Winning In The Rain: Saints Pay The Penalty

Saturday 12th January 2019
The Scottish Amateur Football Association Challenge Cup Competition
Fifth Round Replay
Oban Saints 2 - 2 Rothie Rovers (After Extra-Time)
Rothie Rovers win 9 - 8 on penalty kicks
Glencruitten 2
Mossfield Avenue
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4EH
Kick off 1.30pm
Referee Mr Ross Holms

Oban Saints and Rothie Rovers from Aberdeenshire kept a large crowd at Glencruitten richly entertained last Saturday in a Scottish Amateur Cup fifth round replay which ultimately required a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner. After a goal a piece in the ninety minutes followed by the same again in extra-time it was Rothie goalkeeper Lewis Milne who emerged the hero saving two Saints penalties to give his side a 9 - 8 shoot-out victory and clinch a place in the last sixteen.

Saints made three changes to the starting eleven from the previous week's draw in Rothienorman with Ruaridh Horne, Matthew Kelly and Donald Campbell coming in at the expense of Jamie Graham, David Beaton and James Ford who all dropped to the bench where they had Dougal Graham, Fraser MacFarlane and Shaun MacIver for company.

Saints lined-up with Graham Douglas in goal behind a back four of Ruaridh Horne, Steven MacLeod, Captain Dene Cassells and Scott Maitland. Willie Gemmell partnered Daniel Croarkin in the holding midfield roles. Up front Donald Campbell lead the line in front of Craig MacEwan, Matthew Kelly and Lewis Cameron.

Saints kicked off attacking the railway line end in dull and wet conditions on a Glencruitten surface which had once again been painstakingly prepared by Argyll & Bute Council Groundsman Ian Hay.

Scott Maitland and Lewis Cameron had some early joy on the left for Saints with Maitland swinging over a dangerous second minute cross which Lewis Milne in the Rothie goal did well to hold under pressure from Craig MacEwan.

Three minutes later Milne produced the first of a string of excellent saves getting down smartly to his right to hold a Lewis Cameron shot after the Saints wide man had beaten Gavin Smart to cut in from the left.

Rothie's main threat was to come from set pieces and a tug on the shirt of Jake Stewart by Craig MacEwan gave the very impressive Rothie Skipper Keith Walker the chance to put the ball into the danger area looking for the head of central defender Mark Thomson. Graham Douglas beat the big man in the air to punch to the edge of the box from where Jack Brown volleyed well over the crossbar.

Referee Ross Holms placed Steven MacLeod on the disciplinary tightrope in just the eleventh minute when he flashed a yellow card at the Saints central defender for a challenge on Rothie danger man Jake Stewart just inside the Saints half. MacLeod won the ball cleanly however Mr Holms deemed the challenge to be "out of control" and issued the first caution of the match.

In the thirteenth minute Saints carved a way through the solid Rothie defence however Donald Campbell's final ball was too far in front of Matthew Kelly allowing Lewis Milne to come off his line to gather safely at Kelly's feet.

An eighteenth minute Lewis Cameron corner kick from the left found it's way through to Donald Campbell at the back post whose cushioned volley back across the face of goal drifted wide of Lewis Milne's right hand post.

So often Saints saviour with the dead ball, Willie Gemmell had a chance to make his mark in the twentieth minute after Craig MacEwan had been hauled back on the edge of the box. Gemmell beat the Rothie wall but only succeeded in shaving the outside of Lewis Milne's left hand post with the keeper rooted to the spot.

The Saints pressure was building and they took a deserved lead in the twenty third minute when a Daniel Croarkin shot from eighteen yards took a deflection which deceived Lewis Milne a nestled in the bottom corner of the Rothie net.

Lewis Cameron will feel he should have done better from a good opening on the half hour mark however Lewis Milne still required two attempts to save Cameron's effort from just inside the Rothie box.

It was Milne to the rescue once again when he pulled off the save of the match to fingertip over a looping Donald Campbell effort from eighteen yards after the Saints Co-Manager had escaped the close attentions of Gavin Smart and Keith Walker.

Rothie Skipper Keith Walker went crashing to the ground on the edge of the Saints penalty area anticipating a challenge from opposite number Dene Cassells which never came. Referee Holms however was taken in and awarded the visitors a free-kick which Mark Thomson flicked on to Ryan Walker at the back post. Fortunately Walker's header lacked the power to seriously test Graham Douglas who made a routine catch.

Saints survived one final Rothie set piece before the interval with Dene Cassells making a decisive clearing header from a Keith Walker left wing corner which Steven MacLeod had conceded under pressure from Jake Stewart.

Second half

The visitors started the second half in determined mood and enjoyed a good spell of pressure keeping Saints pinned back in their own half for the opening five minutes. Saints weathered the Rothie storm and got back on the front foot with Donald Campbell and Lewis Cameron both narrowly failing to find Craig MacEwan with crosses from the left.

In the fifty third minute Scott Maitland made an excellent run on the left jinking into the box where he was finally stopped by a well timed sliding challenge from Gavin Smart. The young Rothie fullback however appeared to injure himself in the process and limped off shortly afterwards to be replaced by Scott Chalmers.

Craig MacEwan passed up a gilt edged chance on the hour mark sending a header straight down the throat of the Rothie keeper after a good give and go on the right with Ruaridh Horne.

The pair linked up well again in the seventy second minute with MacEwan curling a low right foot shot wide of Lewis Milne's right hand post.

