Scottish Amateur Football League
Premier Division
Motherwell Thistle AFC 3 - 3 Oban Saints AFC
Daisy Park Community Centre
Cassels Street
Motherwell
North Lanarkshire
ML1 1DX
Kick off 2pm
Referee Mr Alan Smith
Saints Starting Line-Up:-
Thomas McCulloch
David McArthur
Marc Maccallum (Captain)
Dene Cassells
Jamie Graham
Myle McAuley
Paul Kerr
Willie Gemmell
Ross Maitland
Donald Campbell
Craig MacEwan
Used substitutes:-
Daniel Croarkin
Matthew Kelly
Fraser MacFarlane
Dean Smith
Unused substitute:-
Craig Campbell
Saints conceded two sloppy goals inside a minute right at the end of last Saturday's first ever league encounter with Motherwell Thistle to gift their hosts an unlikely share of the points. Second half goals from Craig MacEwan and Donald Campbell added to Willie Gemmell's first half opener had the visitors coasting towards victory until the late rally from the Premier Division new boys stunned their more experienced guests.
Manager Alex Craik stuck with ten of the starting eleven from the previous week's demolition of Campbeltown Pupils with the only change being Jamie Graham coming in at left back to replace holidaymaker Scott Maitland. Keeping their places on the bench were Daniel Croarkin,Fraser MacFarlane and Dean Smith who were joined by the returning Craig Campbell and Matthew Kelly.
Saints skipper Marc Maccallum won the toss and elected to play into the stiff breeze and driving rain in the first half. The hosts kicked off on the excellent Daisy Park Community Centre 3G surface and were first to settle forcing a corner kick on the left in the first minute which Thomas McCulloch held well in the tricky condtions. As was the case against Campbeltown Pupils Saints were slow to get started with the hosts having the better of the early exchanges. In the thirteenth minute Saints injected a little bit of urgency with Marc Maccallum making a good interception on the half way line to feed the advancing David McArthur. David measured a good ball up the right wing for Ross Maitland who flashed a cross into the box which Thistle keeper Paul Aiton couldn't hold. Fortunately for the Jags keeper his spilled catch fell behind Donald Campbell where he was able to gather at the second attempt. The Jags front pairing of Ombeni Ruhanduka and Mark Begg were showing good movement and giving the Saints back four plenty to think about. Begg could possibly have done better in the fifteenth minute when he peeled away from Marc Maccallum to meet a William McMaster cross from the right but could only cushion his volley from fifteen yards over the crossbar. David McArthur and Ross Maitland then combined well again on the right this time with David getting in a tempting cross which only just evaded Donald Campbell and Craig MacEwan on the six yard line.
Saints took the lead in the eighteenth minute when Ross Maitland finished off a good move through the middle holding the ball up well on the eighteen yard line and rolling a short pass into the path of Willie Gemmell who fired a shot into the bottom corner from twenty four yards. Four minutes later Paul Kerr tried his luck from a similar distance and was unlucky to see his powerful shot deflected over the crossbar with the keeper well beaten. Ross Maitland sent in another good delivery from the corner kick which Jags skipper Stuart Hunter headed clear however Saints kept up the pressure with Jamie Graham picking out Willie Gemmell with a raking diagonal ball from the left. Willie advanced up the right wing from where he spotted Paul Aiton off his goal line and successfully lobbed the goalkeeper only to see his effort hit the top of the crossbar and bounce behind for a goal kick. Saints looked to be getting into their stride now with Donald Campbell heading inches wide after beating Stuart Hunter to a Craig MacEwan cross from the left and Ross Maitland seeing another dangerous cross from the right turned behind for a corner. At the other end Antony Mitchell came in from the left wing to carve out a twenty ninth minute chance catching out David McArthur and Marc Maccallum before shooting narrowly wide of Thomas McCulloch's right hand post. Two minutes later Dene Cassells found himself caught in two minds on the halfway line eventually standing on the ball and being robbed of possession by William McMaster. The Jags midfielder drove at the heart of the retreating Saints defence but with four players in support decided to go for goal himself. Thomas McCulloch advanced to narrow the angle and made an excellent save smothering McMaster's shot from eighteen yards. Ross Maitland kept up the excellent form he showed against Campbeltown Pupils linking up well with David McArthur and Myles McAuley before sending in another tempting cross which David Knight defended well nipping in ahead of Craig MacEwan to clear the danger. Jamie Graham picked up a silly booking for dissent in the forty second minute after he had been harshly adjudged to have fouled Ombeni Ruhanduka on the half way line. Thistle took the free kick quickly working it forward to first half substitute David Forrester in the inside left channel who snatched at the chance slicing his left foot shot well wide of target. In the final minute of the half Donald Campbell blazed a Ross Maitland cutback over the crossbar from eighteen yards after a Willie Gemmell pass had set Ross off on another run on the right wing.
