Winning In The Rain: Saints Make It Ten Out Of Ten

Saturday 23rd November 2019
Central Scottish Amateur Football League
Division 1B
Oban Saints 2 - 0 Craigneuk

Glencruitten 2

Mossfield Avenue

Oban

Argyll

PA34 4EH

Kick Off 2.00pm
Referee Mr Allan Loch

Oban Saints warmed up for their impending Scottish Amateur Cup trip to Rothienorman with a less than convincing home win against Central Scottish Amateur Football League Division 1B basement boys Craigneuk who battled hard throughout the ninety minutes at Glencruitten last Saturday afternoon. Two early strikes from leading goalscorer Craig MacEwan were enough to clinch Saints tenth consecutive league victory making it ten out of ten with a far from ten out of ten performance in a dour encounter which did little to excite the home support.

Now in sole charge due to management colleague Donald Campbell's work commitments in deepest, darkest Warwickshire, Willie Gemmell made five changes to the starting line-up from the previous week's trip to Clydebank. Graham Douglas and Scott Maitland were once again available for selection while James Ford and teenagers Gavin Forgrieve and Aaron McKay were all promoted from the bench. Also making welcome returns to the squad after long absences were Kerr Newbigging and Fraser MacFarlane.

Saints lined up with Graham Douglas in goal behind a familiar back four of Ruaridh Horne, Steven MacLeod, Captain Dene Cassells and Scott Maitland. Gavin Forgrieve partnered Myles McAuley in the holding midfield roles with James Ford, Matty Kelly and Aaron McKay supporting central striker Craig MacEwan. On the bench were David Beaton, Willie Gemmell, Ross Maitland, Fraser MacFarlane and Kerr Newbigging.

Oban Saints starting lineup:-

Substitures:-

David Beaton
Willie Gemmell
Ross Maitland
Fraser MacFarlane
Kerr Newbigging

The visitors kicked off attacking the Mossfield end but it was Saints who mounted the game's first meaningful attack through Aaron McKay on the left who was unfortunate to over-run the ball when poised for a cut-back for the waiting Craig MacEwan in the second minute.

Playing in a more advanced role due to the absence of Lewis Cameron, Matty Kelly was upended one yard in from the left touchline by Craigneuk Skipper Paul Rooney. Kelly sent the resulting free-kick into the box where Neuk keeper Graeme Divers beat Dene Cassells to make a solid connection with his punched clearance which fell invitingly for Scott Maitland on the eighteen yard line. Maitland's shot was charged down by Greig Williams and then sent invitingly back into the box by Gavin Forgrieve where Referee Allan Loch, who handled proceedings well throughout, ruled Kelly to have strayed offside.

Kelly was involved again in the thirteenth minute when he was felled by a late challenge from Gary Raybould which earned the Craigneuk midfielder the game's first yellow card. Myles McAuley's free-kick into the box found James Ford whose shot on the turn was blocked amidst Saints appeals for handball which failed to impress Mr Loch.

The visitors mounted their first serious assault on the Saints goal in the seventeenth minute forcing Saints fullback Ruaridh Horne to turn the ball out for a corner kick. Kieron Duffy's short corner kick to Craig Rutherford was helped on to Greig Williams who sent a shot across Graham Douglas but well wide of the Saints number one's left hand post.

From Graham Douglas' goal kick Scott Maitland worked the ball forward on the left to Craig MacEwan who had the feet taken away from him on the corner of the box by Brian Totten. With everybody waiting for a cross to the far post, and prompted by Scott Buchanan on the sidelines, Matty Kelly's quick thinking picked out the near post run of Craig MacEwan who stabbed the ball past Graeme Divers to open the scoring.

James Ford's trickery on the right after Myles McAuley had won the ball well in the centre circle took him almost to the byeline in the twenty first minute. Ford's low cross along the six yard line was fractionally too heavy for Aaron McKay who couldn't adjust his feet for what would have been a tap-in at the back post.

Sixty seconds later goalkeeper Graeme Divers, one of six changes to the Craigneuk line-up from when the sides met at Dalziel Park on the opening day of the season, had a moment to forget when a Craig MacEwan shot from twenty five yards bounced just in front of him and squirmed from his grasp and into the net for Saints second goal.

MacEwan should have made it three in the twenty fifth minute when he somehow managed to plant his header from another good James Ford right wing cross inches wide of Graeme Divers' left hand post from four yards range.

Ford and MacEwan combined again to good effect with ten minutes of the first half remaining when MacEwan did well to hook the ball back from the bye-line to Ford who then tee'd up Gavin Forgrieve for a shot which flew across the face of goal and just wide of the far post.

James Ford continued to cause problems for the visiting defence and a swashbuckling fortieth minute run took him into the Craigneuk box where, surrounded by defenders, he slipped the ball to Craig MacEwan. The Saints leading marksman tried to walk the ball into the net but was denied by Graeme Divers who smothered the ball at MacEwan's feet.

Saints maintained their dominance of possession in the second half giving Graham Douglas and his back four a relatively untroubled afternoon en-route to another clean sheet. However, despite maintaining the upper hand, the home side created little of note and the few chances which did come their way were squandered.

Manager Willie Gemmell used all of his substitutes during the stop/start second period to give his full squad some valuable game time ahead of this coming Saturday's Scottish Amateur Cup fourth round tie against Rothie Rovers in the Aberdeenshire village of Rothienorman.

With nearest title rivals Blantyre RGM being held to a 2 - 2 draw by fellow promotion chasers Lesmahagow, Saints tenth consecutive win sees them stretch their lead at the top of Central Scottish Amateur Football League Division 1B to thirteen points.