Vale of Leithen down to third from bottom of table after 2-1 home defeat

That 16th defeat of the season was accompanied by having two points taken off them, at least temporarily, due to Tweedmouth Rangers appealing against the sanction imposed on them for fielding an ineligible player during a 3-3 draw hosting the Innerleithen outfit on Sunday, March 9.

That result was overturned, with the game being awarded as a 1-0 away win due to their Northumbrian hosts’ breach of the rules, but basement side Tweedmouth’s appeal has led to that penalty being set aside until the case is decided by a Scottish Football Association judicial panel.

That turn of events, accompanied by Saturday’s on-field defeat at Victoria Park, sees manager Ian Flynn’s side drop from 11th place to 13th, now on 28 points from 26 fixtures, two points clear of second-from-bottom Harthill Royal, with the West Lothian side also having played 26 games.

Their goal at the weekend was scored by Serigne Saliou Fam on 85 minutes after Robbie Breeze had put their visitors 2-0 ahead on 11 and 47.

That result was one of three 2-1 scorelines for the region’s representatives in the division, the others being a loss for Coldstream at home to Stirling University and a win for Peebles Rovers away to West Calder United.

Thomas Grey scored for Coldstream at Home Park and Robbie Renwick was on target for Rovers at the double in West Lothian.

Those results leave manager David Brown’s Streamers ninth in the table, on 34 points from 27 fixtures, and opposite number Tam McFadyen’s Rovers 11th, on 31 from 26.

This coming Saturday sees Vale away to Fife’s Kennoway Star Hearts and Peebles Rovers at home to West Lothian’s Armadale Thistle, both 2.30pm kick-offs.

The former will be looking for a winning double, having edged out the seventh-placed Fifers by 3-2 at home in December’s reverse fixture, and the latter will be hoping to get third time lucky for this season after losing to table-toppers Thistle twice away, by 4-2 in August in the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup’s second round and by 7-0 in the league in December.

Coldstream are out of action until they play their last game of the season away to Harthill Royal on Saturday, May 17, and that fixture card also sees Vale and Peebles conclude their campaigns at home to Fife’s Burntisland Shipyard and away to West Lothian’s Bathgate Thistle respectively, all 2.30pm kick-offs too.

A division down, Hawick Royal Albert remain in contention for promotion after being lifted up to third place by a 2-0 win at home to East Lothian’s Ormiston Primrose, thanks to a 70th-minute goal from Ben Uwandu and another two minutes later from Ben Tracey.

Fellow Borderers Linton Hotspur, already confirmed for promotion to division two, stay second despite a 3-0 loss away to fourth-placed Fauldhouse United in West Lothian.

Co-managers Ruairidh Fleming and Paul Currie’s Hotspur are on 52 points from 27 fixtures and opposite number Kenny Aitchison’s Albert are on 43 from 28, three ahead of Fauldhouse but having played a game more.

Hotspur and the Royalists face opposition from opposite ends of the table this Saturday, the former being at home to basement side Edinburgh Community and the latter away to league leaders Lochgelly Albert, both 2.30pm kick-offs.

Hotspur will be hoping to make it a hat-trick of wins for this term, having beaten the capital side by 3-1 at home in August and 2-0 away in January.

Hawick’s game in Fife, on the other hand, is a potential decider, the Borderers having beaten the table-toppers by 4-2 away in September but lost to them by 3-0 at home in February.

Hotspur and Hawick wrap up their campaigns with a derby against each other at the latter’s Albert Park home ground on Saturday, May 17, that being a 2.30pm kick-off as well.

Their two prior meetings this season yielded a 1-1 draw in Hawick in August and a 3-2 victory for the hosts in West Linton in December.