Winning In The Rain: Patience

Saturday 7th November 2015
Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division
Oban Saints AFC 2 - 0 Campbeltown Pupils AFC
Glencruitten 2, Mossfield Avenue, Oban, Argyll PA34 4EH
Kick Off 2pm
Referee Mr James Litster

Substitutes used:-

Martin Bonar

Dougal Graham

Keith Millar
Shaun MacIver

Unused Substitute:-

Marc Maccallum

Match Report

Patience was the name of the game at Glencruitten last Saturday as Saints were made to work hard to break down a determined and well drilled Campbeltown Pupils defensive set-up in the first Argyll Derby of the season. The visitors came with caution very much in mind and set Saints a difficult task to find a way through their solid five man defence. There had been some doubt as to whether the game might have to be switched to the 3G pitch at Oban High School but Glencruitten had held up well to the recent bad weather and once the morning rain had abated the match was played in perfect overhead and underfoot conditions.

Pupils kicked off attacking the Mossfield end and were first to threaten when a second minute corner kick from their left was deflected narrowly wide by a combination of Ross Maitland and David MacArthur at the near post. Pupils are a big side and looked as though they would be dangerous at set pieces but the second corner was comfortably dealt with a good clearing header from Willie Gemmell. Willie himself then had Saints first effort on goal with a long range shot from the edge of the centre circle which flew high and wide posing no threat to the Campbeltown goal. Saints midfield triumvirate of Willie Gemmell, Paul Kerr and Donald Campbell were getting plenty of the ball in the centre of the park but, faced with a wall of red shirts, were finding it hard to thread the passes through to the front three of Ross Maitland, Dean Smith and Craig MacEwan. Willie Gemmell was first to find the key to unlock the Pupils defence when he clipped a delightful cross from the right picking out Donald Campbell's late run into the box. Donald won a good looping header against Keith Mitchell which the back peddling Reid Anderson did well to tip over his cross bar for a corner kick. Just one minute later Donald Campbell threaded a terrific pass through to Ross Maitland who timed his run well to get in behind the Pupils defence. Reid Anderson was quickly off his line to narrow the angle and made a good save diving to his left to parry Maitland's curling shot to safety. Pupils defensive strategy was allowing the Saints full backs David McArthur and Scott Maitland to push forward with Scott winning an eleventh minute corner kick after a good run up the left wing. Ross Maitland, in for the departed Lewis Cameron on the right of the Saints front three, flighted in the corner kick which Craig MacEwan did well to get to but was unable to guide his header on target. A cheaply conceded free kick by Dene Cassells on the edge of his own box lead to a scare for Saints in the 19th minute. Willie Gemmell headed the free kick wide for a throw in from which Pupils forced a corner kick on their right. John McCallum glanced a header from the six yard line towards the top corner which Thomas McCulloch at full stretch managed to claw onto the post and behind for another corner. Saints cleared the danger from the second corner and broke up the left wing with Scott Maitland delivering a low cross to Ross Maitland twelve yards out and directly in front of goal. Ross didn't connect as well as he would have liked with his left foot but nonetheless Reid Anderson produced another excellent save to foil the wee man for the second time. Anderson was in action again in the 26th minute acrobatically tipping over a dipping David McArthur volley from the edge of the box after Pupils had failed to fully clear their lines from a Ross Maitland corner. David was first to the second corner but his downward header under little pressure bounced high and wide of target. Two minutes later more good work on the left from Scott Maitland set up Donald Campbell to curl a terrific cross looking for Ross Maitland at the back post. With the wee man waiting to pounce up popped the pupils own wee man, left back Keith Mitchell, to make an excellent headed interception. A quick break up their right saw Pupils win another corner after Paul Kerr made up good ground to get across and block a dangerous looking Gary Grumoli shot. Thomas McCulloch came a long way to collect the out-swinging corner and safely gathered it at the second attempt. Saints kept probing at the other end and a slide rule pass from Donald Campbell would have had Ross Maitland through on goal but for a last ditch sliding interception by Grant Grant. Saints had a strong claim for a penalty kick in the 38th minute when Craig MacEwan appeared to be fouled while weaving his way into the Pupils penalty area but Mr Litster quickly dismissed the Saints appeals. Craig made his way into the box a minute later but this time there was no suggestion of a foul when Jamie Burns made a perfectly timed tackle to dispossess the Saints striker. As the first half drew to a close the relatively untroubled Saints central defensive pairing of Dene Cassells and Jamie Graham got themselves into a fankle and gifted an opportunity to lone Pupils striker John McCallum. Fortunately for Saints Thomas McCulloch was equal to McCallum's shot on goal and produced a good save diving full length to his right.