Impossible as it may sound, Saints made an even slower start to the second half than the first with the hosts forcing two corners in quick succession the first of which being won almost immediately from Saints kick off. Saints defended the corners and, after some vocal encouragement from the touchline, forced their own first corner of the second half in the fiftieth minute. Craig MacEwan flicked on a long Thomas McCulloch clearance and harried Jags left back Scott Watson into knocking the ball behind. Ross Maitland's outswinger from the right was knocked down by Dene Cassells to Donald Campbell who saw his first time shot blocked on the goal line by Scott Watson. Craig MacEwan was first to the loose ball but sent his effort high over the crossbar. Paul Kerr joined Jamie Graham in Referee Alan Smith's notebook for a foul inside the centre circle in the fifty fourth minute. On the hour mark a foul on Ross Maitland two yards from the byeline on the left brought an audacious free kick effort from Willie Gemmell. From this extremely narrow angle Willie decided against a cross and curled a shot narrowly wide of the junction of post and bar. That was Willie's last meaningful contribution and he was replaced five minutes later by the fresh legs of Matthew Kelly. The hosts drew level in the sixty seventh minute when Ombeni Ruhanduka peeled off the shoulder of Marc Maccallum and tucked a neat finish beyond Thomas McCulloch at his near post. Referee Smith harshly booked Marc Maccallum for an accidental handball in the seventieth minute having only moments earlier not produced a card for an identical infringement by a Jags player. Mr Smith did however take the name of David Knight in the seventy second minute for pulling back Craig MacEwan in the centre circle. With fifteen minutes remaining Dean Smith entered the fray to replace Ross Maitland and had an almost instant impact on proceedings. Dean's perseverance forced a corner kick on the right starting a period of pressure leading to Saints second goal in the seventy seventh minute. Matthew Kelly's corner was forced behind by the Jags defence giving young Matthew another chance to put the ball into the danger area. Matthew's second corner was glanced on by Dene Cassells and broke to Paul Kerr on the edge of the D. Paul's shot on the half volley was blocked with David McArthur latching onto the rebound and firing a dangerous low ball across the box which took the slightest of deflections off a Jags defender for another corner kick. Craig MacEwan made a near post run and, with the outside of his right boot, flicked Dean Smith's cross into the net finding the gap between keeper Paul Aiton and full back Scott Watson guarding the back post. Before the restart Mr Smith took the name of the Jags keeper who had continued his protests about the award of the corner too long for the Referee's liking. Saints eagerness to bag what they hoped would be a killer third goal left them short at the back with the dangerous Ombeni Ruhanduka getting in behind Marc Maccallum but firing over from a tight angle. Donald Campbell's clipped ball into the box found Craig MacEwan in a good position but, under pressure from Stuart Hunter, Craig was unable to get the ball properly under control and the chance was lost. An eighty fifth minute lob from Dean Smith almost caught Paul Aiton off his line but the Jags keeper managed to get finger tips to Dean's effort to deflect it over the crossbar. Dean was in the thick of the action again just one minute later when he was hauled down in the box by Stuart Hunter earning Saints a penalty kick and the Thistle Captain's central defensive partner James Gibbons a yellow card for his protestations. Donald Campbell emphatically hammered home the spot kick to give Saints a two goal advantage going into the last four minutes of the match and that really should have been game over. Unfortunately for Saints the hosts had other ideas and refused to accept defeat. Ombeni Ruhanduka edged the hosts