All but one of Borders’ EoSFL sides facing top-flight opposition in round one of league cup

Friday’s draw handed out home ties against EoSFL premier division teams to the second division’s Peebles Rovers and the next table down’s Linton Hotspur, with the former hosting Dunbar United, now managed by ex-Hotspur gaffer Chris King, and the latter taking on Edinburgh University.

Third division Hawick Royal Albert will be away to Tynecastle and the division above’s Coldstream will be hitting the road to St Andrews United.

Second division Vale of Leithen, the region’s only team not to have been paired up with premier division opponents, will be at home to the first division’s Thornton Hibs.

This year’s EoSFL league cup first-round ties will be played on or around Saturday, March 1.

Peebles and Dunbar last met in the South Region Challenge Cup’s second round in September 2023, with the East Lothian outfit edging out their hosts at Whitestone Park by 2-1

Coldstream haven’t played St Andrews since they were both in the old first division conference A, beating them 2-0 at home in September 2021 and drawing 1-1 away the May after, with the same going for Albert in conference B two seasons prior, their only meeting of that covid-hit campaign being a 12-0 thumping on the road in October 2019.

Vale and Hibs’ game in Innerleithen will be their first for years and quite possibly ever, and the same applies to the capital students’ away-day in West Linton.

Vale and Albert were the region’s last men standing in the league cup last season, both making it to round two.

The former were beaten 5-1 at Jeanfield Swifts after seeing off Edinburgh Community 4-1 away earlier last March and the latter lost 5-2 at Whitburn after knocking out Livingston United 3-2 on the road a week prior.

Peebles, Coldstream and Hotspur all went out in round one, losing 3-2 hosting Arniston Rangers, 1-0 at Hutchison Vale and 6-0 at Blackburn United last March respectively.