Winning In The Rain: Sun In Your Eyes

Saturday 12th December 2015

The Scottish Amateur Football Association Challenge Cup Competition
4th Round
Postal United AFC 0 - 1 Oban Saints AFC
Glasgow Club Crownpoint
183 Crownpoint Road
Glasgow
G40 2AL
Kick off 2pm
Referee Mr. William McCulley

Substitutes used:-

Alex Craik
Scott Maitland
Allan Mackay

Goalscorer:-

Donald Campbell

Match Report

Saints earned their place in the fifth round of the Scottish Amateur Cup with a hard fought 1-0 win over old rivals Postal United in Glasgow's east end last Saturday afternoon. Postal's grass park at Haghill had still not recovered from the flooding which forced the cancellation of last week's match therefore the match went ahead on the all weather surface at Crownpoint. The hosts won the toss giving Saints the problem of the low sun to deal with in the first half however the Saints defence of David McArthur, Marc Maccallum, Jamie Graham and Dougal Graham coped well providing a solid wall in front of goalkeeper Thomas McCulloch. Saints kicked off playing down the pronounced slope towards the Crownpoint Road end and carved out the first opportunity inside the first minute. Donald Campbell picked out Ross Maitland about twenty two yards out and with his back to goal, Ross turned well and fired in a low left foot shot just wide of the right hand post of keeper Thomas Hollis. Despite the bright start Saints were finding it difficult to get their passing game going against a solid and experienced Postal side whose five man midfield were making life difficult for the Saints midfield trio of Willie Gemmell, Paul Kerr and Donald Campbell. Postal's first attempt of note came in the fourth minute in the shape of a powerful long range shot from Mark Muir which Thomas McCulloch did well to hold. Saints eventually started to pick their passes with a good thirteenth minute move on the left wing involving Dougal Graham and Dean Smith signalling the start of a better period for Saints. Dougal and Dean linked up well giving Dougal the chance to deliver a tempting cut back which was intercepted at the near post with the Saints front three of Ross Maitland, Craig MacEwan and Dean Smith queuing up in the middle. Saints quickly regained possession from the Postal clearance and Craig MacEwan swung over a cross from the right which unfortunately drifted behind with Donald Campbell well positioned for a header at the back post. A jinking run at the heart of the Postal defence from Craig MacEwan produced an excellent save from Thomas Hollis in the fifteenth minute. Craig picked up the ball just inside the Postal half and evaded a string of challenges before curling a right foot shot from the edge of the box however Central Scottish Amateur Football League Select goalkeeper Hollis narrowed the angle well and made a fine save diving to his left. Two minutes later Saints had an appeal for a penalty kick dismissed by Referee William McCulley. Dougal Graham made a good run up the left wing skipping over a lunging challenge from Postal right back Steven Hannah and cutting into the box where he hit the byeline and appeared to be bundled over by veteran of many Postal v Saints games Paul Freeman but the Referee ruled the challenge to be fair and waved away the Saints appeals. Saints won their first corner kick in the 20th minute which Ross Maitland swung in deep to the back post but unfortunately their were no takers in dark blue and Postal were able to clear their lines. Moments later Donald Campbell and Craig MacEwan linked up well to open up the Postal defence for another shooting chance for Craig whose right foot shot from twenty four yards was again well held by keeper Hollis low down to his left. This encouraging ten minute spell for Saints ended as it had begun with a good move on the left being snuffed out at the near post. Craig MacEwan climbed well to flick on a long ball into the path of Ross Maitland who scurried up the left wing a fired in a low cross looking for Dean Smith at the near post who was just beaten to it by Paul Freeman. Postal has a rare foray upfield and won a free kick thirty five yards from goal from which distance Brendan Queen clearly fancied his chances. The free kick was struck with great power but the Saints wall stood firm and deflected the ball behind for a corner kick which was comfortably dealt with. In the 28th minute Postal midfielder Aarron Douglas found his way into Referee McCulley's notebook for a late heavy challenge on Paul Kerr just inside the Saints half. Saints then began another period of sustained pressure which would eventually get it's reward. A succession of corner kicks had Postal pinned back in their own box but Saints were unable to get a decisive touch. Dean Smith went down under a heavy challenge in the thirty sixth minute to win a free kick wide on the right and level with the eighteen yard line. Despite getting the benefit of the decision Willie Gemmell continued his protests at the the strength of the challenge for too long and Referee McCulley added his name to his notebook. Ross Maitland curled in a terrific cross which Craig MacEwan met perfectly with a flicked header which landed inches wide of the foot of keeper Hollis' right hand post. Three minutes later Saints pounced on a rare mistake in the Postal defence. Ross Maitland and Dean Smith closed down Steven Hannah and Paul Freeman as they attempted to play the ball out from the back and Craig MacEwan pounced on a loose pass leaving him one on one with the keeper. Craig attempted to round Thomas Hollis who spread himself well but appeared to catch Craig's feet bringing him down in the process. However Referee McCulley ruled there had been no contact and booked the Saints man for simulation. The decisive strike came, fittingly, from the best move of the match in the forty second minute. Dean Smith dropped deep to pick up the ball from Paul Kerr and delivered a terrific first time pass which split the Postal defence and picked out Donald Campbell's run through the inside left channel. Donald's composed left foot finish beat the keeper low down to his right to give Saints the lead which they comfortably held on to for the remainder of the half.

