Milton Park was in surprisingly good condition for this Superleague match between two sides who had almost the complete length of the league table between them.

Nash and Cruickshank from last week’s winning Hermes side, were unavailable, their replacements being Strachan and McKechnie.

Hermes pressed forward right from the kick off and they opened the scoring in 11 minutes when a glorious Innes pass released MICHAEL DAWSON who beat the onrushing keeper Morrison to the ball and found the net with a smart finish.

The visitors doubled their lead six minutes later when an M.Smith header appeared net bound but DEREK MCKECHNIE followed up to make sure and prodded the ball over the line.

Hermes continued to dominate for the remainder of the half but, despite carving out several clear-cut chances, they failed to extend their lead.

Half-time: Banchory St Ternan 0-2 Hermes

The home side appeared for the second half with a substitute keeper, Ritchie, between the sticks and a much more determined and positive attitude.

Possession was more equally shared but the visitors were finding it difficult to prise open the Hermes defence, as the Bridge of Don side’s rearguard were in resolute mood.

As was the case in the first half, Hermes squandered a series of chances, as good leading-up play was not matched by the quality of the finishing, but a two goal lead seemed somewhat vulnerable with any mistake being capitalised on, would give Saints renewed vigour in their attempts to snatch something from the tie.

Ex-Hermes keeper Ritchie, was in good form in the Banchory goal and he pulled off several good saves and collected a series of good crosses to cut out potential danger.

As the final whistle approached, Binnie spoke out of turn to the ref and was shown a straight red; this appeared to dishearten the home side and Hermes comfortably saw out the remaining few minutes.

Full-time: Banchory St Ternan 0-2 Hermes

A straightforward win for Hermes but Banchory are to be commended for their effort and commitment, especially in the second half.

On this showing, it is a mystery why the Saints are anchored to the bottom of the Superleague, although they will need to make better use of any chances they create if they are to pull clear of the relegation spots, in their remaining eight games.

Selection the Man of the Match is very difficult in this game when there wasn’t a failure in the Hermes ranks. Lee Smith, the returning Fraser Strachan and Callum Innes, amongst others, have a good claim but the award goes to MICHAEL DAWSON for his smart finish and, more importantly, his non-stop running and harrying of the home defence, which greatly contributed to Hermes control of the match.