THERE was a double blow for West Fife teams on Saturday as Kelty Hearts' title hopes were hit at Linlithgow Rose, while Oakley United's Premier League survival bid was hampered by a fighting Haddington Athletic comeback.

Linlithgow Rose 3 Kelty Hearts 1

SUPER LEAGUE champions Kelty Hearts saw their title defence suffer a severe setback at the hands of Linlithgow Rose on Saturday.

Thomas Courts' side saw their seven game unbeaten run come to an end at Prestonfield and hand Bonnyrigg Rose and Bo'ness United the initiative in the championship race.

After a comfortable win over Sauchie last time out, Courts made four changes, bringing ex-Rose marksman Callum Smith and Brian Ritchie in up front in place of Scott Dalziel and Stuart Cargill, while Devon Jacobs and Scott Gates made way in defence for Sean O'Neil and Mark Morrison.

It was a nightmare opening for Kelty however as Colin Leiper put Rose ahead after only eight minutes, but despite the early setback, they stuck gamely to their task and worked their way back into the game, with Smith and Paul Currie going close with efforts.

Although a goal behind, the visitors began the second half well and enjoyed plenty of possession, while Smith continued to pose a threat to the home defence.

But with just under an hour on the clock, Blair Batchelor gave Hearts a mountain to climb when he doubled Linlithgow's lead and the destination of the three points was confirmed with 20 minutes to go when Kevin Kelbie added goal number three.

Although Smith pulled one back late on, the damage had already been done and with both Bonnyrigg and Bo'ness winning, third-placed Kelty slipped seven points off top spot, albeit with four games in hand on leaders Bo'ness.

Second-placed Bonnyrigg, who have also played 21 games alongside Kelty, are five points clear of Courts' team.

Haddington Athletic 3 Oakley United 2

OAKLEY UNITED'S Premier League survival hopes were dealt a huge blow after Haddington twice fought back to inflict a cruel defeat.

James Watt's men remain entrenched in the relegation mire after Andrew Sinclair's quick-fire second half double clinched a thrilling victory for the promotion chasers that leaves the West Fifers second bottom of the table.

The Blairwood Park team were hoping to bounce back from their loss at home to Forfar West End in East Lothian, but faced a difficult task against a Haddington side sitting second and with just three home defeats in the league.

Oakley however belied the 21 point gap that existed between the teams ahead of kick off when Alan McDonough fired them ahead after just five minutes.

The lead was short-lived as Scott Wright hauled Haddington level two minutes later, but in an incredible opening 12 minutes to the game, Stan Chitemere restored the visitors' advantage.

Watt's battlers were on course for a precious and morale boosting three points but, with 23 minutes to go, Sinclair reacted quickest to a loose ball inside the Oakley penalty area to drive home Haddington's second equaliser of the afternoon.

It went from bad to worse only two minutes later when a cross into the Oakley box resulted in a goalmouth scramble and Sinclair was on hand to lash home from two yards out and break visiting hearts.

The result leaves Oakley five points from safety with nine games left and facing a real battle to preserve their Premier League status.

Rosyth 4 Livingston United 1

LEE RICHARDSON hailed the contribution of golden oldie Mark McCulloch as Rosyth cruised to back-to-back wins on Saturday.

The 40-year-old former Pars, Inverness and Ross County defender produced a midfield masterclass as the Recreation Park side eventually put Livingston United to bed with a convincing second half performance.

Scott Morrison opened the scoring for the home side before top scorer Tam Hampson added their second, but John Drummond's excellent low strike into the bottom corner pulled the West Lothian team back into it before half-time.

Rosyth had strong penalty appeals waved away by the referee when Dean Ogg appeared to be brought down with a clear shooting opportunity, but substitute John McDiarmid and a header from John Duffy settled the contest as Richardson's team made it five wins from seven home games.

Although Hampson missed a second half spot-kick, Richardson said: "I was really chuffed because we had a couple of boys missing but Mark McCulloch came into midfield and did really well. I didn't want to change the defence after last week so with Michael McMillan out, I put Mark in there and he was excellent. I haven't had the same defence playing for two weeks on the trot all season and the other pleasing thing for me is that the midfield are pitching in with goals; we're not just relying on Tam.

"Their goalkeeper made some good saves but, to be fair, they worked hard and made it a bit nervous for us in the first half. We upped our work-rate in the second half, passed the ball better and played some good stuff, so hopefully we can kick on now and go on a run.

"We've got two tough ones coming up against Blackburn and Tranent, but if we can win them that would give us a massive boost before we play Penicuik in the Fife and Lothians Cup. Blackburn beat us 3-2 away but in the second half we played really well, and we thought their winner was offside, so hopefully we can get a bit of luck on Saturday."

Saturday's fixtures (kick-offs 2.30pm): McBookie.com Super League - Carnoustie Panmure v Kelty Hearts. McBookie.com Premier League - Oakley United v Dalkeith Thistle. McBookie.com South Division - Rosyth v Blackburn United.