Round-one byes for all six Borders sides contesting next football season’s East of Scotland Qualifying Cup

Only three first-round ties will be played – a Fife derby for Kennoway Star Hearts at home to Kirkcaldy and Dysart, a West Lothian derby for Stoneyburn hosting West Calder United and a trip to Newburgh for Edinburgh College.

Gala Fairydean Rovers, the region’s only Scottish Lowland Football League side left, go straight into 32-tie round two, along with the East of Scotland Football League second division’s Peebles Rovers, Coldstream and Linton Hotspur and EoSFL division three’s Vale of Leithen and Hawick Royal Albert.

Fairydean are at home at Netherdale to Fife’s Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts, relegated to EoSFL division two after finishing bottom of the table above last season.

Manager Martin Scott’s Galashiels side were also drawn against Swifts the season before last, losing 3-2 in Dalgety Bay in February last year in round five, with their hosts going on to win that April’s final in Newtongrange in Midlothian by 2-1 against East Lothian’s Dunbar United.

Peebles are away to further Fifers in the form of the EoSFL first division’s Crossgates Primrose.

Coldstream are also on the road, either to second division rivals Edinburgh College or third division Newburgh.

Hotspur host Newtongrange Star, newly promoted to the EoSFL’s premier division after finishing third in the league below, at their New Moor Road ground in West Linton.

Division three sides Albert and Vale face opposition from four and three tiers up respectively.

The Royalists are at home to East Lothian’s Tranent, fourth-place finishers in the Lowland League last season, and an away-day in Midlothian awaits Vale as they’ve been drawn against the EoSFL premier division’s Penicuik Athletic.

The Lowland League’s Linlithgow Rose, the cup’s current holders, having beaten Dunbar 2-1 in this year’s final at the end of April in Edinburgh, begin their defence of it away to fellow West Lothian side Pumpherston, currently playing four tables below them in the EoSFL’s third division.

No dates have been set yet but last year’s first and second round ties started in July and continued through August into September.

Vale were the region’s last men standing last time round, making it to round four.

The Innerleithen outfit got the better of third division Livingston United by 2-1 at home in round two last August and saw off first division Kirkcaldy away 6-3 in round three last November, going out 2-1 away to premier division Dunbar in December.

Peebles and Hotspur both went out at the first hurdle away to West Lothian opposition, going down 4-2 at Armadale Thistle last August and 9-0 at Whitburn the month before respectively, as did Albert, edged out 3-2 away to Edinburgh’s Civil Service Strollers that August.

Coldstream went out in round three, losing 2-0 at home to Fife’s Thornton Hibs last September after beating Northumberland’s Tweedmouth Rangers by the same scoreline away the month prior.

Fairydean – ten-time winners of the cup, most recently in 1995 – exited at the same stage, losing 4-2 on penalties away to eventual winners Linlithgow last November after finishing open play tied at 2-2. That knockout followed a 3-1 round-two victory away to Edinburgh United three months earlier.

First and second-round draws have also been made for next season’s King Cup.

Vale are the only Borderers involved in round one and they’ll play division three rivals Tweedmouth at home, with the winner of that tie facing EoSFL division two’s Fauldhouse United away in West Lothian in the second round.

Round two also sees Hotspur hosting Crossgates, Albert away to fellow third division team Ormiston Primrose in East Lothian, the Streamers on the road against either Edinburgh College or first division Edinburgh University and Peebles away to division two’s Kinnoull near Perth.

That trophy is currently in premier division Bo’ness Athletic’s possession after their 6-1 win in this year’s final against Leith Athletic on Sunday in Blackburn in West Lothian.

Again, no dates have been fixed but round-one ties were played from October through to December last year.

All five of the region’s representatives went out at the first time of asking last year.

Albert were beaten 2-0 away to Inverkeithing in October and Hotspur lost 4-1 at Midlothian’s Easthouses Lily Miners’ Welfare in November, both in round one.

Vale and Coldstream both went down by 3-1, the former at home to Kinnoull and the latter away to Stirling University, and Peebles were knocked out 3-0 at Blackburn United, all in November.