Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division
Oban Saints AFC 2 - 1 East Kilbride Rolls Royce AFC
Glencruitten 2, Mossfield Avenue, Oban, Argyll PA34 4EH
Kick Off 2pm
Referee Mr John Scott
Saints starting line-up:-
Thomas McCulloch
David McArthur
Marc Maccallum (Captain)
Jamie Graham
Dougal Graham
Marc Maccallum (Captain)
Jamie Graham
Dougal Graham
Willie Gemmell
Paul Kerr
Donald Campbell
Paul Kerr
Donald Campbell
Ross Maitland
Dean Smith
Craig MacEwan
Dean Smith
Craig MacEwan
Substitutes used:-
Dene Cassells
Allan Mackay
Scott Maitland
Allan Mackay
Scott Maitland
Unused Substitutes:-
Alex Craik
Keith Millar
Keith Millar
Match Report
Saints closed to within one point of Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division leaders St Joseph's FP with a hard fought win over East Kilbride Rolls Royce at Glencruitten last Saturday afternoon. Despite failing to hit the heights of their last outing against Craigshill Thistle Saints did enough to squeeze past the Rolly and keep themselves firmly in the title race. Manager Alex Craik named the same squad that had propelled Saints into the sixth round of the Scottish Amateur Cup two weeks previously and, unsurprisingly, opted to stick with the same starting eleven.
The visitors won the toss and kicked off attacking the Mossfield end however Saints were quickest out of the traps and inside the first sixty seconds Ross Maitland has a stinging shot from the edge of the box tipped round the post by Rolly keeper Dean Trainor. The wee man's deliveries from the corner flag have been excellent this season with Willie Gemmell this time the beneficiary. Willie climbed well to meet the cross and looked set to open the scoring but his net bound header hit Saints striker Dean Smith on the goal line and was hooked clear but only as far as Ross Maitland on the right wing. Ross sent in a deep cross to the back post which skipper Marc Maccallum threw himself at but was unable to direct his spectacular effort on target. When the two sides met in the West of Scotland Amateur Cup in East Kilbride earlier in the season Saints ran out comfortable winners by five goals to one. This time around the Rolly were determined not to make things so easy for Saints and pressed hard in the middle of the park cutting off the supply line to the front three. After failing to capitalise on their storming start Saints found chances hard to come by and it was another fifteen minutes before they could muster another attempt on goal. Donald Campbell played a good ball from the left to the feet of Dean Smith on the edge of the D. Dean turned his marker and fired in an excellent left foot shot towards the top corner from which Dean Trainor produced an incredible finger tip save diving full length to his left to tip the ball round the post. Trainor then showed good handling to catch Ross Maitland's out swinging corner kick from the right under pressure from Craig MacEwan. In between times the Rolly had their first sight of goal in the tenth minute when left full back Scott Woods easily turned Ross Maitland on the half way line. The Rolly skipper surged forward and picked out Mark McFadden on the edge of the Saints box who shot narrowly over the crossbar. Saints keeper Thomas McCulloch had his first taste of the action in the eighteenth minute making a comfortable save from Paul Walker after the Rolly winger had cut in from the left wing to shoot from the edge of the box. Thomas turned defence into attack with a quick throw to release Donald Campbell for at the Rolly back four. From midway inside the Rolly half Donald played a diagonal ball looking for Ross Maitland on the right wing. The pass was slightly over hit but Ross did well to close down Scott Woods forcing him to conceded a corner kick. Once again Ross produced an excellent delivery which Saints right full back David McArthur met with a prodigious leap on the six yard line to send a crashing header high into the net to give Saints the lead. Saints keeper McCulloch was again called into action in the twentieth minute when Paul Walker delivered a good cross from the left looking for the head of centre forward Austin Reid. The Saints keeper was quickly off his line to punch the ball off the forehead of the big Rolly striker. Saints doubled their advantage in the twenty fourth minute when a good pass from David McArthur found Craig MacEwan on the left edge of the Rolly box. Craig made an excellent turn to get past Scott Woods and deftly lifted the ball over the advancing Dean Trainor for his 12th goal of the season. Two minutes later the Rolly won a free kick in a dangerous position twenty five yards out and slightly right of centre. Gavin Miller lined up to take the kick and played it short to Mark McFadden who was set to pull the trigger but was thwarted by a timely interception by Paul Kerr who nipped in to clear the danger. Saints won a free kick of their own in the thirty first minute when Willie Gemmell sent a long ball over the top for Donald Campbell who was nudged in the back by Rolly central defender Craig Duncan sending the Saints midfielder sprawling on the turf. Twenty three yards out and left of centre was perfect Willie Gemmell free kick territory but the Saints dead ball specialist was unable to get enough loft into his kick and smacked the ball into the five man wall. The Rolly pulled a goal back just after the half hour mark with the danger once again coming from the left. Paul Walker delivered another good left foot cross picking out Austin Reid who beat Marc Maccallum to bullet a near post header past Thomas McCulloch. This set back rocked Saints who were unable to find their passing range failing muster another effort on goal in the remaining thirteen first half minutes.
