Harthill head east to make it perfect dozen in league
Switch means 12 West Lothian sides will play there
Harthill Royal have switched from the West of Scotland Football League over to the East in time for the 2022/23 season.
The Royal’s move makes it a dozen West Lothian sides in the East of Scotland Football League – and they will join seven of those in the new EoS Third Division next term.
They made the move to senior football last season but elected to join the WoSFL despite having played in the East Region as part of the Juniors.
While the town of Harthill lies in North Lanarkshire, the club’s Gibbshill Park ground is in West Lothian.
However, their stint in the West has proven to be short-lived, with their late bid for a move to the East of Scotland being approved at the recent AGM.
That means that all 12 of West
Lothian’s non-league senior sides will be competing in the EoS for this upcoming season. Blackburn United, Broxburn Athletic and Linlithgow Rose are in the Premier Division, with Whitburn having been promoted to Division Two.
Harthill will join Armadale Thistle, Bathgate Thistle, Fauldhouse United, Livingston United, Pumpherston, Stoneyburn, and West Calder United in the tier nine Third Division.
Bo’ness Athletic and Edinburgh College will make that a 10-team league.
Meanwhile, clubs have learned who they will be facing in the early rounds of both the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup and King Cup next season.
Local clubs reached the finals of both cups in 2021/22, with Linlithgow Rose lifting the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup trophy, while Livingston United fell agonisingly short of King Cup success, losing in extra-time to Heriot-Watt
University earlier this month.
EoS Qualifying Cup First Round
HARTHILL ROYAL v Jeanfield Swifts, Rosyth v LINLITHGOW ROSE, St Andrews United v BATHGATE THISTLE.
EoS Qualifying Cup Second Round
ARMADALE THISTLE v Leith Athletic, BROXBURN ATHLETIC v Kirkcaldy and Dysart, Burntisland Shipyard v FAULDHOUSE UNITED, Haddington Athletic v WEST CALDER UNITED, HARTHILL ROYAL or Jeanfield Swifts v Hill of Beath Hawthorn, Hawick Royal Albert v BLACKBURN UNITED, LIVINGSTON UNITED v Oakley United, PUMPHERSTON v Sauchie, Rosyth or LINLITHGOW ROSE v Dalkeith Thistle, St Andrews United or BATHGATE THISTLE v Glenrothes, STONEYBURN v
Berwick Rangers.
King Cup First Round
Burntisland Shipyard v ARMADALE THISTLE, Dunipace v STONEYBURN, FAULDHOUSE UNITED v Lochgelly Albert, Stirling University v HARTHILL ROYAL.
King Cup Second Round
Arniston Rangers v WHITBURN, Dunbar United or Dalkeith Thistle v FAULDHOUSE UNITED or Lochgelly Albert, Dunipace or STONEYBURN v Coldstream, Kinnoull v Stirling University or HARTHILL ROYAL, Leith Athletic or Kennoway Star Hearts v Burntisland Shipyard or ARMADALE THISTLE, LIVINGSTON UNITED v Bo’ness Athletic, Newtongrange Star v BATHGATE THISTLE, PUMPHERSTON v Newburgh, WEST CALDER UNITED v Tweedmouth Rangers.