Saturday 25th March 2017
The Scottish Amateur Football Association Challenge Cup Competition
Quarter Final Tie
Barca-Milton 97 AFC 0 - 2 Oban Saints AFC
Jewel Park
56 - 60 Duddingston Park South
Edinburgh
EH15 3LJ
Kick off 2pm
Referee Mr James Gallacher
Assistant Referee Mr Joseph Fox
Assistant Referee Mr Stephen Fox
Saints starting line-up:-
Used substitute:-
Dean Smith
Unused substitutes:-
Martin Bonar
Alex Craik
Jamie Graham
Ross Maitland
Oban Saints Manager Alex Craik celebrated hisXX (removed on legal advice) birthday last Saturday by guiding his side into their second consecutive Scottish Amateur Cup semi-final overcoming Barca-Milton 97 at the Jewel, Edinburgh. Definitely not the "Jewel In The Crown" of Edinburgh's playing surfaces, the Jewel was a tight, bumpy pitch with long grass and well worthy of the old "the pitch was a leveller" tag.
Matthew Kelly joined Paul Kerr, Graham Douglas and long term injury victims Craig Campbell, Dougal Graham and Keith Millar in the treatment room limiting The Gaffer's options. New signing Kerr Newbigging was also too short of match practice to be considered. The tight park forced a change to a 4-4-2 formation with Paul Carmichael dropping back to join Willie Gemmell, Myles McAuley and Brian Mackay in midfield. Scott Maitland returned from injury to take the left-back slot lining up alongside David McArthur, Dene Cassells and Skipper Marc Maccallum at the back. Craig MacEwan and Donald Campbell formed the strike partnership with goalkeeper Thomas McCulloch completing the line-up. The Gaffer named himself on a strong bench alongside Martin Bonar, Jamie Graham, Ross Maitland and Dean Smith.
Team Captains Marc Maccallum and Steven Adams exchanged commemorative gifts prior to the tossing of Referee James Gallacher's coin which Marc Maccallum won electing to shoot into the sun in the first half. Barc-Milton of the Lothian and Edinburgh Amateur Football Association Championship kicked off but Saints immediately gained possession and attacked up the right wing. Paul Carmichael got the better of Ross Shields and picked out Craig MacEwan in the box. Craig turned and laid off to Donald Campbell eight yards out and straight in front of goal. The Saints bench waited for the net to bulge but Barca-Milton keeper Neil McArthur narrowed the angle and spread himself well to pull off an excellent save to deny Saints a dream start.
A ball over the top from the hosts in the third minute had Dene Cassells turning with central defensive partner Marc Marc Maccallum having to be on his toes to knock the ball out for a throw-in. Barca-Milton right-back Russell Johnston launched the first of what was to be a series of long throws from the right into the Saints box from level with the eighteen yard line. Saints forced the ball partially clear however Myles McAuley fouled Scott Smith on the opposite flank allowing the former Hibernian man an early chance to demonstrate his prowess with the dead ball which was to prove Barca-Milton's other main weapon. The Saints defence also withstood this aerial test with Paul Carmichael heading clear.
Saints dead-ball expert Willie Gemmell had his first chance to test the Barca-Milton keeper in the sixth minute after Dene Cassells had been brought down thirty yards from goal. Willie opted for power but blazed his effort high over Neil McArthur's crossbar.
Pushing forward on the left Scott Maitland won a throw-in from which Willie Gemmell found the feet of Donald Campbell in the box. Donald turned away from Russell Johnston and from the bye-line dinked a left foot cross to the back post but unfortunately fractionally too high for Paul Carmichael.
Saints continued to look the more likely in the opening stages and a raking diagonal pass from David McArthur was inches too long for Donald Campbell's run through the inside left channel with Barca-Milton skipper Steven Adams happy to concede a corner kick. Willie Gemmell's low delivery from the left was cleared at the near post with the hosts launching a swift counter attack up their left. Scott Smith sent a deep cross into the Saints box looking for James Air which Thomas McCulloch came out to claim.
