A MUCH changed Whitecraigs side brushed aside the Marr challenge on Saturday to breeze into the next round of the Scottish cup.
With coach Jim Henderson taking the opportunity to give some fringe players their chance it took Craigs a while to find their usual fluency, before eventually breaking down the robust Ayrshire side.
The season of goodwill was certainly on show early on when Whitecraigs gifted the home side a try straight from the kick-off.
Seconds into the match the speedy Marr winger raced onto a cross-field kick and showed Martin Cartwright a clean set of heels to go in at the corner.
But with Jamie Savage making his first start of the season Whitecraigs had their own speedster, and it was his pace moments later that set the platform for Jamie Howarth to plough over the try line and bring the sides level.
Despite getting back into the match Whitecraigs were still struggling to dominate and it was Marr who were pressing the hardest to regain the advantage.
However, when Craigs were handed a penalty deep in the Marr danger-zone a set penalty move was performed to perfection and Ian Laidlaw went through to give his side the lead.
Marr came back strong though and on 35 minutes drew level with a flowing backs move, before on the stroke of half time Craigs took the lead again through a well-taken Gavin Mahindru try to make the score 17-12.
After the break Craigs started to dominate and even a flurry of substitutes failed to disrupt the cohesion that was now being shown.
First the impressive Savage got his name on the scoresheet when he rounded off a well conrstucted backs move, before debutant stand-off Murray Houston expertly released Phil Nicol to put the result beyond doubt at 29-12.
With 10 minutes left there was still time for one more try, again created by Houston, when Ben Blamire charged under the posts to conclude the scoring at 36-12.
Next up in the cup is high-flying Peebles at West Lodge, but attention now turns again to the crucial league matches in the new year which could decide the outcome of Whitecraigs' season.
A delighted Jim Henderson said: "For us we want to test ourselves at the highest level to see where we are and in the next round against Peebles we will certainly do that.
"In the first half those who made the jump up struggled to get to grips with it, but Marr did very well.
"But we have to regroup now because January is a big month for us with crucial games against Hawick YM and Linlithgow in the league."
Team: Laidlaw, Christine, Campbell, Howarth, Stuart, N. Blamire, B. Blamire, Walker, Turnbull, McMillan, Mahindru, Fisher, Nicol, Savage, Cartwright. Subs - Houston, A. McLeod, A. McLeod, Nisbet.