Vale of Leithen out of EoSFL division two relegation zone after beating students 3-2 at home

The Innerleithen outfit’s scorers at their Victoria Park home ground were James Flynn on nine minutes and 68 and Daniel McKinlay on 86.

That seventh victory of the season saw manager Ian Flynn’s team notch up a winning double against the Stirling students after beating them 1-0 away in November.

It also moves them up one place to one above the two-deep danger-zone, on 22 points from 23 fixtures, with a 1-0 victory for Midlothian’s Dalkeith Thistle away to Northumberland’s Tweedmouth Rangers at the same time seeing the former, on 21 from 22, go up one place to second from bottom and the latter, with 19 from 24, replace them in the basement spot.

Coldstream remain the Borders’ top dogs in the division, dropping one place to tenth after a 2-2 draw at home to West Lothian’s West Calder United, and Peebles Rovers remain as they were, in 11th place, after being edged out 4-3 hosting Fife’s Burntisland Shipyard.

Manager David Brown’s Streamers are now on 30 points from 24 matches and opposite number Tam McFadyen’s Rovers on 24 from 23.

Coldstream’s scorers at Home Park were Thomas Grey and Miguel Freire, with Hassan Nyang and Andy Jackson on target for their visitors past home goalkeeper Matt Hall.

Kyle Kivlichan scored for Peebles beyond visiting No 1 Kacper Okupnik at Whitestone Park on 51 minutes, Jamie Mackay on 57 and Gregor Lamb on 73, with Stuart Forster getting a hat-trick for their visitors – on 15, 53 and 66 – and Dan McBay also netting beyond home No 1 Jordan Moffat, on 69.

Coldstream, Peebles and Vale are all on the road this coming Saturday – at fifth-placed Edinburgh College, Fife’s seventh-placed Kennoway Star Hearts and Dalkeith respectively – with the Streamers’ kick-off at 3pm and the others half an hour earlier.

The Streamers will be hoping for a winning double against the capital students, having beaten them 6-1 in September’s reverse fixture at home – thanks to goals from James Paxton at the double, Grey, Ben Wright, Jack Storm and Ejay Gay – but their fellow travellers will be looking to make amends for losses earlier in the season, Peebles by 2-0 in September and Vale by 3-1 in October.

A division down, Linton Hotspur boosted their chances of promotion with a 3-0 win away to Pumpherston on Saturday, but Hawick Royal Albert have dropped out of the top three after losing 3-1 at home to another West Lothian side, Stoneyburn.

On the scoresheet for Hotspur co-managers Ruairidh Fleming and Paul Currie’s visitors past home goalkeeper Callum Macdonald were Liam McIntosh at the double and Connor Brunton.

Tom Fowler scored for gaffer Kenny Aitchison’s Royalists past visiting goalkeeper Mark McKenna, with Sam Bryant, Sam Clark and Ross Mackay beating Jordan Pettigrew at the other end of the pitch.

Hotspur remain second in the table, now on 45 points from 22 fixtures, with Albert down one place to fourth, on 37 from 26.

Hawick have got this Saturday off but Hotspur are in action, hosting third-from-bottom Edinburgh United in West Linton, with kick-off at 2.30pm, and they’ll be hoping to get their own back on their visitors after losing their only prior meeting of this season, by 3-1 at home in September.