​Peebles Rovers go six points clear of drop-zone after 3-0 derby win at Vale of Leithen

​Victory for the hosts at Innerleithen’s Victoria Park would have seen them escape the two-team drop-zone and swap places with Peebles in the table but instead they stay as they were but with Vale now three points further away from safety.

Rovers are 13th, on 15 points from 15 fixtures, with Vale 14th, on nine from 14, two points better off than basement side Harthill Royal.

The division’s other Borderers, Coldstream, are sixth, on 25 from 16, after beating Tweedmouth Rangers 2-1 at home on Saturday.

Rovers’ scorers versus manager Ian Flynn’s Vale were Robbie Renwick on 11 minutes and Ben Brown on 17, with a 26th-minute own goal also going their way.

That was new gaffer Anthony Ashworth’s first victory in his three games in charge and he’s glad to have got off the mark after thumpings by 9-1 at home to West Calder United and 7-0 away to Armadale Thistle on the two Saturdays prior, telling the club’s website: “We really couldn’t have asked for any more from the lads.

“We got 100% effort and application for the full 90 minutes from the whole squad, got early goals which helped us settle and restricted Vale to very little in the way of opportunities throughout.

“We know stringing just two or three results together could see us move away from the bottom three, and this win brings us back towards a pack of teams from around ninth place downwards, so hopefully we can kick on from here and get ourselves into a more comfortable position.”

Thomas Grey and Bailey Paterson scored the Streamers’ goals at Home Park, with Euan Duff on target for their Northumbrian visitors.

Rovers have got a further derby lined up for this Saturday, at home to manager David Brown’s Coldstream at Whitestone Park, with kick-off at 2pm, and Vale are away to 12th-placed Tweedmouth, starting half an hour later.

Tweedmouth are currently level with Peebles and 11th-placed Dalkeith Thistle on 15 points from as many fixtures, sitting above the former and below the latter by virtue of goal difference and the Midlothian outfit having a game in hand respectively.

Linton ​Hotspur remain the Borders’ top dogs in the East of Scotland Football League’s third division after edging out Hawick Royal Albert 3-2 at home on Saturday.

That derby victory in West Linton, following on from a 1-1 draw for the two teams in Hawick in August, leaves manager Chris King’s Hotspur second in the table, on 29 points from 14 fixtures – ten points behind table-toppers Lochgelly Albert, having played two games fewer – and opposite number Kenny Aitchison’s Royalists third, on 26 from 17.

Ross Watson, Steven Tait and William White scored for the hosts at New Moor Road at the weekend on four minutes, 52 and 82 respectively, with Tom Fowler and Greg Ford netting for their visitors, left outnumbered by a 68th-minute red card for Harry Fowler, on 39 and 87.

This coming Saturday sees Hotspur away to ninth-placed Ormiston Primrose and Hawick hosting basement side Edinburgh Community and they go into those games respectively 14 and 13 points better off than their opponents.

Kick-off in East Lothian is at 2pm and it’s half an hour later at Albert Park.

Hotspur have played Ormiston twice already this season, winning 6-1 in October and drawing 1-1 in November, both at home.

Albert have crossed paths with the capital outfit once, winning 3-1 on the road in October, and are due to go up against them again away in April.

Hotspur are in with a chance of cutting the gap to pole position a week on Saturday, January 11, as they host Lochgelly then, at 2pm, but the other Albert have got that weekend off.