Saturday 21st October 2017
Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division
Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division
Goldenhill AFC 8 - 0 Oban Saints AFC
Donald Dewar Leisure Centre
Garscadden Road
Drumchapel
Glasgow
G15 8SX
Kick off 2pm
Referee Mr John McNab
Saints starting line-up:-
Used substitutes:-
Andrew Moore
Mark Robertson
David Smith
Oban Saints dismal league form continued at Glasgow Club Donald Dewar in Drumchapel last Saturday where they slumped to an 8 - 0 defeat against Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division title contenders Goldenhill.
On their last visit to Drumchapel in the penultimate fixture of last season Saints edged out their hosts by the odd goal in a five goal thriller to complete a home and away league double. However with only four survivors from that evening in their ranks a perfect storm of a ravaged Saints and a rampant Goldenhill combined to send Saints reeling to their worst ever Premier Division defeat.
Manager Alex Craik was still sunning himself on foreign shores therefore team affairs were once again left in the hands of Assistant Manager Donald Campbell. Donald had Matthew Kelly, Craig MacEwan and David Smith available after missing the previous week's West of Scotland Cup win at Braehead however Paul Carmichael, Daniel Croarkin, Willie Gemmell and Keith Millar all dropped out.
Saints lined up with Graham Douglas in goal behind a back four of Steven MacLeod, David McPhee, Craig Campbell and Craig MacMillan. Donald Campbell, Scott Maitland and Matthew Kelly formed an unfamiliar looking midfield with Craig MacEwan and Fraser MacFarlane flanking Shaun MacIver in attack. David Smith returned from illness to take a place on the bench alongside new signings Andrew Moore and Mark Robertson.
The morning rain at Garscadden Road gave way to a dry but overcast afternoon which made for good playing conditions on an excellent 3G surface. Saints kicked off attacking the pavilion end and held their own in a quiet opening five minute spell. The home side, with a 100% record from their ten competitive fixtures including sixty three goals, began to gain the upper hand in the vital midfield area and soon had Saints pinned back in their own half.
Already beginning to look like a long afternoon Saints required maximum concentration to keep pace with their live-wire opponents. Unfortunately that was in short supply as lapses from the visitors contributed greatly to the home side's domination.
From a tenth minute throw-in on the left Jamie Grimes was given acres of room to stride forward from central defence and send a twenty five yard shot wide of the left hand post of Graham "Sugar" Douglas in the Saints goal.
Sixty seconds later it was striker Ryan McKeever with a shot from a similar position which Graham Douglas turned behind for a corner kick. McKeever's strike partner James Gallagher rolled the corner kick from the right to the corner of the eighteen yard box for central defender Steven Dock whose crisply struck shot smacked the face of Sugar's left hand post before being thumped clear by David McPhee.
A fifteenth minute push on Jonathon Dyer by Craig MacMillan gave James Gallagher another chance to put the ball into the danger area. Craig Campbell's clearance provided a momentary respite but his header only succeeded in finding Gowdie Skipper Scott McGuire whose driving run into the box brought another save from Graham Douglas.
Saints ignored the earlier set-piece warning and allowed James Gallagher to repeat his corner kick routine from the right and pick out Martin Lawlor's run to the edge of the box. The Gowdie central midfielder had time and space to measure a curling effort just inside the far post to give the hosts a deserved eighteenth minute lead.
Unbelievably Saints fell for the same routine sixty seconds later this time on the opposite flank from where Lawlor curled a cross onto the head of Ryan McKeever on the six yard line who doubled the home advantage.
Scott McGuire grazed the top of the Saints crossbar with a thirty yard free-kick which Graham Douglas appeared to have covered before Saints finally managed to make an impression in the opposition half.
Shaun MacIver was inches away from getting on the end of a Craig MacMillan ball from the half-way line before Craig MacEwan drew a save from Scott Rennie dropping to his right to make a comfortable stop.
As Saints enjoyed their best spell Craig MacEwan fired a second attempt on goal in the thirty fifth minute which curled wide of Scott Rennie's right hand post. From the goal kick Goldenhill raced up the left wing from where Kevin Kane fired a ball along the six yard line which the unmarked James Gallagher tucked away for an all too easy third for the hosts.
Three minutes later Saints were ripped apart again with James Gallagher racing through the inside right channel and firing across Graham Douglas and into the bottom corner for a fourth home goal.
Saints steadied the ship but failed to negotiate the closing seven minutes entirely unscathed as Shaun MacIver pulled up with a groin strain.
New signing Mark Robertson was given the nod to replace MacIver with the change bringing about a tactical reshuffle to a 3 - 5 -2 formation.
Saints continued their better showing into the seventh minute of the second half but had their good work undone by another example of poor decision making in the middle of the park. Fraser MacFarlane tried to beat Kevin Kane ten yards inside the Saints half instead of looking for a more straight forward lay-off. Kane won the battle and sent James Gallagher racing through the middle to fire a low shot into the bottom corner past Sugar's right hand.