Saints started the second half as they had the first by immediately taking the game to the visitors. Straight from the kick off Dean Smith ran at Rolly defence and was upended by Scott Woods on the corner of the penalty area. Ross Maitland went short with the free kick creating a better angle for Donald Campbell to fire in a right foot shot which Rolly central defender Craig Smith did well to block. The ball broke back to Ross who flighted in a tempting cross which Dean Trainor came through a ruck of players to collect. The Rolly quickly regained their composure and kept Saints at arms length for the next ten minutes managing a strike at goal themselves in the fifty second minute when Craig Smith played a long ball up to Gavin Miller who turned past Marc Maccallum to send a flashing drive across Thomas McCulloch and wide of the Saints keeper's right hand post. Donald Campbell and Craig MacEwan linked up well in the fifty fifth minute to carve out a shooting opportunity for Donald. From twelve yards out on the left side of the box Donald curled a right foot shot towards the far corner which slipped agonisingly wide of the post. In the sixty first minute Rolly centre forward Austin Reid who gave Saints central defenders Marc Maccallum and Jamie Graham a difficult afternoon made space for a shot from twenty yards forcing Thomas McCulloch into a smart save. The Rolly were enjoying a decent spell of possession at this point forcing Saints to sit deep and hit on the counter attack which almost paid off when Dougal Graham made a rampaging run up the left only to show too much of the ball to Dean Trainor who made a good save at the feet of the Saints full back. Saints broke again in the sixty fourth minute with Ross Maitland sending Dean Smith off on a run up the right wing. Dean fired in a good cross on the run from the edge of the box but unfortunately fractionally behind Craig MacEwan at the near post who was unable to make decent contact and the ball dropped into the grateful arms of Dean Trainor. Barely sixty seconds later Dougal Graham was off on another run up the left wing this time sending a low twenty yard left foot shot flashing across the face of goal and wide of Dean Trainor's left hand post. With twenty minutes remaining Saints received a massive slice of good fortune when Austin Reid took advantage of a mix up on the left of the Saints defence to bear down on goal. Reid rounded the stranded Thomas McCulloch who resisted the temptation to bring down the Rolly striker. With the goal at his mercy Reid somehow manged to send his shot wide of the far post much to the relief of all in Navy Blue. Two minutes later good pressing on the left forced Craig Duncan to conceded a throw in which Craig took quickly finding Donald Campbell well placed inside the box. Once again Donald took aim for the postage stamp corner but narrowly failed to find the target. With fifteen minutes remaining Manager Alex Craik made a triple substitution replacing Willie Gemmell, Ross Maitland and Dean Smith with Dene Cassells, Scott Maitland and Allan Mackay. Referee John Scott, who had an excellent game, produced the games only yellow cards in the 77th and 78th minutes. Firstly John MacMillan went into the book for a foul on Dene Cassells with Dene following suit one minute later for a reciprocal late sliding challenge on MacMillan. The substitutions had the desired effect of reinvigorating Saints but still the killer goal wouldn't come. Saints top scorer Donald Campbell completed an unwelcome hat-trick of missed chances in the eightieth minute when he again failed to find the postage stamp corner with a curling right foot shot. Three minutes later Craig MacEwan produced a sublime piece of skill to beat Scott Woods on the corner of the Rolly box but the close attentions of Craig Duncan forced him wide where, from the tightest of angles, he could only find the outside of Dean Trainor's near post. Substitutes Allan Mackay and Scott Maitland combined well on the Saints right with Allan sending Scott scurrying up the right and getting on the end of Scott's cut back to fire in a powerful shot from sixteen yards which was deflected behind for a corner kick. Scott flighted in the corner kick which Dene Cassells met but was unable to generate enough power on his header to test Dean Trainor. Saints survived one final scare in the eighty seventh minute with the danger once again coming from the left wing. Paul Walker sent in a tempting deep cross from a free kick across the face of the Saints goal which mercifully evaded everybody in red and white and bounced harmlessly behind for a goal kick. The last incident of note came in the eighty ninth minute when Craig MacEwan broke up the left wing and sent a cross to the back post which Allan Mackay at full stretch could only turn into the arms of Dean Trainor with Donald Campbell waiting in the middle for a cut back. Referee Scott added three minutes for stoppages before bringing the match to an end with Saints securing a narrow victory to reach the halfway stage of their league campaign in second place.
