All five of Borders’ East of Scotland Football League teams back in action this Saturday after weekend off for three

Even the two that were playing on Saturday gone might well wish they’d had a blank weekend too as both ended up on the wrong ends of their scorelines against West Lothian opposition.

Vale of Leithen lost out 2-1 at home to West Calder United in their EoSFL second division fixture and Hawick Royal Albert were knocked out of this season’s King Cup after losing a second-round tie away to the EoSFL first division’s Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts.

On the scoresheet for West Calder – currently second to Armadale Thistle in the table, on 22 points from 11 fixtures – were Andrew Jackson from the penalty spot on 18 minutes and Jamie MacAllister on 44 after Kyle Mitchell had put their hosts at Innerleithen’s Victoria Park ahead on seven.

That ninth loss in ten league fixtures so far leaves Vale as they were, at the bottom of the table on three points, though they’re only two points adrift of second-from-bottom Harthill Royal and with a game in hand on them and five points from safety.

Aaron Woods and Jordan Hunter scored for the now-Fife-based Swifts versus Albert on 53 minutes and 86 at Dalgety Bay Sports Centre to book a second-round tie away to Fauldhouse United.

The Royalists’ knockout was one of two first-round ties played at the weekend, with eight to follow, six of them allocated dates so far.

They include a trip to Midlothian’s Easthouses Lily Miners’ Welfare for Linton Hotspur on Saturday, November 16, and an away-day at West Lothian’s Blackburn United for Peebles Rovers on Saturday, November 30.

If they make it through to round two, both will face West Lothian opponents, Harthill at home for Hotspur and Stoneyburn away for Peebles.

Vale and fellow EoSFL second division side Coldstream have been given byes to round two, the former hosting Perth and Kinross side Kinnoull on November 30 and the latter away to Stirling University on a date to be fixed.

Hotspur were due to play Fauldhouse away in the league on Saturday gone but that fixture was postponed due to their prospective West Lothian hosts’ Park View pitch being waterlogged.

The West Linton outfit host sixth-placed Stoneyburn this Saturday and their EoSFL third division rivals Albert are away to Fife’s eighth-placed Newburgh Juniors.

A division up, Vale and Coldstream are away, to ninth-placed Stirling Uni and West Lothian’s third-placed Bathgate Thistle respectively, and Peebles host Harthill.

All this weekend’s league fixtures kick off at 2pm except Vale’s, that one starting an hour later.

Coldstream are seventh in the second division table at the moment, on 15 points from 11 fixtures, and Peebles 13th, on eight from ten, with Albert second in the league beneath, on 19 from 11, and Hotspur fourth, on 16 from eight.