Wins for Coldstream and Linton Hotspur but Hawick Royal Albert held to draw and Vale of Leithen lose out

The weekend’s winners, both against Midlothian opposition, were Coldstream and Linton Hotspur, respectively by 4-2 away to Whitehill Welfare in EoSFL division one and 2-0 at home to Dalkeith Thistle in the EoSFL second division’s south-east conference.

Scoring for the Streamers at Rosewell’s Ferguson Park as they ended a seven-game winless run in all competitions were Thomas Grey, James Paxton and Stefan Kennedy, with an own goal going their way too and Jamie Abrahams and Lewis Collins on target for their hosts.

Paul Currie and Pol Adrian were Hotspur’s scorers at their New Moor Road home ground as they claimed their fourth league win on the bounce.

Also adding to their points tally in division two’s south-east conference were Hawick Royal Albert via a goalless draw away to Ormiston Primrose in East Lothian.

Hotspur and Albert’s conference rivals Vale of Leithen weren’t so fortunate, however, ending up on the wrong side of a 6-1 scoreline away to Midlothian’s Arniston Rangers.

Kyle Kivlichan got their goal in Gorebridge, with Jack Egan and Jamie Bannerman at the double, Andy Muir and Mason Thomas netting at the other end of the pitch.

Those results leave manager David Brown’s Streamers 12th in their table, on nine points from eight fixtures, and Currie and co-gaffer Ruairidh Fleming’s Hotspur, Kenny Aitchison’s Royalists and Ger Rossi’s Vale respectively second, fourth and tenth in theirs, on 15 from eight, 14 from seven and six from six.

This coming Saturday sees Coldstream, Albert and Vale all at home for 2.30pm kick-offs – against Edinburgh’s table-topping Heriot-Watt University, Northumberland’s seventh-placed Tweedmouth Rangers and Hotspur for a Borders derby.

Coldstream go into their game looking to extend a five-game unbeaten run against the capital city students, having got the better of them by 1-0 at home last time round, in February 2020, following four 2-2 draws in a row, two at home and two on the road, between May 2017 and August 2018.

Albert host Tweedmouth on the back of a three-game winning streak versus the English outfit – by 3-0 in April and 2-0 last September away and 3-1 at home in March.

Vale and Hotspur’s game, on the other hand, will be their first competitive meeting since the West Linton club’s arrival in the EoSFL in 2023.