Hawick Royal Albert maintain two-point lead at top of table with 9-1 thumping of basement side

That 16th win of this term leaves manager Kenny Aitchison’s Royalists on 49 points from 23 fixtures, with their West Lothian title rivals, 5-2 winners at home to Cowdenbeath Central at the weekend, on 47 from 23.

Connor Elliot and Harry Fowler both racked up hat-tricks for Albert, with Lewis Dyke netting at the double and Aiden Gillan scoring too and Cammy Johnston getting one back for their bottom-of-the-table visitors from the capital.

That glut of goals – the most they’ve put away this campaign, outdoing a 6-0 win away to Ormiston Primrose in November – takes their team’s goal difference to plus-32, ten better than Stoneyburn’s.

Fellow Borderers Vale of Leithen were also in division three action on Saturday, winning 3-0 at home to Edinburgh United.

That was the Innerleithen outfit’s 11th win of the season and it sees them sitting seventh in the table, on 37 points from 24 games.

Kyle Kivlichan racked up a hat-trick for manager Ger Rossi’s Victoria Park hosts, finding the back of the net on 66 minutes, 77 and 86.

Opportunity knocks for Vale to do Albert a favour this coming Saturday as they’re at home to Stoneyburn, with kick-off at 2.30pm. Hawick are away to ninth-placed Tweedmouth Rangers at the same time.

Vale have crossed paths with this weekend’s opponents twice already this season, losing 4-1 at home last August but winning 2-0 on the road in January.

The same goes for Albert but they’re on two wins out of two thus far, by 2-0 away in September and 3-1 at home last month.

A division up, second-placed Coldstream fell further behind table-toppers West Calder United after drawing 3-3 away to Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts in Fife on Saturday.

Their West Lothian title rivals won 4-2 at home to Stirling University at the same time, leaving them on 49 points from 22 fixtures, a win clear of manager David Brown’s Streamers, now on 46 from 24.

Coldstream’s scorers in Dalgety Bay were Craig Bell at the double and James Paxton, with Finlay Shearer on target for their hosts twice and Dan Thomson netting past visiting goalkeeper Elliott Turnbull as well.

The region’s other representatives in their division, Linton Hotspur, were also in action in Fife that afternoon, drawing 2-2 at Burntisland Shipyard.

That result leaves co-managers Ruairidh Fleming and Paul Currie’s side ninth in the table, on 33 points from 24 fixtures.

Pol Adrian scored both the West Linton side’s goals on 12 minutes and 20, with Innes Marr and Michael Gibb replying on 16 and 33.

This weekend’s second division fixture card could go a long way towards deciding the title’s destination as it includes Coldstream hosting West Calder, with kick-off at Home Park at 2.30pm, and a win would take them back above their visitors as their goal difference is three better.

It would also be their first victory ever against the Hermand Park team at the fourth time of asking, having lost to them twice away, by 3-1 in November and 4-2 back in August 2024, and drawn once, 2-2 last April.

Hotspur host Fife’s fourth-placed Kennoway Star Hearts at New Moor Road at the same time and they’ll be hoping to add to the point they picked up by drawing November’s reverse fixture on the road 2-2.