A hat-trick from Spartans striker Blair Henderson condemned Elgin City to a second successive 4-0 defeat in League Two.
Henderson grabbed the first of his treble in the third minute at Borough Briggs, before Cammy Russell made it 2-0 inside six minutes.
Henderson added a third before half-time and a fourth from the penalty spot in the second period.
Elgin boss Allan Hale said: “Both teams were similar in terms of shots in the game, but one team was really clinical and capitalised on individual defensive errors, and one team didn’t.
“We have got to cut out errors. We are making catastrophic errors that are leading to goals.
“The second goal comes from a straight ball up the park and the third goal, in my opinion, just comes from a lack of desire.
“Those goals are really annoying and so was the timing of them.
“The second half was a non-event really.
“The penalty was as soft as you are going to see – but I’m 60 or 70 yards down the pitch so I can’t really see whether it was or wasn’t.
“There’s a lot of work to do but the players are ready to fight.”
A horror start saw Elgin trail 2-0 after just six minutes in what was Hale’s first home game in charge.
Blair Henderson was on hand to knock in after Rhys Armstrong’s low shot was parried by Tom McHale after just a few minutes.
And a neat touch and finish from Cammy Russell, who escaped his man before slotting in off the post from 10 yards, made it 2-0 just minutes after the restart.
Elgin’s first chance came from a free-kick in the 22nd minute, which Russell Dingwall fired into the wall before Ross Draper’s follow-up hit the side-netting.
Dingwall was involved again, playing a one-two to send Ben Barron in behind before the half hour mark in a move that he ended by firing over the crossbar.
It appeared as if the game was going into half-time at 2-0, but Spartans struck again before the break when Henderson flicked Ayrton Sonkur’s 25-yard drive into the corner of the goal for 3-0.
Spartans could have had another in first-half stoppage time, first when Kieran Watson fired just wide and then when Armstrong’s cutback found Jamie Dishington who was denied at the near post by McHale.
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) December 16, 2023
Elgin started the second period in brighter fashion and should have pulled a goal back through Ben Barron on 51 minutes, but the striker dragged wide from six yards.
The visitors were awarded a soft penalty kick on 68 minutes when Connall Ewan was adjudged to have pulled the shirt of Henderson. The striker stepped up and sent McHale the wrong way, rolling the ball calmly into the corner.
Sean Brown almost added a fifth for the visitors when he went round McHale, but Ewan cleared off the line before Brown’s follow-up was saved by a recovering McHale.
Elgin had the final efforts on goal with Liam Harvey’s 18-yard drive and Ewan’s header, but couldn’t grab a consolation.