The visitors won the toss and kicked off attacking the Mossfield end however Saints were quickest out of the traps and inside the first sixty seconds Ross Maitland has a stinging shot from the edge of the box tipped round the post by Rolly keeper Dean Trainor. The wee man's deliveries from the corner flag have been excellent this season with Willie Gemmell this time the beneficiary. Willie climbed well to meet the cross and looked set to open the scoring but his net bound header hit Saints striker Dean Smith on the goal line and was hooked clear but only as far as Ross Maitland on the right wing. Ross sent in a deep cross to the back post which skipper Marc Maccallum threw himself at but was unable to direct his spectacular effort on target. When the two sides met in the West of Scotland Amateur Cup in East Kilbride earlier in the season Saints ran out comfortable winners by five goals to one. This time around the Rolly were determined not to make things so easy for Saints and pressed hard in the middle of the park cutting off the supply line to the front three. After failing to capitalise on their storming start Saints found chances hard to come by and it was another fifteen minutes before they could muster another attempt on goal. Donald Campbell played a good ball from the left to the feet of Dean Smith on the edge of the D. Dean turned his marker and fired in an excellent left foot shot towards the top corner from which Dean Trainor produced an incredible finger tip save diving full length to his left to tip the ball round the post. Trainor then showed good handling to catch Ross Maitland's out swinging corner kick from the right under pressure from Craig MacEwan. In between times the Rolly had their first sight of goal in the tenth minute when left full back Scott Woods easily turned Ross Maitland on the half way line. The Rolly skipper surged forward and picked out Mark McFadden on the edge of the Saints box who shot narrowly over the crossbar. Saints keeper Thomas McCulloch had his first taste of the action in the eighteenth minute making a comfortable save from Paul Walker after the Rolly winger had cut in from the left wing to shoot from the edge of the box. Thomas turned defence into attack with a quick throw to release Donald Campbell for at the Rolly back four. From midway inside the Rolly half Donald played a diagonal ball looking for Ross Maitland on the right wing. The pass was slightly over hit but Ross did well to close down Scott Woods forcing him to conceded a corner kick. Once again Ross produced an excellent delivery which Saints right full back David McArthur met with a prodigious leap on the six yard line to send a crashing header high into the net to give Saints the lead. Saints keeper McCulloch was again called into action in the twentieth minute when Paul Walker delivered a good cross from the left looking for the head of centre forward Austin Reid. The Saints keeper was quickly off his line to punch the ball off the forehead of the big Rolly striker. Saints doubled their advantage in the twenty fourth minute when a good pass from David McArthur found Craig MacEwan on the left edge of the Rolly box. Craig made an excellent turn to get past Scott Woods and deftly lifted the ball over the advancing Dean Trainor for his 12th goal of the season. Two minutes later the Rolly won a free kick in a dangerous position twenty five yards out and slightly right of centre. Gavin Miller lined up to take the kick and played it short to Mark McFadden who was set to pull the trigger but was thwarted by a timely interception by Paul Kerr who nipped in to clear the danger. Saints won a free kick of their own in the thirty first minute when Willie Gemmell sent a long ball over the top for Donald Campbell who was nudged in the back by Rolly central defender Craig Duncan sending the Saints midfielder sprawling on the turf. Twenty three yards out and left of centre was perfect Willie Gemmell free kick territory but the Saints dead ball specialist was unable to get enough loft into his kick and smacked the ball into the five man wall. The Rolly pulled a goal back just after the half hour mark with the danger once again coming from the left. Paul Walker delivered another good left foot cross picking out Austin Reid who beat Marc Maccallum to bullet a near post header past Thomas McCulloch. This set back rocked Saints who were unable to find their passing range failing muster another effort on goal in the remaining thirteen first half minutes.
