Following their 2-0 victory on the opening day of the season at Victoria Park, Thornton ‘did the double’ over Brechin with this resounding 4-0 win in Memorial Park.

It was all Thornton in the opening stages but in a rare foray upfield the visitors came closest to opening the scoring when Sean Whitworth headed Matthew Henderson’s corner-kick off the crossbar.

The Brechin ‘keeper, Jamie Robbie, had been their man of the match the first time the teams clashed and he proved his worth again with another top drawer save from Garry Thomson’s spectacular scissors-kick effort. He was powerless, though, to prevent Lee White from heading home Mathew Gay’s deep cross in the 33rd minute.

Gay came close to doubling the Hibs’ tally when he moved onto John Halley’s clever chest pass but his shot took the paint off the top of the crossbar and the score remained 1-0.

Just before half-time, Blair Stephen looked a relieved man when the ref chose to show only a yellow card for his challenge on the Thornton defender, Willie Clark, who was unable to take any further part in the game as a consequence of this brutal assault.

Ten minutes into the second-half, Thomson headed home Halley’s pinpoint cross to make it two but it wasn’t until the 81st minute that the Hibs got their third as a substitute trialist’s cross was perfect for Mathew Gay to head beyond Robbie.

Right at the death, Liam Ivory played a corner kick back to the edge of the area to Garry Thomson. The ex-Raith man took a touch and then blasted the ball into the net via the leg of a visiting defender to complete the scoring.

The Window Store Hibs’ Man of the Match – Garry Thomson

Brechin Victoria: Robbie, Gourlay, Eaton, Whitworth, McCulloch, Ross, Steel, Stephen, McKay, Henderson, Strachan. Subs: Dunn, Barclay, King, Renilson, Spink.

Referee: Mr C. Carrick

Match statistics:
Attempts at goal - TH 16 BV 11
Attempts on target - TH 12 BV 3
Corners - TH 12 BV 2
Fouls committed - TH 10 BV 12
Yellow Cards - TH 0 BV 2
Red Cards - TH 0 BV 0