Match report: Hawick Royal Albert United 4, Peebles Rovers 4

Hawick Royal Albert United's Macauley Steele celebrates scoring against Peebles Rovers as his family watch from outside the ground. Photo: Bill McBurnie

It was an end-to-end match as Hawick and Peebles shared eight goals between them in their first encounter of the season in the East of Scotland Football League’s first division conference B, refereed by Kevin Lindsay.

Macauley Steele at the double, Ash Langford and Lewis Swaney were the home side’s scorers, and the visitors’ goals came courtesy of a David Lindsay hat-trick and another from Dale Skinner.️

Hawick went three goals ahead during a seven-minute spell not long after the half-hour mark, but their visitors got one back in first-half stoppage time and added two more on 54 and 65 minutes.

Macauley Steele scored Hawick Royal Albert United's first two goals during their 4-4 tussle with Peebles Rovers. Photo: Bill McBurnie

Swaney put Hawick back in front on 75 minutes, only for Skinner to score an equaliser as the final whistle loomed and snatch away two of the three points were hoping were in the bag at that point.

That 4-4 draw leaves Peebles in ninth place with five points after six games and Hawick in 13th with two points after five games and a three-point deduction for fielding ineligible players last month.

Hawick’s next game is a south region challenge cup tie away to Fife’s St Andrews United on Saturday, November 21, and that’s followed by a league game away to Easthouses Lily Miners’ Welfare in Midlothian on Wednesday, November 25.

Peebles have another Borders derby up next as they host Eyemouth United this Saturday, November 14, at 2pm, and they then host Fife’s Oakley United in the cup on November 21.