when Sean Petrie knocked in a Fochabers chance, however Cullen managed to hang on for victory to draw them level on points with their opponents.
For the second time this season, RAF Lossiemouth inflicted a seven-goal defeat on new boys Craigellachie.
The airmen won 7-0 at the Lossie base in the cup and replicated the scoreline in their first visit to Craigellachie.
The visitors had most of the early chances but took until the 36th minute before they opened the scoring when James Johnston from the left hand side crossed in for Sam Watson to finish at the near post.
Lossie quickly doubled their lead in the 38th minute when Henry Jordan crossed in a free kick which was tapped in by Johnston, giving the servicemen a 2-0 interval lead.
Eight minutes into the second half, a scramble in the box ended up being nodded in by Josh Kirby for a third RAF goal.
In the 62nd minute Craigellachie's best chance was a free kick around 25 yards out which Colin Coutts put just wide of the Lossiemouth goal.
The airmen emphasised their sureriority in the closing 20 minutes with four more goals.
Johnston got his second of the game, finishing well at the back post and Reece Archer got his name on the scoresheet on 78 minutes with a free header also at the back post.
Watson grabbed his second of the game on 82 minutes and Dean McKellar wrapped it up three minutes from time, dribbling past three Craigellachie players to coolly slot home from inside the box.