In the thirteenth minute there appeared to be little danger from a free kick conceded by David McArthur on the half-way line and two yards in from the touchline. However even from this distance the cultured left foot of Scott Smith posed a significant threat. Smith went for goal sending his long range effort over Thomas McCulloch's head and onto the top of the crossbar much to the Saints keeper's relief.
The poor surface forced Saints to abandon their normal passing game in favour of a more direct approach. Willie Gemmell's prodigious long throw became a valuable weapon with Paul Carmichael often the target. Paul's knock down from a fourteenth minute Gemmell throw from the left was met on the half volley by Donald Campbell who was unlucky to see his sweet strike from nine yards well saved by Neil McArthur.
Willie Gemmell and Russell Johnston continued to trade long throws with Johnston's sixteenth minute effort being headed clear on the penalty spot by David McArthur. David's header dropped kindly for David Middlemass just outside the Saints box who volleyed straight into the grateful arms of Thomas McCulloch.
When Saints did play the ball on the ground it caused panic in the home defence. Willie Gemmell's diagonal pass to Brian Mackay sent his midfield colleague scampering towards the Barca-Milton box. Brian laid the ball off to Craig MacEwan who burst into the box with Kevin Dunn in close attention. Craig turned his man despite Dunn having a handful of Craig's shirt. Mr Gallacher didn't seem to spot this nor the trip on Donald Campbell which immediately followed leaving the large Saints contingent on the touchline deeply frustrated.
A twentieth minute Scott Smith corner kick from the left was well held by Thomas McCulloch who launched a counter attack up the Saints right. Carmichael's lung bursting run and cut back along the six yard line should have met with better reward but Kevin Dunn got in ahead of Craig MacEwan to make a vital interception.
As the half reached the midway point Saints good start was being slowly eroded with the home side making good use of their long throws. Dene Cassells headed another Russell Johnston throw out for a corner kick on the left which gave the other main threat Scott Smith a chance to pick out a Barca-Milton head in the box. This he successfully did with Darren Nicholson heading wide at the back post.
On the half hour mark Brian Mackay was sandwiched in the centre circle from where Willie Gemmell played his free-kick up to the head of Paul Carmichael. Paul's presence forced a corner kick on the Saints left but once again Willie Gemmell's low delivery was cleared at the front post.
Craig MacEwan hooked a presentable chance wide in the thirty fifth minute from a Willie Gemmell throw-in from the right. However Craig's blushes were spared when Assistant Referee Stephen Fox flagged for a foul throw against Willie.
The unpredictable surface cost Donald Campbell another shot on goal in the thirty ninth minute. Willie Gemmell played a good ball into Craig MacEwan who held the ball up well before laying off to Donald Campbell. Donald turned well on the eighteen yard line and burst into the box but couldn't get the ball out of his feet allowing Kevin Dunn to get in a vital challenge.
Another Paul Carmichael cut back from the right went begging in the fortieth minute. Myles McAuley spotted Paul in space on the right and sent him once again racing towards the bye-line. Paul's ball along the six yard line took out Steven Adams and Kevin Dunn at the near post but not Russell Johnston who nipped in front of Donald Campbell to make a vital interception.
Johnston denied Donald again sixty seconds later getting in a goal saving tackle on the six yard line after Donald had gathered and turned well from another Willie Gemmell throw-in from the left.
Neil McArthur produced the save of the afternoon two minutes before the interval to deny Craig MacEwan. Willie picked out Craig's run to the left corner of the Barca-Milton box where Craig cut back onto his right foot and curled a delicious shot toward the far post which McArthur at full stretch finger tipped around the post for a Saints corner.
On the stroke of half-time Craig tried his luck from the opposite corner this time curling his left foot effort wide of the junction of post and bar.
The first half ended with a speculative long range effort from Scott Smith sailing into the hands of Thomas McCulloch before Mr Gallacher blew the half-time whistle.
Saints kicked off the second half with the sun at their backs but it was the hosts who made the early running with Dene Cassells keeping a cool head to see off Lee Cairns on the edge of the box.