Not content with a hat-trick, Gallagher notched a fourth sixty seconds later making a good near post run to guide a Jonathon Dyer cross from the right past Graham Douglas.
The only blot on an otherwise perfect afternoon for the hosts was a yellow card picked up by Skipper Scott McGuire picked up for simulation.
A flurry of substitutions followed on the hour mark as the hosts seized the opportunity to give their entire bench a good run out. Jonathon Dyer, Scott McGuire, Kevin Kane and James Gallagher made way for Paul O'Donnell, Reace Syed, Ian Stevenson and Kevin Maxwell. Saints got in on the act by replacing young Craig MacMillan with David Smith.
In the sixty ninth minute Steven MacLeod raced out to try and prevent another Goldenhill short corner routine. However this just left Saints short in the middle when the cross eventually came in and Damon Gray pulled off to the corner of the six yard box and cushioned a volley past Graham Douglas for a seventh goal.
Already struggling with an ankle injury, Craig Campbell felt the full weight of Kevin Maxwell on his left instep in the seventy fifth minute and was unable to continue. Campbell's misfortune gave new signing Andrew Moore a chance to make his Saints debut which he might reasonably have hoped would come in happier circumstances.
David McPhee's outstretched right boot took the ball off Kevin Maxwell's forehead as the Goldenhill substitute looked set to nod the ball home from two yards after Reace Syed had headed a deep Ian Stevenson cross back into the danger area.
The misery was complete for Saints in the eighty second minute when Graham Douglas palmed a speculative Jamie Grimes strike into the path of Ian Stevenson who needed no second invitation to slot the ball into the net and round off the scoring at eight.
Despite an extremely quiet afternoon Goldenhill keeper Scott Rennie maintained his concentration to the end making a good reaction save to deny Craig MacEwan a late consolation goal.
Referee John McNab, who had a good game, brought a miserable afternoon for Saints to an end consigning Saints to a fourth defeat in five Premier Division games.
Up next for Saints is a home match against old rivals Inverclyde which, even at this early stage of the season, is already looking like a must win fixture for Alex Craiks men.
Donald Dewar Leisure Centre
Garscadden Road
Drumchapel
Glasgow
G15 8SX
Kick off 2pm
Referee Mr John McNab
Saints starting line-up:-
Used substitutes:-
Andrew Moore
Mark Robertson
David Smith
Oban Saints dismal league form continued at Glasgow Club Donald Dewar in Drumchapel last Saturday where they slumped to an 8 - 0 defeat against Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division title contenders Goldenhill.
On their last visit to Drumchapel in the penultimate fixture of last season Saints edged out their hosts by the odd goal in a five goal thriller to complete a home and away league double. However with only four survivors from that evening in their ranks a perfect storm of a ravaged Saints and a rampant Goldenhill combined to send Saints reeling to their worst ever Premier Division defeat.
Manager Alex Craik was still sunning himself on foreign shores therefore team affairs were once again left in the hands of Assistant Manager Donald Campbell. Donald had Matthew Kelly, Craig MacEwan and David Smith available after missing the previous week's West of Scotland Cup win at Braehead however Paul Carmichael, Daniel Croarkin, Willie Gemmell and Keith Millar all dropped out.
Saints lined up with Graham Douglas in goal behind a back four of Steven MacLeod, David McPhee, Craig Campbell and Craig MacMillan. Donald Campbell, Scott Maitland and Matthew Kelly formed an unfamiliar looking midfield with Craig MacEwan and Fraser MacFarlane flanking Shaun MacIver in attack. David Smith returned from illness to take a place on the bench alongside new signings Andrew Moore and Mark Robertson.
The morning rain at Garscadden Road gave way to a dry but overcast afternoon which made for good playing conditions on an excellent 3G surface. Saints kicked off attacking the pavilion end and held their own in a quiet opening five minute spell. The home side, with a 100% record from their ten competitive fixtures including sixty three goals, began to gain the upper hand in the vital midfield area and soon had Saints pinned back in their own half.
Already beginning to look like a long afternoon Saints required maximum concentration to keep pace with their live-wire opponents. Unfortunately that was in short supply as lapses from the visitors contributed greatly to the home side's domination.
From a tenth minute throw-in on the left Jamie Grimes was given acres of room to stride forward from central defence and send a twenty five yard shot wide of the left hand post of Graham "Sugar" Douglas in the Saints goal.
Sixty seconds later it was striker Ryan McKeever with a shot from a similar position which Graham Douglas turned behind for a corner kick. McKeever's strike partner James Gallagher rolled the corner kick from the right to the corner of the eighteen yard box for central defender Steven Dock whose crisply struck shot smacked the face of Sugar's left hand post before being thumped clear by David McPhee.
A fifteenth minute push on Jonathon Dyer by Craig MacMillan gave James Gallagher another chance to put the ball into the danger area. Craig Campbell's clearance provided a momentary respite but his header only succeeded in finding Gowdie Skipper Scott McGuire whose driving run into the box brought another save from Graham Douglas.
