Haddington once more found the going tough on Saturday, brushed aside as they shipped more than half a century of points at home to Aberdeenshire.
The Reds handed recalls to Ewan Chalmers, Ian Watt, Graeme Dykes and Kyle Adams in the back line, meaning Armandt Pryor returned to the forwards, where he was joined by the recalled Max McAlpine and evergreen Colin Stuart.
But things did not get off to a good start for Bryan Craig’s side - thumped in the reverse fixture earlier in the season - with tries from Blake, Downie, Gray and Simpson inside the first 25 minutes securing the visitors a try bonus point and leaving the Reds all-but beaten for the 15th time this season.
Those tries came in a 15-minute burst after the Reds enjoyed good possession, with captain Cockburn, Ben Laing, Pryor and Dykes to the fore early on. But as their efforts came to nothing, Aberdeenshire struck, and they extended their lead through a penalty try, with Pryor once more in the bin for something he said to the referee, and their sixth try of the first half, through centre Wiaan Griebenow.
Their lead was 36 points at the break, but the home side again enjoyed a spell of possession and territory at the start of the second half, with Kyle Adams showing the pace that has deserted the Reds backline during his spell on the sidelines.
Mark Robertson showed good touches on his home debut alongside Dykes at outside centre, but the Reds’ endeavours brought no points, while the visitors were clinical in attack.
Tries from McFarlane and Murchie took them towards the 50-point mark, and they crosssed that when Gray got his second of the afternoon after stand-off Alex Ferguson’s kick was charged down.
In amongst the tries was a red card for the visitors, and Haddington did make the numerical advantage tell when Ewan Chalmers showed good footwork to dive over in the corner.
Captain Cockburn tried to rally his troops, but they were well beaten, and the visitors struck again late on to make it 5-58.
Craig must now rally his troops, who have Saturday off, as they prepare for the must-win clash at Greenock Wanderers next weekend.
And the Reds' head coach was quick to praise the visitors for their performance.
He said: "We knew where Aberdeenshire were strong and had set up not to play into their hands by kicking the ball aimlessly to them and allowing them to counter-attack.
"We managed this for the most part but a couple of indiscretions handed them easy scores.
"Our forwards gave a good account of themselves and I feel we had just as much possession as Aberdeenshire, especially in the second half but didn't use the ball as well in attack as they did.
"The red card helped us, although we felt it was harsh, and Ewan Chalmers took his try well. I felt we were unlucky not to get more points on the board
"As I've said before this season, one thing I cannot fault this group of players for is lack of heart.
"Today they showed a lot of character against what is probably the best backline attack in the league."