Clachnacuddin hit five goals without reply to send nine-man Deveronvale tumbling out of the Scottish Cup at Princess Royal Park on Saturday.
The Banffers had to play for more than half an hour with nine men after both goalkeeper Grant Pennet and defender Scott Henry were red-carded in the space of three second-half minutes.
Clach were a goal to the good at the time through Blair Lawrie’s first-half counter but once Vale were reduced to nine men the visitors made full use of having the extra men to score four times.
Clach manager Iain Polworth was delighted to see his men advance to the second round of the cup, saying they were well worth the victory over the 90 minutes.
He said: “We went about things the right way from the start after being competitive over the past few weeks and decent in spells but we have gifted goals when we shouldn’t have. We were solid against Vale which gave us a platform to work from and we took it on from there to get the win.
“Blair Lawrie is difficult to play against and he used his experience to get two goals and could easily have had more.
“There were some great performances from the team as Ryan Ingram has come in at left back and has been a revelation, while Keith Mason has steadied the middle of the park for us. It was a very pleasing afternoon especially as we have had good performances against Cove and Nairn in the past couple of weeks and got nothing from them.”
Vale coach Mark Chisholm, in charge of the team as the club looks for a new manager following the resignation of Ally Macleod, said the players had worked hard through the week on what they wanted to do on the day but the two red cards changed the game.
He had no qualms with Grant Pennet’s sending-off but felt that Scott Henry’s one was harsh.
He said: “Henry stretched out but in no way has his feet left the deck and in no way has he gone in to injure the player. It was disappointing to say the least.
“The boys are at rock-bottom at present confidence-wise and we thought a Scottish Cup tie might be a break from things not working out this season. It hurts and it is sad to see at this club where I have had so many good times.”
Clach broke the deadlock after 38 minutes through a Lawrie 10-yard shot which found the target off the underside of the bar.
Pennet saw red after 55 minutes for handling outside his area after indecision in the home rearguard left Lawrie with just the goalkeeper to beat. Things got worse for Vale in the 58th minute as Henry saw red for serious foul play after a challenge on Martin Callum.
Lawrie hit the bar for Clach but finished the game as a tie with a second counter after 72 minutes before sub Scott Davidson scored a third with almost his first touch of the ball five minutes later. Callum made it four with 10 minutes remaining as Vale ran out of ideas and Daniel Maclennan completed the nap hand two minutes from time to round off a fine Clach afternoon’s work.
Vale, meanwhile, will advertise for a new manager and have set a deadline of Thursday for applications. Chairman James Mair said there has already been interest in the vacant post.