ahead in the bookings stakes for a foul on Marc Maccallum and during the stoppage Saints Manager replaced Myles McAuley and Craig MacEwan with Daniel Croarkin and Fraser MacFarlane. The young Saints substitutes had no time to settle as Thistle pushed forward looking for a way back into the game which they duly found in the ninetieth minute. Thistle substitute Christopher McEwan got a run on Jamie Graham beating the stand-in Saints left back on the outside and sending a low cross into the box which Saints failed to deal with allowing Ombeni Ruhanduka to lash a right foot shot past Thomas McCulloch. Saints were rocking now and switched off again immediately from the restart again allowing Christopher McEwan too much space this time to measure a diagonal ball to the left flank looking for Antony Mitchell. The Thistle man appeared suspiciously offside however Mr Smith, under scrutiny from a Scottish Football Association Referee's Assessor, waved play on allowing Mitchell to send a cross into the box where a pack of Thistle players were now waiting. Christopher McEwan continued his run into the box to join the throng and got the vital touch past the helpless Thomas McCulloch sending the home bench into raptures of joy and having the polar opposite effect on the Saints bench. There was barely any time left on the watch and Mr Smith blew for full time almost immediately after the restart leaving Saints to reflect ruefully on two dropped points. Full credit to hosts Motherwell Thistle who kept plugging away right to the end for which they deserved their share of the points.
Next up for Saints in the Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division is a home match against old rivals Inverclyde.
Craig Campbell
Saints conceded two sloppy goals inside a minute right at the end of last Saturday's first ever league encounter with Motherwell Thistle to gift their hosts an unlikely share of the points. Second half goals from Craig MacEwan and Donald Campbell added to Willie Gemmell's first half opener had the visitors coasting towards victory until the late rally from the Premier Division new boys stunned their more experienced guests.
Manager Alex Craik stuck with ten of the starting eleven from the previous week's demolition of Campbeltown Pupils with the only change being Jamie Graham coming in at left back to replace holidaymaker Scott Maitland. Keeping their places on the bench were Daniel Croarkin,Fraser MacFarlane and Dean Smith who were joined by the returning Craig Campbell and Matthew Kelly.
Saints skipper Marc Maccallum won the toss and elected to play into the stiff breeze and driving rain in the first half. The hosts kicked off on the excellent Daisy Park Community Centre 3G surface and were first to settle forcing a corner kick on the left in the first minute which Thomas McCulloch held well in the tricky condtions. As was the case against Campbeltown Pupils Saints were slow to get started with the hosts having the better of the early exchanges. In the thirteenth minute Saints injected a little bit of urgency with Marc Maccallum making a good interception on the half way line to feed the advancing David McArthur. David measured a good ball up the right wing for Ross Maitland who flashed a cross into the box which Thistle keeper Paul Aiton couldn't hold. Fortunately for the Jags keeper his spilled catch fell behind Donald Campbell where he was able to gather at the second attempt. The Jags front pairing of Ombeni Ruhanduka and Mark Begg were showing good movement and giving the Saints back four plenty to think about. Begg could possibly have done better in the fifteenth minute when he peeled away from Marc Maccallum to meet a William McMaster cross from the right but could only cushion his volley from fifteen yards over the crossbar. David McArthur and Ross Maitland then combined well again on the right this time with David getting in a tempting cross which only just evaded Donald Campbell and Craig MacEwan on the six yard line.
