Hill of Beath Hawthorn maintain East of Scotland League winning run

Hill of Beath Hawthorn moved clear in second place in the Premier Division after a hard-earned victory over Hutchison Vale at Ainslie Park.

Robbie Raeside's team followed up their impressive win over leaders Musselburgh Athletic seven days by beating then second-top Jeanfield Swifts in midweek, ahead of earning another three points in the capital.

Against stuffy opponents, the Haws created several good opportunities, but a mixture of off-target finishing, and some good defensive work by the hosts, kept the visitors out in the first half.

After the break, Hutchison Vale began to create some openings, with Hill of Beath goalkeeper, Blair Penman, had to make some good saves to keep his team level.

With 20 minutes to go, the visitors grabbed the lead when Jonny Galloway and Dan Watt combined well, and the latter's cross was perfect for Jordan Tosh to slide the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net.

Vale came back at the Haws in the closing 15 minutes, but some fine work by the away side's rearguard ensured a third league win in seven days.

The result takes them on to 29 points from 12 matches, five behind Musselburgh, but with two games in hand, and Raeside said: "In the first half we played some great stuff and really should have been at least a couple of goals up at half-time, but credit to Hutchie, they came right back at us in the second 45 minutes.

"However, we defended really soundly when we needed to and scored a well worked goal to collect the three points which keeps us up their challenging."

Dundonald Bluebell 4 Whitburn 2

Dundonald Bluebell produced a positive performance to take full points from their Premier Division clash with fourth-top Whitburn.

Jason Dair's men began the match on the attack and, after a few close calls, took the lead in 20 minutes when Barry Sibanda was on hand to net from close range after Regan Lumsden fired the ball into the box.

On the half hour, however, the 'Bell were pegged back when their failure to clear a corner was punished with an equaliser, but they restored their lead three minutes later when Fin Graham beat a defender before firing home from 20 yards.

The home side continued on the front foot, with Sibanda hitting the woodwork, and were rewarded shortly before the interval when Brodie Strang's left foot shot gave them a 3-1 lead.

Whitburn came out for the second period determined to get back into the game and, on the hour mark, pulled a goal back, but Dundonald kept going forward and, ten minutes from time the, safety goal came for them when Ross Drummond and Graham created the opening for new signing, Joe Kinninmonth, to slot home from close in.

The result pushes the Bluebell on to 18 points from 14 games, only a few behind the top seven sides in the table, and manager Dair said: "The first 45 minutes saw us put on our best performance so far this season and we created a host of good chances.

"It was good to be able to get Joe Kinninmonth aboard during the week and he took his goal well."

Edinburgh South 7 Crossgates Primrose 0

Crossgates Primrose manager Alan Campbell said he is looking for a reaction from his players after they were "well beaten" at Edinburgh South.

The Humbug Park outfit fell to their heaviest defeat of the season, and just their third in the First Division, in the capital against opponents who are two places outside the relegation positions.

Ciaran Vaughan put the home side ahead in the 14th minute and, by the break, Crossgates were four goals behind, as Kenny O'Brien, Lee Taggart and Jack Blaney all found the net.

O'Brien netted his second, and Edinburgh's fifth, from the penalty spot two minutes after the restart, before completing his hat-trick just three minutes later.

Reece Ferguson completed a miserable day for Primrose late on, and Campbell said: "We were well beaten.

"We were outplayed from start to finish, out-fought and out-worked. I didn't see it coming; it was a shock and a surprise.

"I don't know if we turned up expecting to win. The pitch was particularly poor but it's not an excuse - they played well on it, and we didn't do it.

"The scoreline is maybe a bit harsh. Every single shot they hit seemed to go in.

"All credit goes to them on the day. They deserved their win. It's a real character test for the players to come back from that.

"Everything that went wrong, went wrong, and it's back to the drawing board and back to basics for us this week.

"It's not acceptable and I'm looking forward to seeing how they react. They've had a lot of plaudits from me and the supporters, but they need to take a wee bit of flack for that result."

Lochore Welfare 4 Leith Athletic 1

A fantastic performance from Lochore Welfare saw them extend their unbeaten run to four First Division matches with a convincing win over Leith Athletic.

James Adam's side had to fight back from a goal down against their mid-table opponents, but were the better side throughout, and rose to 14th place in the table.

The Welfare dominated possession in the opening period, but a deflected shot from around 25 yards gave the visitors a 13th minute lead.

Although a lack of a clinical finish prevented Lochore from going into the break level, they did equalise a minute after the restart when Scott Small scored a penalty after Ciaran Healy was fouled in the box.

Five minutes later, the Welfare were in front when Gregg Page made a great run before crossing for Joe Kirby, who slotted into the net.

Leith were struggling to contain the Lochore attack and, just 10 minutes after the break, they fell further behind when Jude Black finished in style after more good work by Healy.

With 17 minutes to go, the hosts made the points safe when Small converted from the spot for a second time after Logan Donaldson was hauled down in the area.

Lochore now have 10 points from 12 gmes, three behind Preston Athletic, one place above the relegation places, and with a game in hand.

Adam said: "The second-half performance was as good as we have played all season, with some great football and it was a very valuable win. That is eight points from the past four games."

Pumpherston 2 Lochgelly Albert 2

Third Division leaders Lochgelly Albert were made to rue missed chances as they were held to a draw by fourth-top Pumpherston.

Kieran Boundy and Scott Russell both came close to breaking the deadlock early on for the visitors, and the latter got it in the 14th minute from a penalty after Declan Boyle was taken down in the box.

Pumpherston levelled in the 27th minute when a high pass was not dealt with by the Berts defence, and the loose ball was tucked away, but Lochgelly were soon back on the attack.

There were several chances squandered before Calum Bennell hit the bar on the stroke of half-time, but two minutes into the second period, the Albert were back in front when Dylan Geddes latched on to a cut back and, after his initial shot was blocked, he fired in the rebound.

Russell and Jens Moret came close to extending the lead with fine efforts, before a shot from the former appeared to be handled on the line, but the referee waved play on.

Then, late in the game, Pumpherston levelled again when Kieran Annandale's passed the ball back to goalkeeper, Stan Greenwood, but his clearance struck a home attacker, and the loose ball was tucked away.

Lochgelly have 32 points from 13 games, and are 10 clear of second placed Linton Hotspur, having played three more games.

Albert committee man, Derek Patrick, said: "We certainly created a number of very good chances, although our finishing was a little off target at times while we could have avoided both goals conceded, but we are in a good position a third of the way through the programme."

Saturday's fixtures: East of Scotland Qualifying Cup, third round: Bathgate Thistle v Dundonald Bluebell (1.30pm), Hill of Beath Hawthorn (2.30pm). King Cup, first round: Lochore Welfare v Crossgates Primrose (1.30pm).