Five minutes later the Saints defence was finally breached from a Rothie set piece when Mark Thomson bundled home a Keith Walker corner kick from the left.

The Rothie goalscorer picked up a yellow card shortly after for an over the ball challenge on Craig MacEwan. From the resulting free-kick Lewis Milne saved with his feet to deny Donald Campbell from close range after a Craig MacEwan cutback from the left.

The visitors made another change replacing Jack Brown with Andi Bremner. Saints responded with their first change when Jamie Graham came on to replace Ruaridh Horne in a straight swap at right back.

Saints kept pressing for the winner and introduced James Ford in the eighty fourth minute at the expense of Daniel Croarkin to boost their attacking options.

Despite having all of the late pressure Saints struggled to breach the well organised Rothie defence and when they eventually did in time added on for stoppages they were again denied by the feet of Lewis Milne who blocked two point blank Saints shots to send the tie into extra-time.

Extra-time

In the fourth of the extra thirty minutes Scott Maitland was tripped as he attempted to burst into the Rothie box. Mr Holms ruled the offence had taken place outside the box awarding Saints a free-kick which could not possibly have been any closer to being on the line. Willie Gemmell's delivery was headed behind for a corner kick on the right from which Craig MacEwan rose well but sent his header narrowly wide of the junction of post and bar.

Sixty seconds later Saints were again undone from a set piece much to the delight of the large travelling support. A long straight free-kick from Keith Walker was flicked on by Grant Ritchie to Ryan Walker who volleyed past the helpless Graham Douglas to give Rothie the lead.

Saints were briefly rocked back on their heels and were relieved to see Keith Walker's dipping twenty five yard effort soon after skim the top of the crossbar on it's way over.

The interval arrived with Rothie still holding on to their slender advantage and Saints pushing Dene Cassells into attack and adding Shaun MacIver in place of Matthew Kelly. Rothie seemed happy to protect their lead and withdrew second half substitute striker Richard Fisher, who had earlier replaced Christopher Wood, in favour of defender Mykie Pugh.

The second half continued in the same vein with Saints pushing for the equaliser and Rothie defending doggedly.

There was a loud appeal for a penalty kick from Saints in the twenty third minute when a Lewis Cameron cross from the right struck a defender's hand however Mr Holms remained unmoved.

Rothie withdrew top goalscorer Jake Stewart with five minutes remaining replacing him with Aidan Elrick.

With two minutes remaining Shaun MacIver struck the outside of Lewis Milne's right hand post after an almighty goalmouth scramble from a Willie Gemmell throw-in from the left.

With sixty seconds of extra-time remaining Donald Campbell spun away from his marker and was felled in the box for what appeared to be a "stone wall" penalty kick. To the bemusement of all Mr Holms bizarrely pointed the other way and issued a second yellow card to Campbell for simulation ending the Saints Co-Manager's involvement in the game. Despite the Referee's apparent error there can be no excuse for the foul and abusive language which followed from Shaun MacIver which earned the Saints substitute a straight red card. Neither can there be any excuse for MacIver's reaction to his dismissal which may yet have further repercussions for the hot headed young striker.

Spurred on by a deep sense of injustice the nine men miraculously drew level deep into time added on for stoppages. A straight ball over the top was glanced by Dene Cassells beyond the advancing keeper and into the top corner sparking wild celebrations among the home support.

Dougal Graham made the briefest of substitute appearances replacing Steven MacLeod before the restart from where the ball hadn't left the centre-circle before Referee Holms blew for full time.

Penalties

In rapidly failing light Mr Holms took the players away from the bulk of the crowd to the railway line end where ten penalties each would be taken before a winner would emerge.

Saints were playing catch up right from the start when Aidan Elrick's successful kick was followed by a save by Lewis Milne to deny Dene Cassells.

Keith Walker and Lewis Cameron netted their efforts before Graham Douglas saved from Sean Bremner giving Craig MacEwan the chance to level which he gratefully accepted.

Some excellent penalty kicks followed with both goalkeepers also finding the net. Scorers for Rothie were Andi Bremner, Mark Thomson, Lewis Milne, Scott Chalmers, Grant Ritchie (despite Graham Douglas getting both hands to it), and Ashley Vasey. Successful for Saints were Graham Douglas, Willie Gemmell, Scott Maitland, Dougal Graham, Jamie Graham and James Ford.

With Saints only having nine players on the field it was back to the start where Aidan Elrick repeated his earlier straight down the middle success. Having scored from the spot in the first match, Lewis Cameron was by now taking his third penalty kick of the tie and Lewis Milne finally won the battle of wits guessing correctly and dropping to his right to beat away Cameron's effort and seal victory for Rothie.

The Rovers from Rothienorman will now travel to Paisley in the sixth round where they will face Alba Thistle of the Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division on Saturday 2nd February.

Saints will feel this is a tie they should have won however they simply didn't do enough to overcome a hard working Rothie team who defended resolutely and took full advantage of the few chances which came their way.

Thorn

The Glencruitten faithful are in for another treat this coming Saturday when former Scottish Amateur Football League rivals Thorn Athletic come calling in the West of Scotland Cup fourth round. The Johnstone men are currently eight points clear at the top the Caledonian League Premier Division and will provide a massive test for Management duo Donald Campbell and Willie Gemmell and their charges.

Kick off at Glencruitten is 1.30pm with the prospect of extra-time and penalty kicks if the two sides cannot be separated after ninety minutes. In charge of proceedings is experienced Central Scottish Amateur Football League Referee Michael Kerr.