HOPES of a Borders club winning the South Cup for the first time in four years remain alive after Hawick Waverley and Chirnside United made it to the semi-finals.

But both sides got to the last four in completely different circumstances, as Waverley cruised through while United held their nerve to win on penalties.

Waverley came from behind to beat former BAL side Pencaitland 5-1 in East Lothian. Taylor Hope’s double, as well as goals from Dean McColm, Greg Ford and Jordan Yardley took last season's South Cup finalists through.

A Hawick Waverley spokesman said: “This was a very tricky tie but we the team produced an excellent away performance.”

Meanwhile, Graham Paterson was the Chirnside hero as he scored the winning spot kick to beat Larkhall side Machan United 6-5 on penalties, after both teams were tied at 1-1 after extra time.

Defender Duncan Morrison said: "We dominated the game but could not find a winning goal. Thankfully we scrapped through the shootout for the win I think we deserved."

Stow secured a huge victory over Newtown in their fight to remain in Division A thanks to Kev Rutherford’s second half goal and goalkeeper Tom Kerr’s save from a Joe Tait penalty.

Kevin Strathdee’s double for Hawick United consigned bottom of the table Coldstream Amateurs to their ninth league loss of the season, while Jed Legion remain third after beating Greenlaw 1-0 thanks to an Ash Langford goal.

Hawick Legion moved above Tweedmouth Amateurs to the top of Division B with a 3-2 win at the Five Arches. Jordan Caldwell, Scott Duncan and Mark Young all found the net for Legion to secure a vital win.

Langholm Legion remain close behind in third after making the 140 mile round trip to Biggar to win 5-2, with goals from Brian Mattinson, Iain Little, Jake Little, Lee Irving and Scott Collins.

Colin Jeffrey’s header gave Gala Hotspur three points at Linton Hotspur, while Leithen Rovers and Kelso Thistle also won.

Selkirk Victoria’s late charge for promotion in Division C suffered a big blow with a 2-1 loss at Berwick Colts. Ryan Pritchard scored the only goal for the Vics, who had won their previous six games in a row.

Des Sutherland scored five as Langlee Amateurs won 8-0 against Gala Thistle to remain well on course for promotion, while a Lewis Swaney double kept Gala Fairydean Rovers Amateurs in fifth spot.

There were also wins for Melrose and Highfields United, and Duns defeated St Boswells 4-2 in the Waddell Cup with ex-Coldstream forward Steven Burns notching a double.