They needed just five minutes to open the scoring when David Scullion crossed from the left for Gary Hamilton to beat Stuart Addis with a bicycle kick.

Michael Halliday made it 2-0 on 16 minutes from close range after he beat his marker to turn home a Kyle Neill ball.

Scullion almost made it 3-0 on the hour when from, another Neill ball, his effort was turned onto the bar by City 'keeper Addis who moments later performed heroically again to deny Hamilton.

Then, moments later, Hamilton again threatened to extend Glentoran's lead only for his goalbound effort to be cleared off the line by Mark Gracey.

That elusive third goal eventually arrived on 74 minutes when Glentoran debutant Shane McCabe burst through the defence to lay the ball off to Hamilton to coolly beat Addis.

And Hamilton grabbed his hat-trick just a couple of minutes later from another McCabe ball before Jason Hill completed the scoring four minutes from the end from the spot.