Winning In The Rain: On Track

Saturday 3rd December 2016
Scottish Amateur Football Association Challenge Cup Competition
Fourth Round
Salvesen FC 0 - 2 Oban Saints AFC
Forrester High School 3G
212 Broomhouse Road
Edinburgh
EH12 9AE
Kick Off 1pm
Referee Mr James Jamieson

Saints made a rare journey east to Edinburgh last Saturday where they successfully booked their place in the Scottish Amateur Cup fifth round draw. Manager Alex Craik's team selection plans received a set-back when ever presents Willie Gemmell and Marc Maccallum had to call off due to work commitments and illness respectively. However the omens were good when the Captain's armband was handed to Paul Kerr who has a 100% record as stand in skipper. Paul was joined in midfield by Brian Mackay and Paul Carmichael while Marc Maccallum's absence meant a start for Jamie Graham who himself was struggling to shake off the after effects of a recent bout of flu. Jamie lined up alongside Dene Cassells at the centre of the defence in front of goalkeeper Thomas McCulloch with Matthew Kelly and Scott Maitland filling the full back berths. Up front Dean Smith lead the line flanked by Ross Maitland and Craig MacEwan. The Saints bench was boosted by the return of long term injury victim Martin Bonar who joined David McArthur and Fraser MacFarlane. Dougal Graham made up the substitutes line-up however a calf injury sustained in training in training dictated that his inclusion was to cover dire emergencies only.