Saints first serious second half foray into Barca-Milton territory came in the fiftieth minute on the counter attack from a Barca-Milton corner. Scott Smith's deep cross to the back post was met by Kevin Dunn who saw his effort blocked on the goal line by Scott Maitland. Myles McAuley then cleared the ball up to Craig MacEwan in the centre circle who in turn fed Donald Campbell. Donald held the ball up for the galloping run of Marc Maccallum who was eventually halted on the eighteen yard line by a well timed Ross Shields tackle.
Saints survived a minor scare in the fifty fourth minute when Marc Maccallum and Dene Cassells who, along with David McArthur and Scott Maitland were rock solid at the back allowed James Air to get in between them and flick a header over the crossbar.
One minute later at the other end Saints broke the deadlock when Donald Campbell pounced on a moment of hesitation in the home defence. Barca-Milton appealed in vain for an offside flag but Assistant Referee Joseph Fox correctly kept his flag by his side. Donald once again saw his shot saved by Neil McArthur however the keeper's luck ran out when Donald gathered the rebound and rolled it into the net despite the efforts of Steven Adams on the goal-line.
A needless foul on David Middlemass by Paul Carmichael gave Scott Smith a shooting opportunity from twenty eight yards in the fifty eighth minute. Fortunately Smith's effort went the way of Willie Gemmell's first half attempt from a similar position and sailed high over the crossbar.
The hosts were now committing more men to the attack and Lee Cairns found his way in behind the Saints defence only to be thwarted by the quick reactions of Thomas McCulloch who came off his line to smother the ball at the Barca-Milton winger's feet.
Myles McAuley briefly broke free from his midfield holding role in the sixty second minute turning well in the centre circle before driving into the gap in front of him and sending a shot just over Neil McArthur's crossbar.
Barca-Milton made the first change of the afternoon bringing on the more attack minded Gary Morrison to replace Darren Nicholson in the sixty fourth minute.
Craig MacEwan forced a throw-in on the Saints right from another good ball into the channel from David McArthur. The Home defence bundled Willie Gemmell's throw-in behind for a corner which Willie also took finding the head of Dene Cassells who headed a good chance wide of the keeper's right hand post.
Saints kept the pressure on from Neil McArthur's miss-hit goal kick with Willie Gemmell being the latest to be beaten by the Jewel turf when in a good position on the left of the six yard box. McArthur fared better with the kick from hand sending the ball deep into the Saints half for James Air whose left wing run to the bye-line was matched all the way by David McArthur who eventually won a good tussle at the expense of a corner kick.
In the seventy sixth minute David McArthur dinked another good ball up the right touchline for Craig MacEwan who tricked his way past Barca-Milton left back Ross Shields and cut into the box before being halted by a well timed challenge by Steven Adams, Willie Gemmell swung in the corner kick from the right to which Paul Carmichael beat second half substitute Derek Forbes to head wide of the far post. This was to be Paul's last involvement as he made way for Dean Smith in the only change of the afternoon made by the Saints Gaffer.
The introduction of Dean Smith saw Donald Campbell drop deeper leaving Dean and Craig MacEwan as the new strike pairing and with the home side pushing for an equaliser there were more gaps at the back for the pair to exploit. In the seventy ninth minute Craig MacEwan found one of those gaps from a David McArthur ball over the top but once again Neil McArthur got his angles spot on to deny Craig the second goal required to calm the increasing nerves on the touchline.
Referee James Gallacher who, together with Assistants Joseph Fox and Stephen Fox, handled a sporting contest well, had cause to produce the first yellow card of the afternoon for a late tackle on David McArthur by Lee Cairns.
The fresh legs of Dean Smith gave the tiring Barca-Milton defence a new problem with Dean's perseverance winning another corner kick on the right. However Dean's aerial threat proved to be somewhat less than Paul Carmichael's with the Saints replacement being penalised for pushing when trying to get on the end of Willie Gemmell's delivery to the back post.
MacEwan and Smith continued to make a nuisance of themselves in and around the Barca-Milton defence. MacEwan had another good opportunity to kill the tie getting in behind Kevin Dunn and rounding keeper Neil McArthur however another bad bobble on the poor surface left him an impossible angle on the bye-line from where he could only find the side netting.
