Winning In The Rain: Four Star Saints Venture Forth In The Scottish Cup

Saturday 2nd November 2019
The Scottish Amateur Football Association Challenge Cup Competition
Third Round
Westerlands 1 - 4 Oban Saints
Garscube Sports Complex
Maryhill Road
Glasgow
G20 0SP
Kick off 2.00pm
Referee Mr Ian Hamilton

Two typically crisp strikes from Donald Campbell helped Saints past a stuffy Westerlands side, who gave a good account of themselves throughout, and into the fourth round of the Scottish Amateur Cup at a damp Garscube Sports Complex last Saturday afternoon. Also on the score sheet for Saints against the Caledonian League First Division promotion chasers were Captain Dene Cassells, who showed the strikers how to dispatch a penalty kick, and the evergreen Ross Maitland who wrapped up a 4 - 1 victory with his first touch after coming on as a second half substitute.

Co-Managers Donald Campbell and Willie Gemmell were deprived of the services of Graham Douglas, Cammy Hill and Matt Rippon who all dropped out of the squad from the previous week's home league fixture against Garrowhill Thistle. Coming in to join the travelling party were able deputies Murdo MacKenzie, James Ford and Ross Maitland.

Murdo MacKenzie made his second appearance of the season in goal behind a familiar back four of Ruaridh Horne, Steven MacLeod, Captain Dene Cassells and Scott Maitland. Myles McAuley partnered Matty Kelly in the holding midfield roles with David Beaton, Lewis Cameron and Craig MacEwan supporting central striker Donald Campbell. Returning to take a place on the bench after a month on the sidelines was James Ford where he was joined by youngsters Gavin Forgrieve and Aaron McKay and the evergreen Ross Maitland.

Oban Saints starting lineup:-

Used substitutes:-

Ross Maitland
Gavin Forgrieve
Aaron McKay
James Ford

Westerlands, with Obanites Elliot Dougall and Liam MacIntyre in their ranks, kicked off on the narrow grass park on the banks of the river Kelvin which was in remarkably good condition given the recent heavy rain.

Saints started brightly with Ruaridh Horne sending a tempting second minute cross into the box looking for Donald Campbell which Calum Windram did well to head away and Caledonian League Select goalkeeper Blair Haldane showing good reactions getting down to his left to push away a Lewis Cameron shot from eighteen yards sixty seconds later.

The home side enjoyed a good ten minute spell during which wide man Calum McCrossan made a nuisance of himself playing off central striker Elliot Dougall. Deputising for the unavailable Graham Douglas, Saints goalkeeper Murdo MacKenzie showed safe hands to gather a McCrossan delivery from the left before Westies midfielder Scott MacFarlane sent a speculative lob over his crossbar.

Getting forward on the right in the fifteenth minute Ruaridh Horne partially blocked a Paul Kerins clearance which David Beaton promptly delivered onto the six yard line from where Donald Campbell sent a firm header six inches over the crossbar.

Saints were enjoying the majority of the possession but were finding the Westerlands defence, with Liam MacIntyre at it's heart, a difficult nut to crack until a stroke of good fortune in the twenty seventh minute. Lewis Cameron's cross from the right edge of the penalty area hit the outstretched hand of Gavin Edwards which, although unfortunate for the big central defender, was correctly ruled as a penalty kick by Referee Ian Hamilton who handled proceedings well throughout. With Donald Campbell and Lewis Cameron both having had mixed results from the penalty spot in recent weeks Captain Dene Cassells decided to show the strikers how it should be done and smashed an emphatic spot kick past Blair Haldane to open the scoring.

The lead lasted barley sixty seconds as Calum McCrossan pounced on a rare slip by Ruaridh Horne, who produced an otherwise steady performance at right back, and poked a good finish underneath the advancing Murdo MacKenzie to draw the hosts level.

Saints responded with a Donald Campbell shot after good link up play by Lewis Cameron and Matty Kelly, both of whom impressed under the gaze of Central Scottish Amateur Football League Select Manager Colin Hamilton, which was deflected just over Blair Haldane's crossbar.

Another deflected Campbell effort in the thirty eighth minute saw Dene Cassells get in between Liam MacIntyre and Gavin Edwards to head the resulting corner kick just wide of the base of Blair Haldane's left hand post.