Saints remained on top at the start of the second half and had a good chance to extend their lead in the forty eighth minute when Ross Maitland cut in from the left and, from the corner of the six yard box, tried to pick out Dean Smith in the centre. Brian Eaglesham made an important interception to snuff out the danger when perhaps Ross should have taken on the shot himself. Ross did try his luck three minutes later with a good effort from the edge of the box which keeper Hollis had to hold with Dean Smith ready to pounce on any slip up. Dean had a sight of goal in the 57th minute when he raced through to get on the end of flick on from Ross Maitland who rose magnificently to help the ball on to his strike partner on the edge of the box. Once again Hollis was alert to the danger and was quickly off his line to close down the angle forcing Dean to snatch at the chance sending his lob just over the crossbar. Just one minute later Dean was foiled again after another good link up with Ross Maitland. Donald Campbell fed Ross on the right wing who sent over a low cross which Dean connected well with at the near post only to see Steven Hannah make a terrific last gasp interception to deflect the ball away from goal. With the match entering the final third Postal began to pose more of a threat with Saints dropping deep to protect their lead. A quickly taken corner on the hour mark caught Saints napping with Brendan Queen picking out the unmarked Brian Eaglesham on the right hand corner of the box who had Thomas McCulloch at full stretch to tip his dipping left foot shot over the crossbar. Three minutes later Postal tried the same trick again after a rare Marc Maccallum miss-kick gave them another corner kick on the right. This time Saints were slightly quicker to react and managed to charge down Eaglesham's shot from the edge of the box. Postal were enjoying a good spell at this point and James Simpson tried his luck with a dipping left foot volley which Thomas McCulloch held well after a Paul Kerr clearing header had landed kindly at the big midfielder's feet. With the pressure on the Saints defence intensifying Postal continued with their shoot on sight policy with Mark Muir sending two identical efforts flashing wide of Thomas McCulloch's right hand post within minutes of each other. Manager Alex Craik made his first change in the 68th minute with Scott Maitland replacing Dougal Graham in a straight swap at left back. Saints received some respite from the Postal pressure when Dean Smith won a free kick just inside the Postal half. Willie Gemmell took the free kick short to David McArthur who fired in a dangerous looking low cross which was deflected wide for a corner. Ross Maitland flighted over the corner from the right which Thomas Hollis spilled under pressure from Craig MacEwan and was relieved to hear the Referee's whistle for a foul by Craig. With fourteen minutes remaining on the clock Saints made their second change with Allan Mackay replacing Dean Smith at centre forward this also signalled a change of formation to a defensive minded 4-5-1. The introduction of Mackay almost paid off for Saints when, despite being held back by his opponent, he out muscled Brian Eaglesham wide on the right and sent a cross to the back post for Donald Campbell who looked certain score but somehow Thomas Hollis produced an incredible save to claw the ball behind for a corner. Before the corner kick could be taken Mr McCulley, who handled a very sporting but nonetheless competitive encounter well, added Eaglesham's name to the list in his note book. Postal cleared the danger from the corner and began a final onslaught in search of an equaliser to force a replay in Oban. The home side's hopes of a trip to Oban were given some encouragement when Thomas McCulloch dropped a cross from Postal's right but, with Saints hearts in mouths, Thomas recovered quickly to smother the ball before it could cross the line. Postal appealed strongly for a goal but the Referee remained unmoved and waved play on. In the 85th minute James Smith became the final entry in the Referee's note book for a late challenge on Marc Maccallum who had produced an inspirational performance on his return to the centre of the Saints defence. Postal's aerial bombardment continued with Saints indebted to a terrific clearing back post header from Scott Maitland under pressure from Paolo Petrucci. Perhaps mindful of the last gasp equaliser conceded against Goldenhill in Saints last away trip, Alex Craik then joined the fray for the closing stages with Paul Kerr making way for his Manager. Craik's presence at the heart of the defence helped to repel Postal's long balls but the entire Saints rearguard were left helpless when a dipping 90th minute cross come shot flew over their heads catching Thomas McCulloch underneath the ball and unable to shake off the close attentions of Paolo Petrucci with the ball nestling in the bottom corner of the net. Fortunately for Saints McCulloch's blushes were spared when Referee McCulley ruled that the Postal striker had fouled the Saints keeper thus preserving his clean sheet and securing Saints progress to the fifth round where they will face last season's beaten finalists Craigshill Thistle at Glencruitten on Saturday 9th January.