The large contingent of Saints fans on the touchline, to whom the club are extremely grateful for their support, had their hearts in their mouths in the eighty fifth minute when Scott Smith once again produced an excellent dead ball delivery into the Saints box and Derek Forbes rose unopposed at the back post to thankfully head wide of Thomas McCulloch's right hand post.
As the clock ticked down to the ninetieth minute the big question was how much additional time Mr Gallacher would allow. Derek Forbes joined Lee Cairns in the Referee's notebook for a shirt pull on Donald Campbell on the half-way line allowing Willie Gemmell to knock the ball into the corner for Dean Smith to chase. Dean held the ball up running down more precious seconds before winning a corner kick on the Saints left. There was no way this one was going straight into the box and Craig MacEwan and Dean Smith tried to play some keep-ball by the corner flag. Substitute Jason Watson won a throw-in off Craig but with long throw specialist Russell Johnston now off the park Saints were able to keep the home side pinned back in their own half.
By now in the ninety third minute Smith and MacEwan had the ball by the corner flag once again and worked their way into the Barca-Milton box. A Steven Adams attempted clearance was charged down by Smith breaking kindly for MacEwan who, from the corner of the six yard box, drilled a right foot shot past Neil McArthur and into the bottom corner to finally kill the tie.
There was barely enough time left to restart the match and Referee Gallacher blew almost immediately for full time sending Saints through to a second consecutive Scottish Amateur Cup semi-final and making it a particularly happy birthday for the Gaffer.
Saints now face cup holders and reigning Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division Champions Colville Park Electric for a place in the Hampden Park showcase final on Saturday 28th May. The venue for the semi-final is New Douglas Park, Hamilton home of Saints great friends Hamilton Academical. In another piece of good news from the Scottish Amateur Football Association the semi-final will be played on Saturday 15th April with a 2pm kick-off instead of the normal midweek evening slot allocated to these ties.
Barca-Milton 97 AFC 0 - 2 Oban Saints AFC
Jewel Park
56 - 60 Duddingston Park South
Edinburgh
EH15 3LJ
Kick off 2pm
Referee Mr James Gallacher
Assistant Referee Mr Joseph Fox
Assistant Referee Mr Stephen Fox
Saints starting line-up:-
Used substitute:-
Dean Smith
Unused substitutes:-
Martin Bonar
Alex Craik
Jamie Graham
Ross Maitland
Oban Saints Manager Alex Craik celebrated his
Matthew Kelly joined Paul Kerr, Graham Douglas and long term injury victims Craig Campbell, Dougal Graham and Keith Millar in the treatment room limiting The Gaffer's options. New signing Kerr Newbigging was also too short of match practice to be considered. The tight park forced a change to a 4-4-2 formation with Paul Carmichael dropping back to join Willie Gemmell, Myles McAuley and Brian Mackay in midfield. Scott Maitland returned from injury to take the left-back slot lining up alongside David McArthur, Dene Cassells and Skipper Marc Maccallum at the back. Craig MacEwan and Donald Campbell formed the strike partnership with goalkeeper Thomas McCulloch completing the line-up. The Gaffer named himself on a strong bench alongside Martin Bonar, Jamie Graham, Ross Maitland and Dean Smith.
Team Captains Marc Maccallum and Steven Adams exchanged commemorative gifts prior to the tossing of Referee James Gallacher's coin which Marc Maccallum won electing to shoot into the sun in the first half. Barc-Milton of the Lothian and Edinburgh Amateur Football Association Championship kicked off but Saints immediately gained possession and attacked up the right wing. Paul Carmichael got the better of Ross Shields and picked out Craig MacEwan in the box. Craig turned and laid off to Donald Campbell eight yards out and straight in front of goal. The Saints bench waited for the net to bulge but Barca-Milton keeper Neil McArthur narrowed the angle and spread himself well to pull off an excellent save to deny Saints a dream start.
A ball over the top from the hosts in the third minute had Dene Cassells turning with central defensive partner Marc Marc Maccallum having to be on his toes to knock the ball out for a throw-in. Barca-Milton right-back Russell Johnston launched the first of what was to be a series of long throws from the right into the Saints box from level with the eighteen yard line. Saints forced the ball partially clear however Myles McAuley fouled Scott Smith on the opposite flank allowing the former Hibernian man an early chance to demonstrate his prowess with the dead ball which was to prove Barca-Milton's other main weapon. The Saints defence also withstood this aerial test with Paul Carmichael heading clear.
