Winning In The Rain: 'Well Come

Saturday 8th April 2017
Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division
Oban Saints AFC v Motherwell Thistle AFC
Glencruitten 2
Mossfield Avenue
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4EH
Kick Off 2pm
Referee Mr Matthew Dickinson

This Saturday Saints warm up for their Scottish Amateur Cup semi-final against Colville Park when they welcome first time visitors Motherwell Thistle to Glencruitten. With three valuable Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division points at stake Saints will have to put the impending return visit to New Douglas Park to the back of their minds and concentrate fully on the task in hand against the Jags. Saints must take maximum points from this fixture if they are to keep in touch with title rivals Goldenhill, St Joseph's and East Kilbride FC Amateurs while the visitors are in desperate need of points at the other end of the table.

Premier Division new boys Motherwell Thistle secured promotion to the Scottish Amateur Football League's top flight with a third placed finish in last season's Premier Division One benefiting from Finnart's defection to the Caledonian League. The additional promotion spot behind Premier Division One Champions Drumchapel Amateurs Colts and runners up Ferguslie Star was gratefully accepted by Thistle to complete a meteoric rise through the divisions. After a shaky start to life in Premier Division One, where they lost four of their first seven matches, Thistle embarked upon a terrific run losing just one more match to clinch third spot on the last day of the season with a 2 - 1 win over Lochgilphead Red Star at the Ropework and with it a third successive promotion.

Currently in eighth place with thirteen points from thirteen games this season now looks to be all about survival for the Premier Division new boys. Thistle face an uphill battle to maintain their Premier Division status but with Saints, East Kilbride FC Amateurs and St Joseph's FP all still to play they may well yet have a significant influence on the final destination of the Premier Division trophy. Thistle's two other remaining fixtures are against fellow strugglers Ferguslie Star and Campbeltown Pupils both of which fixtures will be pivotal in the relegation battle.

Major Cup Competitions

Thistle's adventures in this season's major cup competitions were short lived where they were unlucky to be drawn against top quality opposition in the very early stages. Following a first round bye in the Scottish Amateur Cup a resounding 8 - 1 away win against Strathclyde Evangelical Churches League Premier Division title chasers Anniesland was followed up by another away draw in round three. This time the draw was particulary unkind pairing them with last season's runners up and reigning Kingdom Caledonian Amateur Football Association champions Leven United. Thistle put up an extremely good fight before losing out by the odd goal in three to Fife's top dogs. In the West of Scotland Cup after an away win against Central Scottish Amateur Football League Garrowhill Thistle and a walkover against folded Redbrae Athletic it was Central Scottish opposition again for Thistle in the third round. Unfortunately a narrow home defeat against Campsie Blackwatch Waterside of Division 1A ended Thistle's interest in the major cup competitions before the end of November.

League Cup Competitions

Thistle have reserved some of their best form for the domestic cups reaching the latter stages of both the Centenary Cup and the Jimmy Marshall Trophy. A 2 - 0 away win at East Kilbride YMCA and penalty shoot-out victories over St Joseph's FP and Duntocher Hibs put Thistle through to the quarter-finals of the Jimmy Marshall Trophy where they will face 2013 winners Hillington. In the Centenary Cup after topping group section 5 with convincing wins over Strathaven Dynamo, East Kilbride Rolls Royce, Busby and East Kilbride YMCA Thistle reached the semi-finals with a 2 - 0 away win at Premier Division rivals Inverclyde. Unfortunately for the Motherwell men they came up against the very much in form St Joseph's FP in the semi-finals who ran out 2 - 0 winners.

Previous Encounters

Saints and Thistle first met in the Jimmy Marshall Trophy semi-final at Millburn Park, Alexandria at the tail end of last season where Saints won an entertaining encounter by three goals to nil. Ross Maitland's fourth minute opener was added to in the second half by Willie Gemmell and Dene Cassells to see Saints through to their third final in four seasons where they would eventually wrestle the trophy from holders St Joseph's FP.

When the sides met in their only previous league encounter in Motherwell last August Saints also notched three goals but unfortunately surrendered a 3 - 1 lead losing two goals in the dying minutes to allow Thistle a share of the points. Willie Gemmell's eighteenth minute opening goal was cancelled out on the hour mark by Ombeni Ruhanduka. Craig MacEwan restored Saints lead with thirteen minutes remaining and with just four minutes left on Referee Alan Smith's watch Donald Campbell successfully converted a penalty kick which should have made the points safe. 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.

Motherwell Thistle pictured prior to their Centenary Cup tie against the now sadly folded Strathaven Dynamo

Motherwell Thistle AFC fixtures so far this season:-

SAFL Premier Division

20th August 2016 Motherwell Thistle 3 - 3 Oban Saints
8th October 2016 Motherwell Thistle 3 - 2 Drumchapel Colts
15th October 2016 Inverclyde 4 - 3 Motherwell Thistle

29th October 2016 Motherwell Thistle 2 - 3 St Joseph's FP
3rd December 2016 Motherwell Thistle 3 - 2 Campbeltown Pupils
10th December 2016 Drumchapel Colts 3 - 3 Motherwell Thistle
21st January 2017 Shawlands FP 3 - 3 Motherwell Thistle
28th January 2017 Motherwell Thistle 0 - 2 Goldenhill
11th Februry 2017 Motherwell Thistle 2 - 4 Shawlands FP
25th February 2017 East Kilbride FC Amateurs 2 - 0 Motherwell Thistle
11th March 2017 Ferguslie Star 2 - 3 Motherwell Thistle
18th March 2017 Goldenhill 6 - 1 Motherwell Thistle
25th March 2017 Motherwell Thistle 3 - 3 Inverclyde

SAFL Centenary Cup

1st Round Group Section Five
13th August 2016 Motherwell Thistle 10 - 1 Strathaven Dynamo

17th August 2016 Motherwell Thistle 5 - 2 East Kilbride Rolls Royce
24th August 2016 Busby 0 - 4 Motherwell Thistle
27th August 2016 East Kilbride YMCA 1 - 4 Motherwell Thistle

Quarter Final
3rd September 2016 Inverclyde 0 - 2 Motherwell Thistle

Semi Final
16th November 2016 Motherwell Thistle 0 - 2 St Joseph's FP

SAFL Jimmy Marshall Trophy

1st Round
17th December 2016 St Joseph's FP 1 - 1 Motherwell Thistle
Motherwell Thistle win 5 - 3 on penalty kicks

2nd Round
4th February 2017 East Kilbride YMCA 0 - 2 Motherwell Thistle

3rd Round
18th February 2017 Motherwell Thistle 3 - 3 Duntocher Hibs
Motherwell Thistle win 5 - 4 on penalty kicks

Quarter-Final
Motherwell Thistle v Hillington

West of Scotland Amateur Cup

1st Round
17th September 2016 Garrowhill Thistle 1 - 3 Motherwell Thistle

2nd Round
22nd October 2016 Motherwell Thistle v Redbrae Athletic - Walkover to Motherwell Thistle

3rd Round
19th November 2016 Motherwell Thistle 1 - 2 Campie Blackwatch Waterside

Scottish Amateur Cup

1st Round
Bye

2nd Round
1st October 2016 Anniesland 1 - 8 Motherwell Thistle

3rd Round
5th November 2016 Leven United 2 - 1 Motherwell Thistle

Motherwell Thistle's recent SAFL record:-

2013-14 Division 1B Champions (Promoted)

2014-15 Premier Division Two 5th (Promoted)

2015-16 Premier Division One 3rd (Promoted)