Winning In The Rain: Fullarton Final

The Scottish Amateur Football League Jimmy Marshall Trophy

Friday 26th May 2017
Scottish Amateur Football League Jimmy Marshall Trophy Final
Easthall Star AFC v Oban Saints AFC
Fullarton Park
Easterhill Street
Glasgow
G32 8LZ
Kick Off 7.15pm
Referee Mr James Litster
Assistant Referee Mr Patrick O'Donnell
Assistant Referee Mr Steven Wylie

This Friday evening Saints travel to Glasgow's east end to face Easthall Star in the final of the Scottish Amateur Football League Jimmy Marshall Trophy. The Premier Division One basement boys clinched their place in the Fullarton Park, Tollcross final with an emphatic 5 - 0 win over current Argyll & Bute Cup holders Dunoon just along the road at Stepford Football Centre last Saturday afternoon.

Easthall Star's Run To The Final

Easthall Star's run to the final has provided a welcome distraction for their young team which has recorded just one league win in a difficult season which sees them relegated for the first time in the club's twenty six year history. After a first round bye Star kicked off their Jimmy Marshall Trophy campaign with a second round with a comfortable 3 -1 home win against Premier Division 2A Castlemilk.

It was Premier Division 2A opposition again in round three where Star returned home victorious from a potentially tricky trip to Greenock after an emphatic 7 - 2 rout of Broomhill. Star's name came out of the hat first for the quarter finals with Premier Division 2A yet again providing the opposition. A battling 3 -1 win over Houston secured a home semi-final against Dunoon with whom Star had shared eight league goals just five weeks earlier. After battling back from 3 - 1 down at half-time to lead 4 - 3 with twelve minutes to go Star were extremely disappointed to concede a late equaliser effectively ending any feint hopes of clinging on to their Premier Division One status. Despite the final score the semi-final would also prove to be a close affair with a red card for Dunoon and a man of the match performance from the Star goalkeeper being major factors in the home side's 5 - 0 victory.

Saints Run To The Final

Saints journey to the Scottish Amateur Football League Jimmy Marshall Trophy Final also started at the second round stage where they traveled to Port Glasgow to face old acquaintances Port Glasgow OBU. A Craig MacEwan hat-trick and a brace from Paul Carmichael eased Saints through to the third round with Donald Campbell also on the score sheet in a comfortable 6 - 0 win,

Eventual Premier Division 2B Champions Arkleston Barrhead proved a tougher nut to crack in the third round. First half goals from Craig MacEwan and Donald Campbell had Saints in control until a long range strike from Jamie Henderson on the stroke of half-time brought the home side back into contention. After thirty minutes of a far more evenly contested second half Craig MacEwan struck for the second time of the afternoon to finally make the tie safe for Saints.

The quarter-final brought Saints solitary home tie in this season's competition with Port Glasgow, also of Premier Division 2B, providing the opposition. First half headers from Craig MacEwan and Dene Cassells had Saints comfortably in front at the interval before an early second half strike from Donald Campbell made it three with thirty five minutes still to play. Port Glasgow pulled one back almost immediately from a free-kick perfectly executed by second half substitute Andrew Hannah which sparked a spirited attempt at a comeback from the visitors. Saints however weathered the Port Glasgow storm and sealed their fifth successive semi-final appearance in the eighty seventh minute when Fraser MacFarlane slotted home from close range.

In a break with tradition this season's Jimmy Marshall Trophy semi-finals were not played at neutral venues but rather were subject to a draw which gave Hillington home advantage. The tie gave Saints an opportunity to exact some revenge on their hosts for the agonising 2013 final penalty shoot-out defeat at Somervell Park, Cambuslang where, after a goalless ninety minutes in which they lost Dene Cassells and Asen Gaydardzhiev to serious head injuries and goalkeeper Daniel Cassells with a ruptured rotator cuff, Saints were edged out in the penalty shoot-out. Four successfully converted spot kicks each effectively took the shoot-out to sudden death where Donald Campbell had his effort saved by the outstretched foot of the Hillington keeper before Saints stand-in keeper Alex Craik was beaten for the fifth time confirming Hillington as the winners.

This time around it was Saints who prevailed Oban Saints with a 4 - 1 win at a rain soaked Penilee Community Centre. After a fairly even goalless first half Saints turned up the heat on their Premier Division One opponents with Craig MacEwan netting a hat-trick to take his tally for the season to thirty five. Saints other goal came via an unfortunate own goal from Christopher Flannery when a Craig MacEwan shot came back off the post and was turned into the net by Flannery's attempted goal-line clearance. Some of the shine was taken off an excellent all round Saints performance when they conceded a last minute consolation goal after switching off at a hotly disputed throw-in. Hillington took full advantage of a fortuitous award quickly working the ball down the left and into the box for the unmarked Gordon Phillips. With the Saints defence appealing in vain for an offside flag second half substitute Phillips planted his header low inside Thomas McCulloch's left hand post denying Saints a long sought after clean sheet.