Saints took the lead in the eighteenth minute when Ross Maitland finished off a good move through the middle holding the ball up well on the eighteen yard line and rolling a short pass into the path of Willie Gemmell who fired a shot into the bottom corner from twenty four yards. Four minutes later Paul Kerr tried his luck from a similar distance and was unlucky to see his powerful shot deflected over the crossbar with the keeper well beaten. Ross Maitland sent in another good delivery from the corner kick which Jags skipper Stuart Hunter headed clear however Saints kept up the pressure with Jamie Graham picking out Willie Gemmell with a raking diagonal ball from the left. Willie advanced up the right wing from where he spotted Paul Aiton off his goal line and successfully lobbed the goalkeeper only to see his effort hit the top of the crossbar and bounce behind for a goal kick. Saints looked to be getting into their stride now with Donald Campbell heading inches wide after beating Stuart Hunter to a Craig MacEwan cross from the left and Ross Maitland seeing another dangerous cross from the right turned behind for a corner. At the other end Antony Mitchell came in from the left wing to carve out a twenty ninth minute chance catching out David McArthur and Marc Maccallum before shooting narrowly wide of Thomas McCulloch's right hand post. Two minutes later Dene Cassells found himself caught in two minds on the halfway line eventually standing on the ball and being robbed of possession by William McMaster. The Jags midfielder drove at the heart of the retreating Saints defence but with four players in support decided to go for goal himself. Thomas McCulloch advanced to narrow the angle and made an excellent save smothering McMaster's shot from eighteen yards. Ross Maitland kept up the excellent form he showed against Campbeltown Pupils linking up well with David McArthur and Myles McAuley before sending in another tempting cross which David Knight defended well nipping in ahead of Craig MacEwan to clear the danger. Jamie Graham picked up a silly booking for dissent in the forty second minute after he had been harshly adjudged to have fouled Ombeni Ruhanduka on the half way line. Thistle took the free kick quickly working it forward to first half substitute David Forrester in the inside left channel who snatched at the chance slicing his left foot shot well wide of target. In the final minute of the half Donald Campbell blazed a Ross Maitland cutback over the crossbar from eighteen yards after a Willie Gemmell pass had set Ross off on another run on the right wing.
Impossible as it may sound, Saints made an even slower start to the second half than the first with the hosts forcing two corners in quick succession the first of which being won almost immediately from Saints kick off. Saints defended the corners and, after some vocal encouragement from the touchline, forced their own first corner of the second half in the fiftieth minute. Craig MacEwan flicked on a long Thomas McCulloch clearance and harried Jags left back Scott Watson into knocking the ball behind. Ross Maitland's outswinger from the right was knocked down by Dene Cassells to Donald Campbell who saw his first time shot blocked on the goal line by Scott Watson. Craig MacEwan was first to the loose ball but sent his effort high over the crossbar. Paul Kerr joined Jamie Graham in Referee Alan Smith's notebook for a foul inside the centre circle in the fifty fourth minute. On the hour mark a foul on Ross Maitland two yards from the byeline on the left brought an audacious free kick effort from Willie Gemmell. From this extremely narrow angle Willie decided against a cross and curled a shot narrowly wide of the junction of post and bar. That was Willie's last meaningful contribution and he was replaced five minutes later by the fresh legs of Matthew Kelly. The hosts drew level in the sixty seventh minute when Ombeni Ruhanduka peeled off the shoulder of Marc Maccallum and tucked a neat finish beyond Thomas McCulloch at his near post. Referee Smith harshly booked Marc Maccallum for an accidental handball in the seventieth minute having only moments earlier not produced a card for an identical infringement by a Jags player. Mr Smith did however take the name of David Knight in the seventy second minute for pulling back Craig MacEwan in the centre circle. With fifteen minutes remaining Dean Smith entered the fray to replace Ross Maitland and had an almost instant impact on proceedings. Dean's perseverance forced a corner kick on the right starting a period of pressure leading to Saints second goal in the seventy seventh minute. Matthew Kelly's corner was forced behind by the Jags defence giving young Matthew another chance to put the ball into the danger area. Matthew's second corner was glanced on by Dene Cassells and broke to Paul Kerr on the edge of the D. Paul's shot on the half volley was