Hosts Salvesen were an unknown quantity for Saints however their current sixteen match winning streak marked them out as potentially very difficult opponents for last season's beaten semi-finalists. Home skipper Ryan Harding won the toss of Referee James Jamieson's coin and elected to attack the school end in the first half. Saints started brightly knocking the ball about crisply on the good 3G surface. Salvesen gave an early indication that they wouldn't allow Saints to have it all their own way with a serious of robust challenges which raised the temperature on the pitch and also on the sidelines. A heavy challenge by Salvesen right full back Greig Hogarth on Paul Kerr gave Saints a free kick in a dangerous position inside the second minute. Ross Maitland's lofted ball into the box was easily repelled by the Salvesen defence but only as far as Paul Kerr on the edge of the box who sent a shot crashing over the top of the home crossbar. Dean Smith was next to feel the weight of a Salvesen challenge when Dean Cunningham sent him sprawling with another meaty challenge. Once again Ross Maitland's free kick was cleared this time with Dean Smith sending the loose ball wide of David Livie's right hand post. Saints had a loud appeal for a penalty kick dismissed in the sixth minute. Brian Mackay threaded a pass into the box for Paul Carmichael to run onto. Pursued by Faron Gribben, Paul tried to take the ball round the considerable frame of David Livie and appeared to be taken down by the big keeper but Referee Jamieson was unmoved by the Saints appeals and awarded a goal kick. Salvesen continued to dish out the heavy challenges with Dean Smith in particular coming in for some rough treatment. Mr Jamieson's patience with the hosts finally ran out in the eleventh minute when Dean Cunningham's fourth foul was met with the game's first yellow card. Despite having the upper hand Saints were finding scoring opportunities hard to come by with a Dean Smith header wide of the post from a Ross Maitland cross being the best effort of the opening fifteen minutes. This was followed up in the eighteenth minute by a Smith snap shot from the edge of the box being deflected wide for a corner kick. Ross Maitland's out-swinger from the right was met at the back post by Paul Carmichael whose powerful header flashed wide of the post. Salvesen's main out ball was to go long to the head of towering centre forward Matthew Duncan however Saints central defenders Dene Cassells and Jamie Graham were able to keep the big man reasonably quiet. Jamie Graham made a rare foray forward in the twenty seventh minute and had a shot from twenty four yards deflected wide for another corner kick from the right. Manager Alex Craik instructed a change of taker with Scott Maitland's in-swinger being headed out to Ross Maitland whose volley from twenty two yards dipped just over the crossbar. Saints kept the pressure on from David Livie's goal kick when Brian Mackay sent Dean Smith through one-on-one with the keeper. Dean took the ball round Livie but struck the base of the post with his attempt on goal. The loose ball came back to Dean who rolled the ball back to Paul Carmichael who also failed to find the net seeing his effort well saved by Livie. In a quieter spell Brian Mackay had a shot from twenty four yards comfortably held by Salvesen keeper Livie before Saints finally broke the deadlock in the forty third minute. Brian Mackay once again provided the through ball for Dean Smith who successfully rounded the keeper only to see his goal bound effort stopped on the line by Faron Gribben. Dean however kept his composure to gather the loose ball taking it away from the sprawling keeper and slotting into the empty net to give Saints a deserved lead. Dean almost doubled his tally on the stroke of half time hooking a Ross Maitland cross from the right wing back across the keeper but narrowly wide of the post. Before play could restart Referee Jamieson issued the second yellow card of the afternoon to Jamie Butler for a late heavy challenge on Matthew Kelly in the build-up. The half time interval arrived with Saints good value for their slender lead.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first forty five with Saints doing most of the pressing but failing to capitalise fully on the chances created. Ross Maitland somehow managed to miss an open goal from twenty five yards in the fiftieth minute after Craig MacEwan and Paul Carmichael had combined well through the middle leaving the goalkeeper stranded well off his line. However Ross redeemed himself three minutes later with a sublime finish to double his side's advantage. Ross won a throw-in on the left level with the six yard line from where Craig MacEwan and Brian Mackay worked the ball into the box. Craig shaped to shoot but cut the ball back to Ross on the edge of the D who clipped an excellent effort into the top corner giving David Livie no chance. With a two goal advantage Saints continued to knock the ball about confidently keeping their cool in the face yet more robust challenges from the home side. Greig Hogarth was fortunate not to see yellow or worse after crashing into Paul Carmichael in the fifty fifth minute. Salvesen then introduced Lothian and Edinburgh Select man Michael Yuill wide on the right for the final half hour and immediately began to look more of a threat in the final third. A Salvesen free kick thirty yards from goal in the fifty seventh minute led to a lightning quick Saints counter attack which should have put the tie beyond any doubt. Paul Kerr lofted the ball up to Dean Smith on the half-way line who beat Jamie Butler in the air to knock the down into the path of Ross Maitland. Ross took off up the right wing and squared to Paul Carmichael wide open in the middle who failed to get the pass under control with the ball bouncing up and hitting his hand and the home side breathing a huge sigh of relief as the Referee blew for hand ball. David Livie made a smart save low down to his right in the sixty second minute to deny Craig MacEwan before Dean Smith had a goal bound effort deflected behind for a corner kick two minutes later. The good build up play continued with Paul Kerr and Craig MacEwan combining well to set up Brian Mackay on the left in the sixty eighth minute. Brian raced into the box but opted for power over placement sending his left foot shot over the junction of post and crossbar. The Salvesen keeper was however forced into action with twenty minutes remaining on the clock diving well to his left to turn away a Ross Maitland free kick curled around the defensive wall from nineteen yards. The hosts had their only clear sight of goal in the seventy second minute when a rare lapse in concentration from Jamie Graham allowed Michael Yuill to cut in from the right and run in behind him. Chased all the way by Scott Maitland, Yuill got his shot away but was foiled by Thomas McCulloch when the Saints keeper stuck out his size twelve left boot to turn the ball behind for a corner kick. With fifteen minutes remaining Saints Gaffer Alex Craik made a double substitution replacing Paul Carmichael and Dean Smith with David McArthur and Fraser MacFarlane. The changes seemed to interrupt the flow for Saints with less being created going forward however they remained solid at the back throughout. Jamie Butler and Michael Yuill linked up in the eighty fourth minute with Yuill almost finding a way through being halted just outside the box by a last ditch challenge from Jamie Graham at the expense of a free kick. The free kick from slightly left of centre was high and wide posing no threat to Thomas McCulloch's cherished clean sheet. Manager Alex Craik made one final change with five minutes remaining introducing Martin Bonar for his first appearance of the season. Brian Mackay made way for Martin leaving Saints to see out the match with a distinctly unfamiliar midfield of Paul Kerr, David McArthur and Martin Bonar. Referee Mr Jamieson, who handled proceedings well, brought the match to an end with no further incident ensuring Scottish Amateur Cup football for Saints after the impending Christmas and New Year break.