Saints dead-ball expert Willie Gemmell had his first chance to test the Barca-Milton keeper in the sixth minute after Dene Cassells had been brought down thirty yards from goal. Willie opted for power but blazed his effort high over Neil McArthur's crossbar.
Pushing forward on the left Scott Maitland won a throw-in from which Willie Gemmell found the feet of Donald Campbell in the box. Donald turned away from Russell Johnston and from the bye-line dinked a left foot cross to the back post but unfortunately fractionally too high for Paul Carmichael.
Saints continued to look the more likely in the opening stages and a raking diagonal pass from David McArthur was inches too long for Donald Campbell's run through the inside left channel with Barca-Milton skipper Steven Adams happy to concede a corner kick. Willie Gemmell's low delivery from the left was cleared at the near post with the hosts launching a swift counter attack up their left. Scott Smith sent a deep cross into the Saints box looking for James Air which Thomas McCulloch came out to claim.
In the thirteenth minute there appeared to be little danger from a free kick conceded by David McArthur on the half-way line and two yards in from the touchline. However even from this distance the cultured left foot of Scott Smith posed a significant threat. Smith went for goal sending his long range effort over Thomas McCulloch's head and onto the top of the crossbar much to the Saints keeper's relief.
The poor surface forced Saints to abandon their normal passing game in favour of a more direct approach. Willie Gemmell's prodigious long throw became a valuable weapon with Paul Carmichael often the target. Paul's knock down from a fourteenth minute Gemmell throw from the left was met on the half volley by Donald Campbell who was unlucky to see his sweet strike from nine yards well saved by Neil McArthur.
Willie Gemmell and Russell Johnston continued to trade long throws with Johnston's sixteenth minute effort being headed clear on the penalty spot by David McArthur. David's header dropped kindly for David Middlemass just outside the Saints box who volleyed straight into the grateful arms of Thomas McCulloch.
When Saints did play the ball on the ground it caused panic in the home defence. Willie Gemmell's diagonal pass to Brian Mackay sent his midfield colleague scampering towards the Barca-Milton box. Brian laid the ball off to Craig MacEwan who burst into the box with Kevin Dunn in close attention. Craig turned his man despite Dunn having a handful of Craig's shirt. Mr Gallacher didn't seem to spot this nor the trip on Donald Campbell which immediately followed leaving the large Saints contingent on the touchline deeply frustrated.
A twentieth minute Scott Smith corner kick from the left was well held by Thomas McCulloch who launched a counter attack up the Saints right. Carmichael's lung bursting run and cut back along the six yard line should have met with better reward but Kevin Dunn got in ahead of Craig MacEwan to make a vital interception.
As the half reached the midway point Saints good start was being slowly eroded with the home side making good use of their long throws. Dene Cassells headed another Russell Johnston throw out for a corner kick on the left which gave the other main threat Scott Smith a chance to pick out a Barca-Milton head in the box. This he successfully did with Darren Nicholson heading wide at the back post.
On the half hour mark Brian Mackay was sandwiched in the centre circle from where Willie Gemmell played his free-kick up to the head of Paul Carmichael. Paul's presence forced a corner kick on the Saints left but once again Willie Gemmell's low delivery was cleared at the front post.
Craig MacEwan hooked a presentable chance wide in the thirty fifth minute from a Willie Gemmell throw-in from the right. However Craig's blushes were spared when Assistant Referee Stephen Fox flagged for a foul throw against Willie.
The unpredictable surface cost Donald Campbell another shot on goal in the thirty ninth minute. Willie Gemmell played a good ball into Craig MacEwan who held the ball up well before laying off to Donald Campbell. Donald turned well on the eighteen yard line and burst into the box but couldn't get the ball out of his feet allowing Kevin Dunn to get in a vital challenge.
Another Paul Carmichael cut back from the right went begging in the fortieth minute. Myles McAuley spotted Paul in space on the right and sent him once again racing towards the bye-line. Paul's ball along the six yard line took out Steven Adams and Kevin Dunn at the near post but not Russell Johnston who nipped in front of Donald Campbell to make a vital interception.
