THERE were only two ‘local’ East of Scotland League games on Saturday and these fixtures produced good results for Premier League sides Crossgates Primrose and Hill of Beath Hawthorn.

Primrose are looking every inch a top six side while the Haws again moved out of the relegation zone.

Tynecastle 1 Crossgates Primrose 4

A POWERFUL performance from Crossgates saw them take Tynecastle apart in Edinburgh and collect three Premier points.

The Primrose line-up had young Cowdenbeath loanees Ross Pollock and Jacob Glass in the side and they gave solid performances.

It was the visitors who made the better start to the game and they created some early openings with the Tynecastle ‘keeper making a couple of good stops.

But in 15 minutes it was the Humbug Park men who took the lead when another former Cowdenbeath player, striker Cammy Muirhead, was in the perfect position to fire past the ‘keeper.

Tynecastle, who need points to keep clear of relegation trouble, were making little impact on the Primrose defence and were having to work hard to keep the visitors out but Archie Campbell came close to a second and in 35 minutes veteran attacker, Calum Smith, finished well to double his side’s lead.

Two ahead at the brea,k Crossgates continued to search for more after the break and Campbell and Muirhead forced good saves from the home ‘keeper.

On the hour the third goal came when the experienced Brian Ritchie was on the spot to score and take Tynecastle completely out of the picture.

The plucky hosts pulled one back in 70 minutes, but within 60 seconds Campbell was perfectly placed to put Crossgates 4-1 up.

The visitors went in search of number five but the Tynecastle ‘keeper pulled off a couple of good stops to avoid a very heavy defeat for the sides.

The win takes Primrose to 40 points from 25 games, and with fixtures in hand on teams above them, a top four finish could be a real possibility for the Humbug Park side.

Tranent 2 Hill of Beath Hawthorn 2

THE Haws gave third top of the Premier League, Tranent, plenty to think about as they collected a very good away point.

Hill of Beath found Tranent desperate to keep pressure on leaders, Linlithgow Rose and Penicuik Athletic, and they slipped behind in 15 minutes.

Tranent burst up the left hand side and as ‘keeper Stuart Hall tried to narrow the angle, the striker cleverly tucked the ball into the net.

But Hill of Beath were soon back in the game and in 36 minutes they were level when Ross Allum scored a fine goal. Ryan Connelly went down the Haws’ left and his cut-back was perfect for Allum to score.

Then in time added on at the break Lyle Kellichan fired the Haws ahead when he chased a long ball and lobbed the ‘keeper from the edge of the Tranent box.

The second period saw Tranent come at the visitors, but Haws defended very solidly with Hall making some good saves.

But there were a couple of chances for Hill of Beath to extend their lead and a fierce Allum shot came back off the home bar.

As the game went into the last 20 minutes it looked like the Keirs Parkers could get another important win, but with six minutes left a controversial penalty award gave Tranent a point.

A defender and a visiting forward clashed in the Hill of Beath box and the referee waved play on, but the assistant official flagged and after consultation the ref pointed to the spot, and the penalty was converted.

Then the Haws’ Shaun Leishman’s protests over the award of the spot-kick saw him red carded for dissent so the visitors had to play out the closing minutes with ten, but defended solidly.

The result has Haws on 26 points from 24 games, in 14th spot in the table and manager Jason Dair was happy enough with the point, but he felt his team could have won it: “Before the start I would have taken a point but as the match unfolded we had enough chances to win it.

“However, it is good to be back in the top 14, although we have another six pointer at Keirs Park this Saturday when we meet Dunbar United who are just in front of us. It is important that we take the points from this one.”

Saturday’s fixtures: East of Scotland Premier League - Crossgates Primrose v Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts 2.30pm, Dundonald Bluebell v Newtongrange Star 2,30pm, Hill of Beath Hawthorn v Dunbar United. King Cup Second Round: Lochore Welfare v Syngenta 2pm.

Derby days for Primrose and Haws

THE draw has been made for the new East of Scotland League Cup competition which will involve all five of the local clubs.

The 60 Premier League and conference clubs have been drawn into 12 groups of five with the competition starting within the next few weeks.

The sections involving local clubs are Group D: Dundonald Bluebell, Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts, Burntisland Shipyard, Newburgh and Edinburgh College.

Group F: Crossgates Primrose, Hill of Beath Hawthorn, Edinburgh South, Arniston Rangers and Livingston United.

Group G: Lochgelly Albert, Musselburgh Athletic, Haddington Athletic, Pumphertson and Heriot Watt University.

Group I: Lochore Welfare, Hawick Royal Albert, Camelon, Tranent and Syngenta.

Elsewhere, the King Cup Third Round draw has also been made with the winner of Saturday’s match between Lochore and Syngenta to face Heriot-Watt University in the next round, date TBC.

Should Lochore win both ties, they will meet Thornton or Stoneyburn in the Fourth Round on April 9.

Finally, Hill of Beath will play Linlithgow Rose in the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup Fifth Round and, should they win, they’ll play Bo’ness United or Stirling Uni in the Semi-Final.