blocked with David McArthur latching onto the rebound and firing a dangerous low ball across the box which took the slightest of deflections off a Jags defender for another corner kick. Craig MacEwan made a near post run and, with the outside of his right boot, flicked Dean Smith's cross into the net finding the gap between keeper Paul Aiton and full back Scott Watson guarding the back post. Before the restart Mr Smith took the name of the Jags keeper who had continued his protests about the award of the corner too long for the Referee's liking. Saints eagerness to bag what they hoped would be a killer third goal left them short at the back with the dangerous Ombeni Ruhanduka getting in behind Marc Maccallum but firing over from a tight angle. Donald Campbell's clipped ball into the box found Craig MacEwan in a good position but, under pressure from Stuart Hunter, Craig was unable to get the ball properly under control and the chance was lost. An eighty fifth minute lob from Dean Smith almost caught Paul Aiton off his line but the Jags keeper managed to get finger tips to Dean's effort to deflect it over the crossbar. Dean was in the thick of the action again just one minute later when he was hauled down in the box by Stuart Hunter earning Saints a penalty kick and the Thistle Captain's central defensive partner James Gibbons a yellow card for his protestations. Donald Campbell emphatically hammered home the spot kick to give Saints a two goal advantage going into the last four minutes of the match and that really should have been game over. Unfortunately for Saints the hosts had other ideas and refused to accept defeat. Ombeni Ruhanduka edged the hosts ahead in the bookings stakes for a foul on Marc Maccallum and during the stoppage Saints Manager replaced Myles McAuley and Craig MacEwan with Daniel Croarkin and Fraser MacFarlane. The young Saints substitutes had no time to settle as Thistle pushed forward looking for a way back into the game which they duly found in the ninetieth minute. Thistle substitute Christopher McEwan got a run on Jamie Graham beating the stand-in Saints left back on the outside and sending a low cross into the box which Saints failed to deal with allowing Ombeni Ruhanduka to lash a right foot shot past Thomas McCulloch. Saints were rocking now and switched off again immediately from the restart again allowing Christopher McEwan too much space this time to measure a diagonal ball to the left flank looking for Antony Mitchell. The Thistle man appeared suspiciously offside however Mr Smith, under scrutiny from a Scottish Football Association Referee's Assessor, waved play on allowing Mitchell to send a cross into the box where a pack of Thistle players were now waiting. Christopher McEwan continued his run into the box to join the throng and got the vital touch past the helpless Thomas McCulloch sending the home bench into raptures of joy and having the polar opposite effect on the Saints bench. There was barely any time left on the watch and Mr Smith blew for full time almost immediately after the restart leaving Saints to reflect ruefully on two dropped points. Full credit to hosts Motherwell Thistle who kept plugging away right to the end for which they deserved their share of the points.
Next up for Saints in the Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division is a home match against old rivals Inverclyde.
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| David McArthur and Antony Mitchell |
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| Myles McAuley and William McMaster |
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| Donald Campbell and Stuart Hunter |
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| Referee Alan Smith keeps an eye on Dean Cassells and Ombeni Ruhanduka |
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| Ross Maitland |
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| Stuart Hunter beats David McArthur in the air |
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| David Knight brings down Marc Maccallum |
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| Paul Aiton can't keep out Willie Gemmell's strike for the opening goal |
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| The Saints players celebrate Willie Gemmell's opening goal |
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| Craig MacEwan crosses for Ross Maitland |
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| Craig MacEwan's flick restores Saints lead |
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| Craig MacEwan is congratulated on his goal |
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| Donald Campbell nets Saints third goal from the penalty spot |
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| Saints Secretary Davie Buchanan has a few tips for National Select Manager Bruce McNaught |
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