Hawick Royal Albert 1 Vale of Leithen 4

The bad weather coming from the North had only just reached Hawick prior to kick off. Although the pitch looked in reasonable condition there were various bumpy areas throughout.
Vale arrived with two of Saturday’s midfield missing, Allan and Raiker, and only two players on the bench.
The game got off to the best of starts in the 2 min when Finnie played a great ball through to Liall Smith who control the ball and slotted it past the Hawick goalkeeper to give Vale the lead.
However, after some early pressure by Vale, Hawick equalised in the 6 min when some hesitation in the defence allowed a Tully header rebound to be hit home by McFadden.
Vale were having the majority of the possession with the Hawick goalkeeper pulling off a couple of good saves from Patterson and Dawson.
Hawick were mainly relying on the ball over the top where their pacy forwards were always a danger.
Vale’s pressure was rewarded in the 45 min when a deflected ball fell to Stewart who on the second attempt scored to restore Vale’s lead.
HT 1-2
The second half commenced with Vale totally in command and only a batch of missed chances in the first 15 minutes stopped them putting the game to bed.
After a lull in the play Vale went further ahead in the 65 min when after a short corner a McBride cross to the back post was headed home by Lynch.
The game was finished in the 75 min when after some neat passing movements down the right wing Stewart was upended when he cut into the box.
Patterson scored from the penalty kick.
With Vale having use their two substitutes, one of them, Jonny Scott-Mercer, twisted his knee leaving Vale to play the last 10 minutes with 10 men.
FT 1-4
Another good effort from the team, no failures tonight, keep it going boys.

A loss or draw would mean relegation for Hawick, but more importantly a win for Vale would help to ease relegation worries.

Vale of Leithen 2 Gretna 2008 2
The pitch for todays game was not the best being a bit heavy with some bumpy areas due to the scarifying of the pitch midweek.
Vale were again handicapped with Ross Brady missing due to the injury he picked up on Wednesday.
The game commenced with both sides intent on attack and Gretna were rewarded in the 12 min when after a melee in the Vale box, Pearson slotted home the opener for Gretna.
Gretna were now in the ascendancy with Vale struggled to contain them.
However, as the half progressed Vale started to take the upper hand and were rewarded 39 min when a good move down the right wing was converted by Sean Stewart.
The first half closed with Vale on top.
HT 1-1
The second started with Vale on top with Gretna restricted to breakaways.
Vale should have taken the lead in the 60 min when a Cameron Dawson header was net bound only for the Gretna goalkeeper Jamieson, to pull of an excellent save.
Two minutes later Dawson nearly scored, when after some nice footwork in the box his shot beat Jamieson only to come back of the post before it was cleared by the Gretna defence.
Vale pressure was finally rewarded in the 73 min when after a great four man move down the right Liall Smith was at the back post to give Vale the lead.
With Vale chasing a third goal to finish the game, Gretna were awarded a free kick on their left wing, and from the resultant kick a ball was not cleared in the box and a lob from Hunter beat Gilpin for the equaliser.
FT 2-2
A good performance from the whole team, who deserved to be on the winning side today.
The John Adam Bakery sponsor Man of the Match was Brad Raiker, who was presented his bottle by Honorary President, Keith Brown

Pitch is playable at present, but will be updated on a daily basis

Lothian Thistle HV 3 Vale of Leithen 0
Vale started with the same team who performed so well against East Stirlingshire.
With a strong wind at their back Vale started the game brightly and had the upper hand for the early exchanges. As the game progressed Thistle began to take control and were giving Vale problems on both wings.
Vale had to make a change when Ross Brady was injured in a tackle and had to be replaced by Steven Lynch, which meant a reshuffle in the back four.
Dawson and Stewart were very active for Vale in advanced positions but were being extremely well marshalled by the Thistle defenders.
In the 28 min Thistle’s Liam O’Donnell drove down the left wing and into the box without being tackled and hammered the ball passed Gilpin.
The rest of the first half was fairly even with the best chances falling to Thistle.
H-T 1-0
The second half commenced as the first with Vale on the front foot and giving Thistle some anxious moments at the back.
However, after a foul on the right wing in the 57 min, the resultant free kick was swung into the box and headed home by Thistle’s Grant Munro.
As Vale were winning a lot of free kicks around the Thistle penalty box, a cross from one was met by Dawson who’s header was brilliantly save by Swain.
Things got worst for Vale in the 79 min when Dawson who had been booked in the first half received a second booking and was sent off.
The game was virtually finished within minutes when Aaron Lewis mistimed a tackle in the box resulting in a penalty kick, that was subsequently scored by Louis Swanson.
FT 3-0
Over the piece Thistle were the better team on the night and deserved to win, their speed and strength were evident for all to see.