8-0 win for Langlee Amateurs at Chirnside United takes striker Des Sutherland’s goal tally for club to 250

Duns Amateurs on the ball during their 4-0 win at Stow on Saturday (Photo: Steve Cox)

Border Amateur Football Association fixtures might have been in scant supply on Saturday but goals weren’t as the four games that went ahead yielded more than 30 altogether.

A division table-toppers Langlee Amateurs claimed the biggest win of the day, putting eight goals past third-placed Chirnside United on the road without reply.

Second-placed Duns Amateurs are maintaining their challenge to win the division’s title for the second year on the trot, however, with a 4-0 victory at Stow at the weekend keeping them just a point behind Langlee and with a game in hand on them.

Des Sutherland notched up another hat-trick for Langlee, with Lewis Swaney and Jack Hay adding doubles and Fraser Brown also netting.

Stow in possession during their 4-0 home loss to Duns Amateurs on Saturday (Pic: Steve Cox)

Sutherland’s hat-trick was his 24th in his 143 games for the club since 2017 and takes his tally to 36 for this season and 250 all told.

Luke Strangeways scored twice for Duns before being red-carded not long after the half-hour mark and Kieran Burns also got on the scoresheet at the double.

Those two A division fixtures – leaving Langlee on 34 points from 14 fixtures, Duns on 33 from 13 and Chirnside on 23 from 15 – were among only four league matches played, the others being one apiece in the B and C divisions.

The former was a 6-2 home victory for Earlston Rhymers against Ancrum and the latter a 7-4 win for Lauder at Jed Legion.

Earlston Rhymers beating Ancrum 6-2 at home on Saturday (Pic: Steve Cox)

One B division match was also played on Friday night, a 2-1 win for Coldstream Amateurs hosting Gala Hotspur.

Rhymers’ scorers were Danny Simpson at the double, Phil Addison, Jimmy, Adam Moffat and Ali Buchanan, with Stuart Spence and Kieran Hayes netting for Ancrum.

Their win leaves them sitting second in the table, with 33 points from 16 games, four shy of league leaders Biggar United, having played one match extra.

Lauder move off the foot of the C division to second bottom, on 11 points from 17 games, with Kelso Thistle taking their place. Jed are fifth, with 16 points from 14 matches. Eyemouth United Amateurs remain top with a 100% haul of 45 points from 15 fixtures.

Earlston Rhymers hosting Ancrum on Saturday (Pic: Steve Cox)

One cup tie was also played on Saturday, a 7-1 defeat for Newtown at Lesmahagow in the South of Scotland Amateur Cup’s semi-finals.

The other semi will be played this coming Saturday, at the Netherdale 3G pitch in Galashiels, and it will see Langlee up against South Lanarkshire opposition too, their opponents being Lanark’s Kirkfield United.

It’s one of six cup ties on this Saturday’s fixture card, the others being Sanderson Cup quarter-finals for Jed at home to Eyemouth and Kelso Thistle hosting Berwick Colts, a Waddell Cup last-eight game for Stow hosting Hawick Colts and Walls Cup first-round ties for Selkirk Victoria at home to Coldstream and Leithen Rovers at Biggar.

Four league fixtures are also lined up for this weekend, two each in the association’s A and B divisions.

Ancrum in possession at Earlston Rhymers at the weekend (Pic: Steve Cox)

The former see basement side Newtown hosting sixth-placed Langholm Legion and third-from-bottom Tweeddale Rovers at home to seventh-placed Greenlaw.

The latter take fifth-placed Hawick Legion to the team beneath them, Ancrum, and second-bottom Hawick United to Earlston.