Winning In The Rain: Over Dunoon

Saturday 18th August 2018
VSN Sport Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division
Oban Saints AFC 8 - 1 Dunoon AFC
Glencruitten 2
Mossfield Avenue
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4EH
Kick Off 2pm
Referee Mr Jimmy Litster

Oban Saints got their 2018-19 Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division campaign off to a flying start with an emphatic 8 - 1 win over newly promoted Dunoon at Glencruitten last Saturday. Only some excellent saves from Dunoon goalkeeper Stephen Boyd and an equal measure of wayward finishing prevented Saints from reaching double figures in the first ever top flight meeting between the clubs. However, in true football parlance, new Management duo Donald Campbell and Willie Gemmell will be "over the moon" to take full points from their first competitive fixture.

Oban Saints starting line-up:-

Used substitutes:-

Daniel Croarkin
Jamie Graham
Matthew Kelly
Kerr Newbigging
Matthew Rippon

Saints lined up with Graham Douglas in goal behind a back four of Ruaridh Horne, Steven MacLeod, Captain Dene Cassells and Dougal Graham. In the holding midfield roles were Willie Gemmell and Scott Maitland with James Ford, Lewis Cameron and Fraser MacFarlane behind striker Craig MacEwan. On the bench were Daniel Croarkin, Jamie Graham, Matthew Kelly, Kerr Newbigging and Matt Rippon.

Saints kicked off attacking the railway line end and were immediately on the attack with Lewis Cameron shaving the outside of Stephen Boyd's right hand post inside the first minute.

The visitors gave an early warning of their threat on the counter attack when Kjeld MacIntyre pounced on a misplaced pass just inside the Saints half in the third minute. MacIntyre raced forward and attempted to lob Saints goalkeeper Graham Douglas who had to scamper back to his goal-line to safely gather the ball just under his crossbar.

Saints shrugged off this brief scare and swept to the other end where Ruaridh Horne won a corner kick on the right. Lewis Cameron's delivery was headed out to edge of the box by Craig Anderson but immediately returned by Willie Gemmell who picked out James Ford nine yards from goal. Ford's drilled low right foot shot gave Stephen Boyd no time to adjust his feet and the ball nestled in the net to give Saints an early lead.

Ruaridh Horne's endeavour on the right won another corner kick in the seventh minute from where Lewis Cameron found the head of Craig MacEwan. Saints top goal scorer for the past two seasons climbed well above Kjeld MacIntyre but was unable to direct his header on target.

Dunoon keeper Stephen Boyd made the first of a number of good saves in the twelfth minute denying Lewis Cameron after the Saints striker had been played in by a slide rule Willie Gemmell pass.

Saints thought they had doubled their tally in the twenty fifth minute when Stephen Boyd allowed a Fraser MacFarlane shot to squirm beneath him. Boyd got a hand to the ball stopping it on the goal-line before Craig MacEwan slid in to knock the ball into the net. Referee Jimmy Litster controversially ruled MacEwan's challenge to be illegal and awarded a free-kick to the visitors.

Mr Litster was again the centre of attention five minutes later when Dunoon levelled the scores through Jamie Robertson. Saints were caught out on the counter-attack and, despite Steven MacLeod's desperate late challenge Robertson was able to force an effort on target from ten yards. Graham Douglas was adamant that he had prevented the ball from crossing the line but Mr Litster awarded the goal much to the annoyance of the Saints number one. In awarding the goal Mr Litster may well have spared Steven MacLeod a red card for his challenge however this was of little consolation to Douglas who was denied a highly prized clean sheet.

Craig Anderson picked up the first yellow card of the afternoon for chopping down Lewis Cameron on the edge of the D straight from the restart. Having failed to test the keeper with three previous efforts Willie Gemmell finally found his range and bent his free-kick around the Dunoon wall only to see Stephen Boyd pull off an excellent finger tip save low to his left.

It was Boyd to the rescue again two minutes later denying Lewis Cameron with his legs from close range.

Fraser MacFarlane had a goal bound effort deflected behind for a corner kick before Dene Cassells and Dougal Graham both sent shots narrowly wide of target.

