Updated: Border Amateur Football Association title races going to wire after wins for Duns, Langlee and Eyemouth United ammies

​Tuesday’s 4-1 victory for A division table-toppers Duns Amateurs at home to second-placed Langlee Amateurs widened the gap between them to four points but their visitors’ two games in hand give them six extra points to play for.

Duns go into their two-game run-in on 51 points from 20 fixtures, with Langlee on 47 from 18.

The defending champions’ remaining games are a visit from Langholm Legion this coming Saturday and a trip to Biggar United seven days later.

Langlee’s run-in comprises away-days at Tweedmouth Rangers on Saturday and Newtown on Tuesday, May 28, sandwiching visits from Newtown on Tuesday, May 21, and Langholm on Saturday the 25th.

Eight-times A division champions Duns and Langlee, yet to win the top-flight title, both notched up victories on Saturday, the former by 5-2 hosting Hawick Legion and the latter by 9-1 away to Greenlaw.

Luke Strangeways scored twice for the Dingers at their New Hawthorn Park home ground, with Josh Hebdon, Liam Longstaff and Conor Devaney also on target and Euan Gray and Calder Law replying for their visitors.

Langlee’s scorers at Greenlaw’s WS Happer Memorial Park were Jack Hay with four, Des Sutherland and Ryan Clapperton with two apiece and Hagen Steele, with Cam Storrar getting one back for their hosts.

Strangeways and Hebdon were on target for Duns again in midweek, along with Jonny Simpson and Sean Phillips, and Graeme Clark registered a consolation effort for Langlee.

Two other A division matches were played at the weekend and another two followed on Tuesday, the former being a 6-2 win for Earlston Rhymers away to Langholm Legion and a 1-0 loss for Tweeddale Rovers at home to Tweedmouth, thanks to a Kyle Murray goal.

Danny Simpson and Phil Addison both scored twice for Rhymers in Dumfries and Galloway, with Marcus Gordon and Mikey Gavana also netting and Ryan Thomson and Cole Hamilton on target at the other end of the pitch.

Tuesday’s other top-flight games were a 6-3 win for Earlston at basement side Hawick Legion and a 2-1 defeat for Greenlaw hosting Newtown.

Scott Rice scored three for Rhymers at Brunton Park, with Simpson adding two and Jimmy Bell another. Joe Wylie scored twice for their now-relegated hosts and Kieran Hayes got their other.

Hawick Legion finish the season on 16 points from 22 fixtures and second-bottom Tweeddale, on 19 from 22, will be going down with them unless third-bottom Biggar, currently on 19 from 21, lose by a margin of more than 15 goals at home to Duns a week on Saturday, offering them a chance of survival via a play-off against Hawick United, third-place finishers in the B division.

As things stand, though, it’ll be Biggar playing off against Hawick United on Friday, May 24.

Darren Blacklock and Andrew Smith netted for Newtown and Ryan Mann for Greenlaw.

Tuesday’s results lift Rhymers up to third place, on 36 points from 21 fixtures, with Newtown fourth, on 34 from 19, and Greenlaw sixth, on 31 from 22.

A 5-0 win for Eyemouth United Amateurs at Leithen Rovers at the weekend means the B division title is now theirs to lose ahead of this Saturday’s season finale for them and challengers Highfields United.

Both having played 23 fixtures, Eyemouth are on 58 points and their Berwick title rivals on 57 prior to season-concluding visits from Gala Fairydean Rovers Amateurs and Ancrum respectively this weekend.

They’re among three B division fixtures lined up for Saturday, along with a trip to Coldstream Amateurs for Lauder.

Three second-tier games were played on Saturday gone too, the others being a 3-1 defeat for Hawick United at Lauder and 4-1 win for St Boswells at Gala Hotspur.

James Paxton scored twice for Eyemouth at Innerleithen’s Victoria Park, with Connor and Declan Lough and Jack Grant finding the back of the net as well.

Kieran Crawford, Max Brydon, Liam Burke and Jed Riddell scored for St Boswells, Michael McAulay for Gala, Nathan Gillie for Hawick United and Ryan Prentice, Andrew Crawford and Oscar Grice for Lauder.

This Saturday will also see Langlee contesting 2024’s Border Cup final with Biggar in Hawick.

It follows a 3-2 Forsyth Cup final win for Chirnside United against Fairydean’s ammies in Earlston on Friday and a 3-2 Beveridge Cup last-four victory for Highfields at Ancrum, setting up a final on Saturday the 18th against Leithen Rovers in Hawick.

Craig Anderson, Rory Williams and Daniel Pattenden scored for Chirnside, Michael Jamieson and Kai Macrae for Fairydean, Sean Clarke at the double for Ancrum and Nathan Jones twice and Jayden Jeffrey for Highfields.