Haldane showed some of the form which has earned him a place in the Caledonian League Select squad with an excellent double save four minutes before the interval. After clawing away a Lewis Cameron cross come shot which looked set to sneak under his crossbar, the big Westies number one took up a good position at his near post to beat away Donald Campbell's follow up effort from the corner of the six yard box.

Saints ended the half on the front foot with Ruaridh Horne winning a corner kick which Blair Haldane did well to hold under pressure from Craig MacEwan before Referee Hamilton blew for half-time.

The interval did little to derail the Saints momentum and five minutes after the restart their endeavour was rewarded with a second goal. Scott Maitland made good ground on the left and rolled the ball up to Craig MacEwan on the the edge of the box who tee'd up Donald Campbell with a delightful lay-off which the Co-Gaffer thumped across Blair Haldane into the far corner of the net.

Last season's top goal scorer Lewis Cameron came within a few inches of ending his mini goal drought when he sent a free-kick just wide of Blair Haldane's left hand post after Liam MacIntyre had bundled him over twenty four yards from goal.

Elliot Dougall's period in opposition to his 2015 Argyll & Bute Cup winning team mates came to an end after fifty five minutes when he was replaced by returning injury victim Jack Halley. The rapid front man wasted no time in getting involved in the action cutting in from the left and firing off a low shot which Steven MacLeod did well to turn behind for a corner kick.

Saints doubled their advantage in the fifty seventh minute when Donald Campbell met David Beaton's cross perfectly on the half volley sending his right foot strike flying past Blair Haldane after Beaton and Ruaridh Horne had linked up well on the right.

Westerlands kept up their pursuit of an avenue back into the match and were denied a second goal by a fine save from Murdo MacKenzie after Grant MacFarlane prodded a loose ball goalwards as Saints struggled to clear a long free-kick from just inside their own half.

Both sides made changes with twenty five minutes remaining with Ewan Dempster replacing Grant MacFarlane for the hosts and Ross Maitland coming on to make a telling contributions at the expense of David Beaton who had put in another good shift on the Saints right.

Maitland's introduction produced instant results when the evergreen winger in his twenty third Saints season slammed the ball into the roof of the net from fourteen yards after Blair Haldane could only parry a Donald Campbell shot on the turn.

Matty Kelly was inches away from connecting with a sixty eighth minute Scott Maitland cross after a give and go with Donald Campbell on the edge of the box before Maitland popped up in his own box sixty seconds later with an improvised back heel clearance to stop a Ryan McGregor cutback reaching Ewan Dempster on the six yard line.

Blair Haldane made an excellent save standing up well at his near post to narrow the angle and deny Craig MacEwan from a Donald Campbell lay-off in the seventy third minute.

Teenagers Gavin Forgrieve and Aaron McKay were given the chance to shine in front the watching Central Scottish Amateur Football League top brass when they replaced Donald Campbell and Matty Kelly for the closing fifteen minutes.

Dene Cassells picked up a cheap yellow card, the only one of the match, for kicking the ball away at a disputed throw-in which went in favour of the home side.

Aaron McKay lifted a decent effort from the edge of the box just over the crossbar after Gavin Edwards had beaten Craig MacEwan in the air to head out a Ross Maitland right wing corner kick.

Westerlands piled bodies into the box for an eightieth minute Scott MacFarlane free-kick which forced Murdo MacKenzie into action making a solid connection to punch clear under pressure.

Gavin Edwards made an excellent sliding interception to prevent Craig MacEwan from adding to the scoring after latching onto a Lewis Cameron through ball in the eighty fourth minute. That proved to be Cameron's final contribution of another productive afternoon and he was replaced for the closing stages by James Ford.

As the clock ticked down Ford wriggled clear of Paul Kerins on the right of the Westies box and tee'd up Gavin Forgrieve for a strike on goal which drifted agonisingly wide of Blair Haldane's right hand post.

Mr Hamilton brought proceedings to a close after two added minutes confirming Saints place in this coming Friday's fourth round draw and leaving Westerlands to concentrate their efforts for a major cup success on their impending West of Scotland Cup third round encounter with 2007 Cup Winners St Patrick's F.P.