Johnston denied Donald again sixty seconds later getting in a goal saving tackle on the six yard line after Donald had gathered and turned well from another Willie Gemmell throw-in from the left.
Neil McArthur produced the save of the afternoon two minutes before the interval to deny Craig MacEwan. Willie picked out Craig's run to the left corner of the Barca-Milton box where Craig cut back onto his right foot and curled a delicious shot toward the far post which McArthur at full stretch finger tipped around the post for a Saints corner.
On the stroke of half-time Craig tried his luck from the opposite corner this time curling his left foot effort wide of the junction of post and bar.
The first half ended with a speculative long range effort from Scott Smith sailing into the hands of Thomas McCulloch before Mr Gallacher blew the half-time whistle.
Saints kicked off the second half with the sun at their backs but it was the hosts who made the early running with Dene Cassells keeping a cool head to see off Lee Cairns on the edge of the box.
Saints first serious second half foray into Barca-Milton territory came in the fiftieth minute on the counter attack from a Barca-Milton corner. Scott Smith's deep cross to the back post was met by Kevin Dunn who saw his effort blocked on the goal line by Scott Maitland. Myles McAuley then cleared the ball up to Craig MacEwan in the centre circle who in turn fed Donald Campbell. Donald held the ball up for the galloping run of Marc Maccallum who was eventually halted on the eighteen yard line by a well timed Ross Shields tackle.
Saints survived a minor scare in the fifty fourth minute when Marc Maccallum and Dene Cassells who, along with David McArthur and Scott Maitland were rock solid at the back allowed James Air to get in between them and flick a header over the crossbar.
One minute later at the other end Saints broke the deadlock when Donald Campbell pounced on a moment of hesitation in the home defence. Barca-Milton appealed in vain for an offside flag but Assistant Referee Joseph Fox correctly kept his flag by his side. Donald once again saw his shot saved by Neil McArthur however the keeper's luck ran out when Donald gathered the rebound and rolled it into the net despite the efforts of Steven Adams on the goal-line.
A needless foul on David Middlemass by Paul Carmichael gave Scott Smith a shooting opportunity from twenty eight yards in the fifty eighth minute. Fortunately Smith's effort went the way of Willie Gemmell's first half attempt from a similar position and sailed high over the crossbar.
The hosts were now committing more men to the attack and Lee Cairns found his way in behind the Saints defence only to be thwarted by the quick reactions of Thomas McCulloch who came off his line to smother the ball at the Barca-Milton winger's feet.
Myles McAuley briefly broke free from his midfield holding role in the sixty second minute turning well in the centre circle before driving into the gap in front of him and sending a shot just over Neil McArthur's crossbar.
Barca-Milton made the first change of the afternoon bringing on the more attack minded Gary Morrison to replace Darren Nicholson in the sixty fourth minute.
Craig MacEwan forced a throw-in on the Saints right from another good ball into the channel from David McArthur. The Home defence bundled Willie Gemmell's throw-in behind for a corner which Willie also took finding the head of Dene Cassells who headed a good chance wide of the keeper's right hand post.
Saints kept the pressure on from Neil McArthur's miss-hit goal kick with Willie Gemmell being the latest to be beaten by the Jewel turf when in a good position on the left of the six yard box. McArthur fared better with the kick from hand sending the ball deep into the Saints half for James Air whose left wing run to the bye-line was matched all the way by David McArthur who eventually won a good tussle at the expense of a corner kick.
In the seventy sixth minute David McArthur dinked another good ball up the right touchline for Craig MacEwan who tricked his way past Barca-Milton left back Ross Shields and cut into the box before being halted by a well timed challenge by Steven Adams, Willie Gemmell swung in the corner kick from the right to which Paul Carmichael beat second half substitute Derek Forbes to head wide of the far post. This was to be Paul's last involvement as he made way for Dean Smith in the only change of the afternoon made by the Saints Gaffer.