Saints started the second half as they had the first by immediately taking the game to the visitors. Straight from the kick off Dean Smith ran at Rolly defence and was upended by Scott Woods on the corner of the penalty area. Ross Maitland went short with the free kick creating a better angle for Donald Campbell to fire in a right foot shot which Rolly central defender Craig Smith did well to block. The ball broke back to Ross who flighted in a tempting cross which Dean Trainor came through a ruck of players to collect. The Rolly quickly regained their composure and kept Saints at arms length for the next ten minutes managing a strike at goal themselves in the fifty second minute when Craig Smith played a long ball up to Gavin Miller who turned past Marc Maccallum to send a flashing drive across Thomas McCulloch and wide of the Saints keeper's right hand post. Donald Campbell and Craig MacEwan linked up well in the fifty fifth minute to carve out a shooting opportunity for Donald. From twelve yards out on the left side of the box Donald curled a right foot shot towards the far corner which slipped agonisingly wide of the post. In the sixty first minute Rolly centre forward Austin Reid who gave Saints central defenders Marc Maccallum and Jamie Graham a difficult afternoon made space for a shot from twenty yards forcing Thomas McCulloch into a smart save. The Rolly were enjoying a decent spell of possession at this point forcing Saints to sit deep and hit on the counter attack which almost paid off when Dougal Graham made a rampaging run up the left only to show too much of the ball to Dean Trainor who made a good save at the feet of the Saints full back. Saints broke again in the sixty fourth minute with Ross Maitland sending Dean Smith off on a run up the right wing. Dean fired in a good cross on the run from the edge of the box but unfortunately fractionally behind Craig MacEwan at the near post who was unable to make decent contact and the ball dropped into the grateful arms of Dean Trainor. Barely sixty seconds later Dougal Graham was off on another run up the left wing this time sending a low twenty yard left foot shot flashing across the face of goal and wide of Dean Trainor's left hand post. With twenty minutes remaining Saints received a massive slice of good fortune when Austin Reid took advantage of a mix up on the left of the Saints defence to bear down on goal. Reid rounded the stranded Thomas McCulloch who resisted the temptation to bring down the Rolly striker. With the goal at his mercy Reid somehow manged to send his shot wide of the far post much to the relief of all in Navy Blue. Two minutes later good pressing on the left forced Craig Duncan to conceded a throw in which Craig took quickly finding Donald Campbell well placed inside the box. Once again Donald took aim for the postage stamp corner but narrowly failed to find the target. With fifteen minutes remaining Manager Alex Craik made a triple substitution replacing Willie Gemmell, Ross Maitland and Dean Smith with Dene Cassells, Scott Maitland and Allan Mackay. Referee John Scott, who had an excellent game, produced the games only yellow cards in the 77th and 78th minutes. Firstly John MacMillan went into the book for a foul on Dene Cassells with Dene following suit one minute later for a reciprocal late sliding challenge on MacMillan. The substitutions had the desired effect of reinvigorating Saints but still the killer goal wouldn't come. Saints top scorer Donald Campbell completed an unwelcome hat-trick of missed chances in the eightieth minute when he again failed to find the postage stamp corner with a curling right foot shot. Three minutes later Craig MacEwan produced a sublime piece of skill to beat Scott Woods on the corner of the Rolly box but the close attentions of Craig Duncan forced him wide where, from the tightest of angles, he could only find the outside of Dean Trainor's near post. Substitutes Allan Mackay and Scott Maitland combined well on the Saints right with Allan sending Scott scurrying up the right and getting on the end of Scott's cut back to fire in a powerful shot from sixteen yards which was deflected behind for a corner kick. Scott flighted in the corner kick which Dene Cassells met but was unable to generate enough power on his header to test Dean Trainor. Saints survived one final scare in the eighty seventh minute with the danger once again coming from the left wing. Paul Walker sent in a tempting deep cross from a free kick across the face of the Saints goal which mercifully evaded everybody in red and white and bounced harmlessly behind for a goal kick. The last incident of note came in the eighty ninth minute when Craig MacEwan broke up the left wing and sent a cross to the back post which Allan Mackay at full stretch could only turn into the arms of Dean Trainor with Donald Campbell waiting in the middle for a cut back. Referee Scott added three minutes for stoppages before bringing the match to an end with Saints securing a narrow victory to reach the halfway stage of their league campaign in second place.
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| Thomas McCulloch collects |
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| David McArthur heads Saints into the lead |
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| East Kilbride Rolls Royce goalkeeper Dean Trainor |
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| Dean Smith crosses for Craig MacEwan |
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| Dougal Graham gets a nose bleed from being too far up the park |
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| Former Saints Thomas Sharp and Iain Jackson look on pensively |
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| An unwelcome scoop for newspaper man Davie Buchanan |
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ReplyDeleteAnother detailed and quick witted summary by dab. Gets better and better , i and others do appreciate the effort put into the blog / report. Goodstuff Dab. ( its a mix of four four two-Nme and viz i love that . Kmp
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