Inverness thrashed Second Division Stirling to advance to the fourth round of the Tennent's Scottish Cup, thanks to a devastating attacking performance which yielded six goals.

Craig Dargo bundled in the first, prior to a volley from Dennis Wyness and, although David O'Brien pulled a goal back, Roy McBain added a third - all in the first 22 minutes.

Dargo then scored a wonderful chip and second-half goals from Barry Wilson and substitute Alan Morgan completed the rout.

Inverness soon found their stride against Albion and it was not long until some concerted pressure from the Highlanders resulted in them scoring twice inside 13 minutes.

The first goal came when John Rankin won the ball from Steven Bell and the midfielder crossed for Dargo to nudge the ball past Stirling goalkeeper Myles Hogarth from only two yards out.

A well-worked goal then saw the visitors double their advantage, as McBain's lofted pass was knocked back by Graham Bayne and Wyness dispatched a brilliant volley into the right-hand corner of the goal from 18 yards.

But home side retaliated almost immediately, after John Fraser's through-ball allowed O'Brien to beat Inverness keeper Mark Brown with a low shot which found the net via the far post.

Caley Thistle soon restored their two-goal lead though. When McBain's initial shot struck the legs of team-mate Wyness, the midfielder latched on to the rebound to blast a powerful effort past Hogarth.

Stirling gave the visitors a scare in the 32nd minute, when Fraser ran on to the ball 30 yards out and launched a searing shot towards Brown's goal, which cannoned back off the crossbar.

However, four minutes before the interval a moment of magic from Dargo saw Caley Thistle score their fourth.

The forward took possession of the ball 25 yards from goal and proceeded to find the space in a congested area of the pitch, before floating a superb 25-yard chip over the head of the stranded Hogarth.

Caley Thistle showed no signs of dropping the pace in the second half and only two minutes following the restart, the Highlanders scored their fifth goal of the game.

Wilson collected the ball 30 yards from goal and drove forward positively, prior to firing a low drive into the far corner of the net.

Dargo was then robbed of a chance to complete his hat-trick by Wilson, who took the ball off the striker's toes following a pass by Bayne and clipped a shot wide - much to the frustration of his colleague.

In his last involvement of the game, Bayne struck the post after connecting with a Wilson cut-back, before being replaced by Rory McAllister.

Shortly afterwards Morgan also entered the action, with Wilson going off and the substitute soon scored Caley Thistle's sixth of a remarkably one-sided match.

Rankin fed the ball to Morgan and the former Blackburn trainee managed to slip the ball past Hogarth from an acute angle as Inverness ran riot at the Forthbank Stadium.

Teams:

Stirling Hogarth, Hay (Taggart 55), McNally, Graham, Forsyth,Steven Bell, Fraser, Aitken, O'Brien (Devine 76),Tomana (Wilson 55), Cramb.

Subs Not Used: Christie, Malseed.

Goals: O'Brien 15.

Inverness CT Brown, Tokely (McCaffrey 53), Dods, Duncan,Munro, Wilson (Morgan 67), McBain, Rankin, Dargo,Bayne (McAllister 62), Wyness.

Subs Not Used: Fraser, Black.

Goals: Dargo 8, Wyness 13, McBain 22, Dargo 41, Wilson 47,

Morgan 69.

Att: 1,521

Ref: M Ritchie (Scotland).