Derby win v Vale of Leithen earns Hawick Royal Albert their first league title for 52 years
Hawick Royal Albert are confirmed as this season’s East of Scotland Football League third division champions after beating Vale of Leithen 2-0 at home on Tuesday.
Manager Kenny Aitchison’s Royalists already had promotion in the bag but that derby victory takes them to 61 points from 28 fixtures, eight points clear of second-placed Stoneyburn, on 53 from 28, with only six points left to play for.
It also earns them their first league title since 1974 as they head back up three years on from being relegated from division two.
Harry Fowler scored both of their goals, on five minutes and 42, in front of a crowd of more than 300 at Albert Park.
Fowler also netted both of his team’s goals during a 2-0 win away to Pumpherston in West Lothian on Saturday, on 26 minutes and 87.
Albert will be presented with their league trophy after this coming Saturday’s game at home to fifth-placed Livingston United, with kick-off at 2.30pm.
That’s their second-last game of the season, with their campaign finale following seven days later away to seventh-placed Cowdenbeath Central, also at 2.30pm.
Tuesday’s derby defeat followed a 3-1 win for manager Ger Rossi’s Vale at home to East Lothian’s Ormiston Primrose at Innerleithen’s Victoria Park on Saturday.
Their scorers were Ben Brown on seven minutes, Scott Latto on 55 and Nathan Thomson on 73, with Lewis Lang getting one back for their visitors on ten.
Vale, currently eighth in the table on 41 points from 29 fixtures, have got this coming weekend off and then wrap up their season away to ninth-placed Tweedmouth Rangers on Saturday, May 16, with kick-off at 2.30pm.
Coldstream have been knocked off pole position a division up as their title race looks set to go to the wire.
Manager David Brown’s Streamers weren’t in action at the weekend, allowing West Calder United, one point behind them in second place in division two ahead of Saturday’s fixture card, to make the most of the first of their two games in hand on the Borderers by handing out a 4-0 hiding to Edinburgh College at home that afternoon.
They played the second of their games in hand away to promotion-chasing Kennoway Star Hearts on Tuesday, losing 4-1, leaving them on 52 points from 26 games ahead of a trip take on further Fifers in the form of fifth-placed Lochgelly Albert this coming Saturday, with kick-off at 2.30pm.
This Saturday also sees Coldstream return to action two weeks on from their last match and they’re away to basement side Stirling University, kicking off at 2.30pm as well.
They go into that game on 50 points from 26 fixtures, 30 points and 13 places better off than their hosts, and hoping for a winning double against the students, having beaten them 4-3 in December’s reverse fixture at Home Park, thanks to two goals from Thomas Grey and others from Thomas Hume and Craig Bell.
Coldstream and their West Lothian title rivals have got a game apiece left to go after this weekend, both 2.30pm kick-offs at home the Saturday after, the former versus fourth-placed Kennoway and the latter against third-placed Oakley United.
Division two’s other Borderers, Linton Hotspur, were beaten 2-0 at home by Oakley United on Saturday.
Olly Jessimer and Fin Goodlad scored the visiting Fifers’ goals, on 31 minutes and 85 respectively, to secure promotion to division one.
Tenth-placed Hotspur, on 34 points from 26 games, are away to third-from-bottom Edinburgh College this Saturday and that’s a 3pm kick-off.