The introduction of Dean Smith saw Donald Campbell drop deeper leaving Dean and Craig MacEwan as the new strike pairing and with the home side pushing for an equaliser there were more gaps at the back for the pair to exploit. In the seventy ninth minute Craig MacEwan found one of those gaps from a David McArthur ball over the top but once again Neil McArthur got his angles spot on to deny Craig the second goal required to calm the increasing nerves on the touchline.
Referee James Gallacher who, together with Assistants Joseph Fox and Stephen Fox, handled a sporting contest well, had cause to produce the first yellow card of the afternoon for a late tackle on David McArthur by Lee Cairns.
The fresh legs of Dean Smith gave the tiring Barca-Milton defence a new problem with Dean's perseverance winning another corner kick on the right. However Dean's aerial threat proved to be somewhat less than Paul Carmichael's with the Saints replacement being penalised for pushing when trying to get on the end of Willie Gemmell's delivery to the back post.
MacEwan and Smith continued to make a nuisance of themselves in and around the Barca-Milton defence. MacEwan had another good opportunity to kill the tie getting in behind Kevin Dunn and rounding keeper Neil McArthur however another bad bobble on the poor surface left him an impossible angle on the bye-line from where he could only find the side netting.
The large contingent of Saints fans on the touchline, to whom the club are extremely grateful for their support, had their hearts in their mouths in the eighty fifth minute when Scott Smith once again produced an excellent dead ball delivery into the Saints box and Derek Forbes rose unopposed at the back post to thankfully head wide of Thomas McCulloch's right hand post.
As the clock ticked down to the ninetieth minute the big question was how much additional time Mr Gallacher would allow. Derek Forbes joined Lee Cairns in the Referee's notebook for a shirt pull on Donald Campbell on the half-way line allowing Willie Gemmell to knock the ball into the corner for Dean Smith to chase. Dean held the ball up running down more precious seconds before winning a corner kick on the Saints left. There was no way this one was going straight into the box and Craig MacEwan and Dean Smith tried to play some keep-ball by the corner flag. Substitute Jason Watson won a throw-in off Craig but with long throw specialist Russell Johnston now off the park Saints were able to keep the home side pinned back in their own half.
By now in the ninety third minute Smith and MacEwan had the ball by the corner flag once again and worked their way into the Barca-Milton box. A Steven Adams attempted clearance was charged down by Smith breaking kindly for MacEwan who, from the corner of the six yard box, drilled a right foot shot past Neil McArthur and into the bottom corner to finally kill the tie.
There was barely enough time left to restart the match and Referee Gallacher blew almost immediately for full time sending Saints through to a second consecutive Scottish Amateur Cup semi-final and making it a particularly happy birthday for the Gaffer.
Saints now face cup holders and reigning Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division Champions Colville Park Electric for a place in the Hampden Park showcase final on Saturday 28th May. The venue for the semi-final is New Douglas Park, Hamilton home of Saints great friends Hamilton Academical. In another piece of good news from the Scottish Amateur Football Association the semi-final will be played on Saturday 15th April with a 2pm kick-off instead of the normal midweek evening slot allocated to these ties.
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| Hand cut artwork with tartan background by Shona Dunn Designs |
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| Team Captains Steven Adams and Marc Maccallum with Referee James Gallacher |
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| Willie Gemmell heads clear |
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| Russell Johnston makes a vital interception to stop Donald Campbell |
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| Thomas McCulloch collects Scott Smith's corner |
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| Dene Cassells and Darren Nicholson |
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| Neil McArthur saves from Donald Campbell |
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| Willie Gemmell and James Air keep their eyes fixed on the ball |
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| Scott Smith |
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| Marc Maccallum has his progress arrested by Ross Shields |
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| Myles McAuley |
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| Paul Carmichael |
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| David McArthur |
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| Not the strongest of shots from Donald Campbell but it still managed to burst the net |
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| The Saints players celebrate Donald Campbell's opening goal |
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| Paul Carmichael heads wide |
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| Dean Smith |
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| Craig MacEwan rounds Neil McArthur but can only find the side netting |
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| Craig MacEwan nets Saints second goal to finally kill the tie |
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| Craig MacEwan is mobbed by his team mates after scoring Saints second goal |
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