Thistle edge away from relegation zone

Lothian THISTLE edged themselves away from the relegation area of the Central Taxis Premier Division with a 2-0 victory against Vale of Leithen thanks to two first-half goals at Saughton Enclosure last night.

Both sides started the match knowing that a win was essential to ensure that they were not dragged into a relegation battle, although Vale do have several games in hand on all of the teams around about them.

It was Lothian that took the lead on the half-hour mark. A Craig Stevenson corner kick found the unmarked Kevin Lee who managed to knock the ball over the line from only two yards out.

With only two minutes of the first half remaining, Lothian were awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty box, and Lloyd Dignan stepped up to hit a delightful left foot shot into the postage stamp corner. And that was it as far as the scoring was concerned.

Lothian Thistle: Swain, Wallace, Stevenson, Crawford, Wilkes, Lynes, Hawkins, McDonagh, Dignan, J Murray, Lee. Subs: McDiarmid, Connolly, Aitchison, McInally, C Murray.

Vale of Leithen: Hill, S Sproule, McKenzie, Miller, Robertson, Beaton, Gaylor, Devlin, W Sproule, Radzynski, Hall. Subs: Paterson, Lauder, Greenhill, Moffat, Weir.