Previous Meeting

The only previous meeting between Saints and Friday's opponents Easthall Star also came in the Jimmy Marshall Trophy in a first round tie at Stepford Football Centre on St Valentine's Day 2015. The narrow, bumpy pitch was not exactly to Saints liking and, with the hosts giving them no time on the ball, it took a while for Saints to settle.Star took the lead in the sixth minute when Dean Smith lost possession in the centre circle. The ball was quickly played out wide to John MacDonald who cut in from the right wing and fired a low right foot shot into the bottom corner of the Saints net past Daniel Cassells' left hand. Saints were back on level terms in the 35th minute thanks to a tactical switch from Manager Iain Jackson. Lewis Cameron was ordered to drop deeper into midfield to get on the ball a bit more, a move which paid instant dividends. Lewis picked the ball up on the half way line and sent Dean Smith off on a run up the right wing, Dean's low cross picked out Allan Mackay in the box who controlled under pressure from the Star defence before calmly rolling the ball past the keeper and into the net. Saints survived a scare in the 44th minute when, after a succession of long throws and corner kicks which the Saints rearguard of Marc MacCallum, Alex Craik and Dougal Graham repelled, the referee awarded Star a hotly disputed free kick on the edge of the Saints box. In a move straight from the training ground the ball was played to the right hand side for dangerman John MacDonald to fire in a shot which crashed off the underside of the crossbar and, fortunately for Saints back into play where it was scrambled to safety.

Saints capitalised on this slice of good fortune by proceeding to totally dominate the second half with the central midfield partnership of Paul Kerr and Donald Campbell well in control. Despite having much the better of things Saints were becoming increasingly frustrated as it seemed the breakthrough wasn't going to come. Manager Iain Jackson elected to make some changes withdrawing Scott Maitland and Alex Craik and replacing them with Martin Bonar and Jamie Graham. In the 70th minute a Lewis Cameron corner kick from the left was met by Craig MacEwan whose header from six yards out cannoned off the keeper's left hand post before being hooked clear. Saints then made their final change with David McArthur replacing Dean Smith. David made a quick impact on proceedings winning a 79th minute free kick a yard outside the Star box and slightly left of centre. Allan Mackay stepped up to drill a low shot past the five man Star wall and just inside the keeper's right hand post. Four minutes later Lewis Cameron was finally rewarded for his afternoon of tireless running. Lewis made a great run from deep through the inside right channel easily outpacing the tiring Star defence to bury a shot in the bottom corner of the net. One minute later Craig MacEwan was foiled once again by another excellent save at the near post from the Star goalkeeper. In the 88th minute Lewis Cameron should have doubled his tally but he shot wide of target after excellent build up play involving David McArthur and Allan Mackay. Saints completed the scoring in the 90th minute when David McArthur's shot from the edge of the box proved too hot to handle for the Star keeper who could only parry the ball into the path of the onrushing Martin Bonar. With his keen eye for goal Martin eagerly gobbled up the chance slotting home from close range to seal a hard fought but deserved 4 - 1 victory for Saints.

Friday's final at the home of three time Scottish Junior Cup winners Vale of Clyde must be played to a finish on the night with penalty kicks to decide the winners if the sides cannot be separated after ninety minutes.

Easthall Star Scottish Amateur Football League Division 1B winners 2012 - 13

Easthall Star's results so far this season:-

Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division One

27th August 2016 Alba Thistle 5 - 2 Easthall Star
3rd September 2016 Rutherglen 7 - 3 Easthall Star
17th September 2016 Rosehill Star 2 - 1 Easthall Star
15th October 2016 Kings Park Rangers 3 - 2 Easthall Star
29th October 2016 Easthall Star 4 - 5 Hillington
5th November 2016 Easthall Star 3 - 1 Duncanrig FP
19th November 2016 Easthall Star 1 - 5 East Kilbride Rolls Royce
3rd December 2016 Easthall Star 0 - 1 Rosehill Star
21st January 2017 East Kilbride Rolls Royce 7 - 1 Easthall Star
11th February 2017 Easthall Star 4 - 4 Rutherglen
11th March 2017 Easthall Star 0 - 5 Kings Park Rangers
25th March 2017 Neilston 5 - 5 Easthall Star
8th April 2017 Easthall Star 1 - 1 Neilston
15th April 2017 Easthall Star 4 - 4 Dunoon
19th April 2017 Duncanrig FP 2 - 1 Easthall Star
29th April 2017 Easthall Star 0 - 3 Alba Thistle
31st May 2017 Hillington v Easthall Star
3rd June 2017 Dunoon v Easthall Star

Scottish Amateur Football League Centenary Cup

Group Section 8
13th August 2016 Easthall Star 5 - 2 Castlemilk
17th August 2016 St Joseph's FP 4 - 2 Easthall Star
20th August 2016 Millbeg 4 - 8 Easthall Star
24th August 2016 Easthall Star 4 - 0 Rossvale

Scottish Amateur Football League Coronation Cup

Group Section 4
3rd May 2017 Easthall Star 1 - 1 Neilston

Scottish Amateur Football League Jimmy Marshall Trophy

Round One
Bye

Round Two
10th December 2016 Easthall Star 3 - 1 Castlemilk

Round Three
28th January 2017 Broomhill 2 - 7 Easthall Star

Quarter Final
22nd April 2017 Easthall Star 3 - 1 Houston

Semi Final
20th May 2017 Easthall Star 5 - 0 Dunoon

Scottish Amateur Cup

Round One
Bye

Round Two
8th October 2016 Cambusnethan Talbot Community 8 - 2 Easthall Star