East of Scotland Football League third division Borders derby between Hawick Royal Albert and Linton Hotspur on way at weekend

Peebles Rovers beating Ormiston Primrose 1-0 away in September (Pic: Ian Robertson)

Manager Kenny Aitchison’s Royalists go into that match at Albert Park, with kick-off at 2.30pm, sitting fourth in the table, with 25 points from 11 fixtures.

That’s six places and 19 points better off than their second-bottom visitors, currently on two wins and 11 defeats from 13 fixtures after joining the league in the summer.

One of those losses was in the reverse fixture in West Linton in September, by 3-1, thanks to two goals from Harry Fowler and one from his brother Tom.

Hotspur’s first match of next year is at home to third-from-bottom Fifers Lochgelly Albert on Saturday, January 6, with kick-off at 2pm, but Hawick have to wait a week longer. Their first fixture of 2024 is also against Lochgelly at 2pm, but it’s away on Saturday, January 13.

The Royalists go into that game hoping for a winning double, having beaten the other Albert 3-0 in Hawick at the end of September. Their scorers that time round were Greg Ford, Harry Fowler and Jack McAlpine.

Peebles Rovers and Coldstream are both at home in the EoSFL’s second division this Saturday, the former to East Lothian’s Ormiston Primrose and the latter to Northumberland’s Tweedmouth Rangers.

Kick-off at Rovers’ Whitestone Park ground is at 2pm and at the Streamers’ Home Park it’s half an hour later.

Peebles are 12th in the table at the moment, on 17 points from 13 fixtures, with Coldstream tenth, on 18 from 15.

Manager Ger Rossi’s Rovers won the reverse fixture against Ormiston by 1-0 in September and Coldstream, currently without a gaffer after Kieran Ainslie’s departure at the start of the month, came up trumps in theirs too that same day, by 4-2.

Robbie Renwick got Rovers’ goal at New Recreation Park and Regan Graham, Stuart Coyle, Miguel Freire and Owen Renton scored for Coldstream at Berwick’s Shielfield Park, with Sam Straughan and Evan Smith replying.

The region’s two second division representatives’ first fixture of 2024 is a derby at Home Park on January 6, with kick-off at 2.30pm, their previous meeting of this season having been a 2-2 draw in Peebles in November.

Kyle Kivlichan scored both Rovers’ goals that day, putting them 2-0 up at half-time, but Jack Storm and Thomas Grey hit back after the break to earn a point for the visitors.