A scintillating performance from Linlithgow Rose ensured their passage into the Scottish Cup third round at the expense of Spartans.
Despite sitting a league below their visitors, the Rose dominated from the off and were worth every bit of their emphatic 4-0 victory which was highlighted by a spectacular Mark Stowe double.
He opened the scoring with a fizzing 30-yard effort five minutes before the break with Sean Heaver quickly adding a second after neat play down the right flank.
Stowe effectively made it game over on 53 minutes as he cut in from the right and curled a majestic strike beyond Blair Carswell with Dale Baxter slamming home the Rose’s fourth in the closing moments to put a bow on proceedings.
The East of Scotland Premier Division leaders went into the clash full of belief having already disposed of Lowland League opposition at Prestonfield this season with Berwick Rangers having been defeated in the first round a few weeks previously.
They nearly got off to the perfect start as a fortuitous bounce presented Alan Docherty with a chance to open the scoring on three minutes but Blair Carswell pulled off a smart save to deny the Rose forward.
That chance aside, the contest got off to a slow start - not helped by howling winds and heavy rain - with both sides probing but offering little.
Spartans enjoyed a brief spell of dominance around the half-hour mark as Jamie Dishington headed wide while Cammy Russell arrowed a thunderous effort from 25-yards narrowly past the post. The ex-Kelty Hearts man would fire into the side-netting minutes later.
That Spartans failed to find the net with those chances would prove critical as they barely created anything for the remainder of the game and would quickly find themselves with a mountain to climb.
Stowe got the ball rolling on 40 minutes as he was afforded too much space and promptly slammed home beyond the diving Blair Carswell from distance.
Five minutes later he turned provider as he teed up Greg MacPherson down the right-wing with his cutback being blasted into the roof of the net from close range by Heaver.
Spartans needed a fast start after the break but they got the exact opposite as the sensational Stowe double his tally in style.
Cutting in from the right, he curled an unstoppable effort perfectly into the far corner with his left-foot to send the packed Prestonfield crowd into raptures.
The remainder of the contest would resemble little more than a training session as the Rose gleefully swept up everything a lifeless Spartans threw at them - which wasn’t much.
Baxter finished off the scoring with a bullet from 20 yards on 85 minutes before Cammy Binnie preserved the clean sheet with a great save in the final moments to deny Sean Brown as the Rose secured a famous victory.
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