Saints ignored the earlier set-piece warning and allowed James Gallagher to repeat his corner kick routine from the right and pick out Martin Lawlor's run to the edge of the box. The Gowdie central midfielder had time and space to measure a curling effort just inside the far post to give the hosts a deserved eighteenth minute lead.
Unbelievably Saints fell for the same routine sixty seconds later this time on the opposite flank from where Lawlor curled a cross onto the head of Ryan McKeever on the six yard line who doubled the home advantage.
Scott McGuire grazed the top of the Saints crossbar with a thirty yard free-kick which Graham Douglas appeared to have covered before Saints finally managed to make an impression in the opposition half.
Shaun MacIver was inches away from getting on the end of a Craig MacMillan ball from the half-way line before Craig MacEwan drew a save from Scott Rennie dropping to his right to make a comfortable stop.
As Saints enjoyed their best spell Craig MacEwan fired a second attempt on goal in the thirty fifth minute which curled wide of Scott Rennie's right hand post. From the goal kick Goldenhill raced up the left wing from where Kevin Kane fired a ball along the six yard line which the unmarked James Gallagher tucked away for an all too easy third for the hosts.
Three minutes later Saints were ripped apart again with James Gallagher racing through the inside right channel and firing across Graham Douglas and into the bottom corner for a fourth home goal.
Saints steadied the ship but failed to negotiate the closing seven minutes entirely unscathed as Shaun MacIver pulled up with a groin strain.
New signing Mark Robertson was given the nod to replace MacIver with the change bringing about a tactical reshuffle to a 3 - 5 -2 formation.
Saints continued their better showing into the seventh minute of the second half but had their good work undone by another example of poor decision making in the middle of the park. Fraser MacFarlane tried to beat Kevin Kane ten yards inside the Saints half instead of looking for a more straight forward lay-off. Kane won the battle and sent James Gallagher racing through the middle to fire a low shot into the bottom corner past Sugar's right hand.
Not content with a hat-trick, Gallagher notched a fourth sixty seconds later making a good near post run to guide a Jonathon Dyer cross from the right past Graham Douglas.
The only blot on an otherwise perfect afternoon for the hosts was a yellow card picked up by Skipper Scott McGuire picked up for simulation.
A flurry of substitutions followed on the hour mark as the hosts seized the opportunity to give their entire bench a good run out. Jonathon Dyer, Scott McGuire, Kevin Kane and James Gallagher made way for Paul O'Donnell, Reace Syed, Ian Stevenson and Kevin Maxwell. Saints got in on the act by replacing young Craig MacMillan with David Smith.
In the sixty ninth minute Steven MacLeod raced out to try and prevent another Goldenhill short corner routine. However this just left Saints short in the middle when the cross eventually came in and Damon Gray pulled off to the corner of the six yard box and cushioned a volley past Graham Douglas for a seventh goal.
Already struggling with an ankle injury, Craig Campbell felt the full weight of Kevin Maxwell on his left instep in the seventy fifth minute and was unable to continue. Campbell's misfortune gave new signing Andrew Moore a chance to make his Saints debut which he might reasonably have hoped would come in happier circumstances.
David McPhee's outstretched right boot took the ball off Kevin Maxwell's forehead as the Goldenhill substitute looked set to nod the ball home from two yards after Reace Syed had headed a deep Ian Stevenson cross back into the danger area.
The misery was complete for Saints in the eighty second minute when Graham Douglas palmed a speculative Jamie Grimes strike into the path of Ian Stevenson who needed no second invitation to slot the ball into the net and round off the scoring at eight.
Despite an extremely quiet afternoon Goldenhill keeper Scott Rennie maintained his concentration to the end making a good reaction save to deny Craig MacEwan a late consolation goal.
Referee John McNab, who had a good game, brought a miserable afternoon for Saints to an end consigning Saints to a fourth defeat in five Premier Division games.
Up next for Saints is a home match against old rivals Inverclyde which, even at this early stage of the season, is already looking like a must win fixture for Alex Craiks men.
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| Team Captains Donald Campbell and Scott McGuire with Referee John McNab |
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| Steven Dock rattles the post |
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| Donald Campbell and Martin Lawlor |
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| Craig MacMillan and Jonathon Dyer |
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| Donald Campbell heads clear |
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| David McPhee heads clear |
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| Graham Douglas |
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| Shaun MacIver and Marc Morrison keep their eyes on the ball |
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| Scott Maitland and James Gallagher |
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| Craig MacEwan and Jonathon Dyer |
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| Donald Campbell and Martin Lawlor |
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| Second half floodlights on |
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| James Gallagher completes his hat-trick |
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| Scott Rennie collects Scott Maitland's free-kick |
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| Mark Robertson |
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| Damon Gray cushions a back post volley for Goldenhill's seventh |
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| Graham Douglas collects a cross |
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| David McPhee makes a vital interception to deny Kevin Maxwell |
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| Ian Stevenson rounds off the scoring |
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| Andrew Moore |
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| Scott Rennie denies Craig MacEwan a late consolation goal |
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