Home goalkeeper Calum Brodie made a brave early save at Kenny O'Brien's feet to prevent the visitors going in front. Ross Cunningham then opened the scoring at the other end in the fifth minute when he a tapped a great cross from Owen Andrew past a helpless Lewis Whitelaw. Whitelaw promptly presented Lewis Payne with another scoring opportunity a few moments later by running well off his line but the tall striker was off target with his attempted lob. But Payne did manage to find the net on the half hour mark when he converted a good cross near the front post and the hosts seemed to relax a little thereafter. Lewis Sawers thus felt confident enough to run from the halfway line with the ball at his feet and it took a decent save from Whitelaw to prevent the flying winger from adding goal number three. Brodie then made a terrific save at the other end from a Stuart Martin shot so the score remained at 2-0 as the players headed for the half-time break. Sawers then found the net in the 47th minute with a screamer from the edge of the Edinburgh South box. That goal certainly gave the United lads a little breathing space but their opponents kept plugging away despite attacking up the slope towards the Social Club. South were disappointed to see referee Jordan Kinnon dismissing a penalty appeal in the 55th minute. Saints also had a spot kick request turned down following an impressive run by Cammy Lumsden before the visitors pulled a goal back on the hour when Jordan Cropley scored with a header from a corner to the front post. Ex-St Andrews United midfielder Jack Blaney picked up the first yellow card of the second half for fouling Ryan McManus before the latter struck the resulting free-kick against the wall. The men from the capital then notched a second goal when O'Brien headed home following a corner, though poor discipline proved to be their downfall during the closing stages. Blake Wales was booked for a bad tackle on Reece Redpath before Blaney was shown a red card for dissent. Substitute Josh Whitson also received a red card for insulting an opponent and the result was put beyond doubt when Kyle Sneddon lashed a cross by Payne high into the net, which restored United's two-goal cushion. The last action in injury time saw McManus shot straight at Whitelaw following good build-up play but the home supporters were happy with the result as they headed for post-match refreshments. Team: Brodie, Milne, C.Lumsden, Reekie, Roche (Redpath), McManus, Sawers (Dignan), Sneddon (Farningham), Payne (Shields), Andrew (Collins) and Cunningham. Crowd: 107 St Andrews United’s Under 20s suffered a narrow defeat at Sauchie on Friday evening. Callum McNeil grabbed the only goal of the fixture for the hosts in the 54th minute. However, Scott Meikle’s team are still only two points off the top of the Development North League table.