​Langlee Amateurs win Border Amateur Football Association’s top-flight title for first time, thanks to 6-1 victory at Newtown

​That victory – their 19th in this season’s 22 league fixtures, accompanied by two draws and a single defeat – lifts them up into top spot, with 59 points, two more than defending champions Duns Amateurs.

This year’s title win is Langlee’s first in the top flight since their formation in 2017 but it follows back-to-back promotions as champions of the old C division in 2018 and B division in 2019.

It comes a year on from losing out to eight-times A division champions Duns by two points, having garnered 43 from 18 fixtures, and two years since missing out to the same opposition by four, on 42 from 18.

Langlee’s scorers at Newtown’s King George V Park this week were Des Sutherland with a hat-trick, Graeme Clark, Fraser Brown and Hagen Steele, with Calum McGowan getting one back for their hosts.

Sutherland’s three goals took his tally for the season to 53, the same number as earned him the association’s golden boot last year, but he’ll have to settle for being runner-up this term.

Club chairman Cubbs Turnbull was relieved to see his side finally win the title following two near misses, especially after almost letting that opportunity slip away to Tweedmouth Amateurs last month, ultimately winning 3-1 but only after being given a fright by the Northumbrians.

Their title win made it a treble for them as they were also awarded this season’s Colin Campbell Cup after Duns were unable to field a side for last August’s final in Greenlaw and they won the Border Cup too last month, beating Biggar United 5-2 in Hawick, though they also lost two finals, April’s for the South of Scotland Amateur Cup by 5-1 to Kirkfield United in Galashiels and Friday’s for the Waddell Cup by 4-3 to Duns.

Their scorers at Greenlaw’s WS Happer Memorial Park were Clark twice and Sutherland, with Sean Phillips at the double, Jonny Simpson and Luke Strangeways netting for the Dingers.

Friday’s final was the two sides’ third actual meeting of the season, both prior ones having ended up with 4-1 scorelines, in Langlee’s favour at home in April and in the Dingers’ at home in May.

Turnbull was chuffed to bits to see his team bounce back from their defeat four days earlier to be crowned champions this week, saying: “We’re absolutely delighted with it.

“It’s absolutely terrific. It’s been a long season.

“At Tweedmouth, we were 14 minutes away from losing the league as it was 1-1 at that point, but apart from that and losing away to Duns, we’ve been terrific for the second half of the season.

“It more than makes up for Friday’s cup final. The cup would have been a bonus but the league’s the main thing we were looking to win this season.

“The A division’s the thing we’ve always wanted to win since we first started up in 2017.

“We lost it on the last day of the season against Duns last year so we were determined to win it this year, but they pushed us all the way.

“For the last three seasons, it’s been between us and Duns.

“This time, we had four games to catch up on them and they were ten points in front of us just three weeks ago.”

Newtown finished third, on 37 points, with Earlston Rhymers fourth on 36, Hawick Waverley fifth on 32, Greenlaw sixth on 31, Langholm Legion seventh on 27, Chirnside United eighth on 26 and Tweedmouth ninth on 23.