Jamie Robertson joined Craig Anderson in the booked for hauling down Scott Maitland twenty two yards from goal. Willie Gemmell's quickly taken free-kick played in Lewis Cameron but once again Cameron was unable to get the better of Stephen Boyd.

Mr Litster's half-time whistle arrived with the scores somehow still level at one goal a-piece but with the prospect of another busy forty five minutes ahead for the embattled Dunoon defence.

Management team Donald Campbell and Willie Gemmell withdrew Dougal Graham at half-time and dropped Scott Maitland back to left-back replacing him in midfield with substitute Matthew Kelly.

Stephen Boyd continued to keep the Saints attack at bay shovelling a James Ford shot behind sixty seconds after the restart. The Dunoon defence could only partly clear the resulting corner kick from the right with James Ford returning the ball to the danger area from the corner of the eighteen yard box. Craig MacEwan's misfortune in front of goal continued when he allowed Ford's ball to slip under his left boot with the goal at his mercy.

The Dunoon keeper twice more denied James Ford as Saints kept probing while Scott Maitland and Lewis Cameron both sent efforts wide of target.

Saints made their second change in the fifty eighth minute bringing on Matt Rippon to replace Fraser MacFarlane.

The Saints pressure eventually told in the fifty ninth minute from a Lewis Cameron corner kick on the right. Cameron and Ruaridh Horne worked a short corner to the corner of the eighteen yard box for Matthew Kelly. Kelly's cross come shot into the "corridor of uncertainty", coupled with lurking presence of Craig MacEwan, deceived Stephen Boyd with the ball bouncing past him and into the net.

Having taken fifty five minutes to find a way past Stephen Boyd for a second time it took only five minutes more for Saints to conjure a third goal. Lewis Cameron robbed Dunoon defender Andrew Lochrie midway inside the Dunoon half and slipped the ball through for Matt Rippon who steered the ball into the bottom corner past the advancing goalkeeper.

A Dene Cassells foul on Conor McClymont in the sixty eighth minute gave Dunoon the chance to put the ball into the Saints box. The Saints rearguard was unable to clear the danger from Kjeld MacIntyre's delivery and was indebted to Graham Douglas for an excellent finger tip save to deny McClymont from close range.

Co-Manager Willie Gemmell repaired to the sidelines to join Donald Campbell for the closing twenty minutes. Gemmell's place in the midfield was taken by Kerr Newbigging.

Craig MacEwan finally found his shooting boots in the seventy seventh minute with a good turn and left foot shot which beat Stephen Boyd low down to his right. Opting to quit while he was ahead MacEwan trotted off to be replaced by Daniel Croarkin.

Croarkin had only been on the field of play for sixty seconds when he had a shot blocked by Jamie Robertson. The ball broke kindly for James Ford who slammed an unstoppable effort into the bottom corner for Saints fifth goal.

With ten minutes remaining on the clock Ruaridh Horne made way for Jamie Graham in Saints final change of the afternoon.

A quickly taken free-kick on the left in the eighty fourth minute sent Lewis Cameron jinking into the box where he was tripped by Dunoon Skipper Stuart MacIntyre. Referee Litster had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot from where Cameron sent Stephen Boyd in the wrong direction adding a sixth goal for Saints.

Two minutes later Cameron doubled his tally from his own corner kick on the right. Kerr Newbigging's off target volley from the back post across the face of goal was controlled by Cameron who beat second half substitute Cairn Limbert on the corner of the six yard box and slammed the ball into the opposite corner of the net.

One of the three minutes added by Mr Litster had elapsed when Daniel Croarkin robbed Jordan McIlkenny midway inside the Dunoon half and fed midfield colleague Matty Kelly. Kelly's driving run into the box left Stuart MacIntyre and Craig Anderson trailing in his wake as he rounded Stephen Boyd and rolled the ball into the unguarded net to round off the scoring.

Next up for Saints is a trip to Cowan Park, Barrhead to face last season's Premier Division One Champions Barrhead Arky.