Manager Alex Craik sent out the same eleven to start the second half advising them to keep playing their passing game and the scoring opportunities would come. Saints first attack of the second half was a rare galloping Willie Gemmell run from deep inside his own half. Unfortunately Willie didn't quite have the pace to outstrip the chasing pack and dispossessed by a sliding interception by Grant Grant who recovered his ground well. Saints continued to look for the killer pass to unlock the very solid looking Pupils defence and almost found it in the 50th minute when a delicate flick on the edge of the box from Donald Campbell played in Ross Maitland but again Pupils were able to snuff out the danger this time with Lorne Robertson making the telling interception. Thomas McCulloch found himself in action again after fifty three minutes making a good save from a shot from the edge of the box from Pupils skipper Paul Grumoli. The long awaited breakthrough finally came in the 56th minute and owed much to a powerful run from the back from Dene Cassells. Dene made good progress through the midfield but was stopped twenty five yards out by a perfectly executed sliding challenge from John McCallum. Paul Kerr picked up the loose ball and played the ball to Donald Campbell on the edge of the box who turned well and cut into the box only to be faced by the advancing Reid Anderson. Anderson spread himself well forcing Donald wide where from the tightest of angles he tucked the ball left footed inside the near post beating the despairing lunge of Lorne Robertson on the goal line. Saints second came six minutes later after the impressive Reid Anderson had made another good save to deny Donald Campbell following a terrific ball over the top of the Pupils defence from Willie Gemmell. Anderson forced the ball behind for a corner kick on the Saints left from which Ross Maitland curled a wicked in-swinger towards the postage stamp corner that Fraser Wylie guarding the far post could only head into the roof of his own net possibly from behind his own goal-line. The cross from Ross may also have taken a nick off a Campbeltown defender's head en-route to goal but the wee man will certainly be claiming the goal for himself. Saints went in search of a third and were denied by another terrific save from Anderson diving to his left to fingertip a Dean Smith shot onto the post with Keith Mitchell recovering to clear the danger. In the sixty sixth minute Paul Kerr made a threatening run forward from his midfield anchorman position before being unceremoniously upended twenty four yards from goal by a heavy challenge from Jamie Burns. Willie Gemmell stepped up to take the free kick but curled it wide of Reid Anderson's right hand post. Anderson produced more heroics in the 73rd minute to deny Dean Smith at close range after Dean had chested down well in the box but didn't quite make the connection he was hoping for giving Anderson the chance to make the save. Saints survived a major scare in the 76th minute when Willie Gemmell was caught in possession on the edge of his own box by Pupils substitute Ellis Robertson. Robertson broke into the box, rounded the advancing Thomas McCulloch, but much to the relief of Willie and the Saints faithful, just as he was about to stroke the ball into the unguarded net he lost his footing and the ball broke loose and into the grateful arms of the Saints keeper. With twelve minutes remaining Manager Alex Craik made a triple substitution replacing Paul Kerr, Ross Maitland and Dean Smith with Keith Millar, Martin Bonar and Shaun MacIver in like for like swaps. Within two minutes of coming on Keith made a lunging challenge just outside his own box which Referee Litster penalised with a free kick. Pupils left back Keith Mitchell wasted the opportunity by striking the free kick straight into the Saints wall allowing the Saints defence to clear the danger. Saints final change came with seven minutes remaining with Dougal Graham replacing Scott Maitland at left back. The final opportunity of the match came for Pupils in the closing minutes when Keith Mitchell outpaced David McArthur on the left wing and cut inside where he was stopped in his tracks by a heavy Dene Cassells challenge. Mitchell and Ryan Deans both hovered over the ball and it was Deans who elected to strike curling the ball high and wide of target. Referee Litster brought to an end an entertaining derby match which he had handled well without the need to produce a card sending the home crowd home happy. The win see's Saints extend their winning streak to six games in all competitions with the added bonus of a first clean sheet since the opening day of the season.