Winning In The Rain: Mamores Monsoon

The Mamore Hills to the North of Kinlochleven

Friendly Match
Wednesday 21st September 2016
South Lochaber Thistle 1 - 5 Oban Saints
Lochaber Road
Kinlochleven
Kick off 7pm
Referee Mr David Dunlop

Saints Starting Line-up:-

Graham Douglas

Jamie Graham
Craig Campbell
Dene Cassells
Dougal Graham

Myles McAuley
Matthew Kelly
Willie Gemmell

Craig MacEwan
Donald Campbell (Captain)
Scott Maitland

Substitutes used:-

Daniel Croarkin
David McArthur
Fraser MacFarlane
Keith Millar

Saints goalscorers:-

Craig MacEwan (1)
Fraser MacFarlane (1)
Donald Campbell (3)

South Lochaber Thistle starting line-up:-

Ryan Hunter

Kieran Lopez
Alan Gray (Captain)
Scott Rodger
Darren Duncan

Sean Noble
Andrew Cunningham
Dave Forbes
Daniel Mackintosh
Scott Hunter

Paul McFatridge

Substitutes used:-

Phillip Hancar
Keir Kennedy
Marc Maclean

South Lochaber Thistle goalscorer:-

Scott Hunter

Stuck in the middle of a run of three blank Saturday's Saints arranged a midweek friendly last Wednesday against newly formed South Lochaber Thistle in Kinlochleven. The new club have made an impressive start to life in the West of Scotland Amateur Football League winning three out of four matches to sit in second place in the Premier Division. Thistle's only reverse came in a close match against unbeaten league leaders Newshot with the two already looking set to slug it out for the Premier Division title.

Saints travelled with a squad of fifteen and, with rolling substitutes permitted, every player was guaranteed at least sixty minutes of action to maintain match sharpness ahead of next Saturday's Scottish Amateur Cup second round match against Bishopton. Manager Alex Craik started with Graham Douglas in goal; a back four of Jamie Graham, Craig Campbell, Dene Cassells and Dougal Graham; a midfield of Myles McAuley, Matthew Kelly and Willie Gemmell; and a front three of Craig MacEwan, Skipper for the evening Donald Campbell and Scott Maitland. On the bench were Daniel Croarkin. David McArthur, Fraser MacFarlane and Keith Millar.

The match kicked off in monsoon conditions at the foot of the Mamore hills under the floodlights at Kinlochleven High School. The torrential rain continued to fall throughout the match making for uncomfortable viewing from the sidelines but ensuring a high paced game on the extremely slick 3G surface.

Saints took advantage of the high defensive line employed by the home side to open the scoring in the fifth minute. Donald Campbell and Scott Maitland linked up well just inside the Saints half with Craig MacEwan spinning in behind the back four to get on the end of a defence splitting pass from Scott. With Scott Rodger in hot puruit Craig launched an audacious lob from thirty six yards which sailed over the head of Thistle keeper Ryan Hunter and into the net. The loss of the early goal spurred the home side on to a decent ten minute spell in which they kept Saints pinned back forcing a flurry of corner kicks. The Saints central defensive pairing of Craig Campbell and Dene Cassells coped well with the aerial assault but had to rely on keeper Graham "Sugar" Douglas to make a smart save down to his left when Paul Mcfatridge returned a headed clearance with interest firing in a shot from eighteen yards. Saints responded with a swift counter attack on the left wing where Myles McAuley made a surging run into the box but delayed slightly with his shot allowing Ryan Hunter to narrow the angle sufficiently to make the block. The loose ball spun accross to Craig MacEwan who picked out Donald Campbell for what should have been a second Saints goal however Scott Maitland unluckily deflected Donald's shot behind for a goal kick. On the right hand side Jamie Graham was beginning to get forward to support the attack and made an overlapping run in the seventeenth minute fizzing a cut back at Myles McAuley which was too firmly struck for the midfield man to get under control and the chance was lost. Jamie continued to cause problems for Thistle left back Darren Duncan and linked up well with Craig MacEwan in the twenty second minute to create an opening for a shot which only narrowly failed to find the target clipping the outside of the junction of post and bar. On the hour mark Manager Alex Craik made the first of his planned mass changes bringing on David McArthur, Daniel Croarkin, Keith Millar and Fraser MacFarlane to replace Jamie Graham, Willie Gemmell, Matthew Kelly and Scott Maitland. As the substitutes looked to bed into the match the home side enjoyed another good spell playing some nice football in the middle of the park but without seriously troubling Saints in the attacking third. Width remained the key for Saints to unlock the Thistle defence with Donald Campbell unlucky not to connect with a Craig MacEwan cross after he and Myles McAuley had worked the ball forward on the left. Saints doubled their advantage in the fortieth minute from a good move on the right involving Donald Campbell and Craig MacEwan. Donald picked out Myles McAuley in the middle on the eighteen yard line with the midfield man electing not to shoot but to keep the ball moving to the left for young Fraser MacFarlane who, despite a poor first touch, knocked a tidy finish past Ryan Hunter beating the Thistle keeper at his near post. Just one minute later the pair found themselves in direct opposition again when a neat turn on the left of the Thistle box put MacFarlane through on the keeper however this time Hunter produced a good save to deny the young Saints striker. Hesitancy in the Saints back four invited a late spell of pressure from the home side with two corner kicks in quick succession and a twenty two yard shot from Dave Forbes high and wide of target before Referee David Dunlop blew for half time.

The home side made a positive start to the second half with Andrew Cunningham making a mazy run from right to left before sending a left foot shot twelve inches wide of Sugar's right hand post. Paul Mcfatridge also tried his luck finding the side netting with a well struck shot from the left hand side of the Saints box. With Saints first foray forward of the second half Craig MacEwan won a free kick twenty five yards from goal and slightly left of centre. This was perfect Willie Gemmell territory however Willie was still on the sideline at this point therefore Donald Campbell assumed responsibility for the set piece. Donald's perfectly executed low curling free kick swerved round the four man Thistle wall and skimmed along the slick surface into the bottom corner of the net past Ryan Hunter's left hand to put Saints three goals up. Craig MacEwan looked to further extend Saints advantage with a firmly struck fifty third minute shot which Ryan Hunter did well to hold. Thistle got back into the game in the fifty fifth minute when a ball over the top caught David McArthur too far up the park giving Scott Hunter a chance to run in behind. Graham Douglas came off his line to intercept but Hunter was first to the ball and deftly chipped the ball into the unguarded net to give the home side a glimmer of a chance of staging a comeback. Those hopes were extinguished just three minutes later after a terrific move from Donald Campbell and Myles McAuley was rounded off with Donald slotting a shot through the goalkeepers legs from close range. This was the cue for the Gaffer to make his second mass substitution with Dougal Graham, Myles McAuley, Keith Millar and Craig MacEwan making way for Jamie Graham, Willie Gemmell, Matthew Kelly and Scott Maitland.

Saints rounded off the scoring in as spectacular a fashion as they had opened it. After a good move on the right in the eighty fifth minute Donald Campbell spotted Ryan Hunter six yards off his goal line and from just inside the eighteen yard box lifted the ball over Hunter and into the net to complete a sensational hat-trick. Scott Maitland tested the keeper one final time with just three minutes remaining however this time Ryan Hunter got his angles spot on to tip Scott's shot over the crossbar. Referee David Dunlop, who took care of business with minimal fuss, brought a good workout in testing conditions for both sides to a close with a final score of 5 - 1 to the visitors.