Winning In The Rain: Here We Go Again

Saturday 12th August 2017
Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division
Hillington AFC v Oban Saints AFC
Glasgow Club, Drumoyne
337 Langlands Road
Glasgow
G51 4EW
Kick Off 2pm
Referee Mr John McNab

Saints kick off their 2017 - 18 Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division campaign with an away fixture against newly promoted Hillington at Glasgow Club, Drumoyne this Saturday. A 2 - 2 draw away at Dunoon in their final league fixture confirmed third place for Hillington behind East Kilbride Rolls Royce and champions Alba Thistle in last season's Premier Division One. Despite their excellent home form, which saw only Champions Alba Thistle return home with full points, Hillington were unable to gather enough points on the road to overhaul the Rolly and initially missed out on the second promotion spot by nine points. However the sad demise during the close season of Shawlands FP left a vacancy in the Premier Division which Hillington were delighted to accept elevating them to the top flight for the first time. The 2013 Jimmy Marshall Trophy winners should prove to be a good addition to what is sure to be another keenly contested Premier Division title race.

Saints and Hillington have met on two previous occasions both being in the Scottish Amateur Football League Jimmy Marshall Trophy. In the 2013 final at Somervell Park, Cambuslang Hillington held their nerve to prevail in a penalty shoot-out after a goalless ninety minutes. In a bruising encounter Saints lost Dene Cassells and Asen Gaydardzhiev to head injuries and goalkeeper Daniel Cassells with a ruptured rotator cuff leaving Alex Craik to pull on the gloves for the closing stages. 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 stand-in keeper Craik was beaten for the fifth time confirming Hillington as the trophy winners.

In May of this year Saints gained some small measure of revenge that agonising reverse reaching a fourth Scottish Amateur Football League Jimmy Marshall Trophy final in five seasons 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 Premier Division One opponents Hillington with Craig MacEwan netting a hat-trick to cement his position as Saints top goalscorer for the season. The other Saints goal was an unfortunate own-goal from Christopher Flannery when trying to keep out another net bound effort from Craig. The hosts registered a consolation goal in the final minute from the head of second half substitute Gordon Phillips denying Saints an elusive clean sheet.

With the other eight Premier Division teams on Centenary Cup duty the prize on offer for this Saturday's meeting is a place at the summit of the league table for at least one week until the following Saturday's full round of league fixtures.