Clydebank manager Gordon Moffat paid tribute to Ciaran Mulcahy as he marked his final appearance for the club with two goals in his side's Scottish Cup victory over Fort William.
The big striker is set to move to Australia after making 66 appearances in a Bankies jersey and finding the net 20 times.
Clydebank hit double figures at Claggan Park on Saturday to move into the first round and set up a tie with Dalkieth Thistle later this month.
They had to do it after falling behind when Martin Munro struck for the hosts after ten minutes.
The response was impressive as the visitors took a 6-1 lead into the second half thanks to braces from Nicky Little and Thomas Collins alongside Matt Niven and Mulcahy headers.
Little completed his hat-trick before Lee Gallacher struck with Larry McMahon adding number nine before Mulcahy completed the scoring.
Moff was delighted with the professional approach from his players and was impressed with some of the football on show despite the park being one of the worst he has ever seen.
Speaking to the Post, he said: “It felt like a long time between the draw being made and the game with the to-ing and fro-ing between the clubs but it was pleasing to get up there and get the tie dealt with which was obviously the main objective for us.
“Considering the pitch we actually played some decent stuff and moved the ball about well.
“In my 24 years at a good level of football, it’s definitely up there as one of the most difficult pitches I’ve seen just due to the length of the grass. The boys negotiated it really well.
“Ciaran has been a magnificent player for us, he’s been the focal point for the team in a lot of big games since he has been here.
“He’s a really good centre forward at this level and he’ll be a big loss to the squad. We wish him well and if he does return he’ll be welcome here.
“We brought in Thomas Collins and Callum Graham in the Summer because we knew Ciaran was probably going to go quite early in the season.
“We’ve got plenty of strength up there in terms of replacements and we’ve got Connor Higgins out on loan getting fit. They maybe aren’t like for likes but we’ve certainly got really good options.”
It’s back to league duty for Clydebank this weekend and a trip to Guy’s Meadow to take on Kirkintilloch Rob Roy.
Rob Roy have had a solid start to the season with 11 points from 7 games but Moff is keen to see his side's good from continue.
He added: “I know their manager quite well and we speak a lot and he has assembled a young group of players but they’re hungry and talented so it’s not a huge surprise to me that they’ve started well.
“We’ll need to be on it but we’re on a good run ourselves so we’ll go and try and keep that going.”
Elsewhere, Yoker Athletic were knocked out of the Scottish Junior Cup by Broughty Athletic at Holm Park.
The visitors took an early lead and doubled that before that break with a second-half penalty securing a 3-0 victory for the Midlands East Region League side.
Next up for Gordon Robertson’s men is the visit of Wishaw on Saturday. Kick-off at Holm Park is at 2.00pm.
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