Winning In The Rain: Five Star Saints Ease Through Round Five

Saturday 11th January 2020
The Scottish Amateur Football Association Challenge Cup Competition
Fifth Round
Oban Saints 5 - 1 Renfrew Town

Oban Community Sports Field (3G)

Soroba Road

Oban

Argyll

PA34 4JB

Kick Off 1.00pm
Referee Mr Gerry Reid

Oban Saints eased through to the sixth round of the Scottish Amateur Cup with a convincing 5 - 1 victory over Renfrew Town of the Glasgow and District Saturday Morning League at Oban High School last Saturday afternoon.

Strikes from Craig MacEwan, Willie Gemmell and Dene Cassells added to a brace from Lewis Cameron saw Saints comfortably through to the last sixteen of the Scottish Amateur Football Association's blue ribband competition.

Holidays, injuries and suspension left Co-Manager Willie Gemmell with a number of selection headaches however he was at least able to share the agony with other half Donald Campbell who was home from his sojourns in Warwickshire for a short holiday.

Saints lined up with Jamie Strachan in goal behind a back four of Ruaridh Horne, Steven MacLeod, Captain Dene Cassells and Scott Maitland. Willie Gemmell partnered Matty Kelly in the holding midfield roles with David Beaton, Lewis Cameron and Ross Maitland supporting central striker Craig MacEwan. On the bench were James Ford, Matt Rippon, Fraser MacFarlane, Aaron McKay and Gavin Forgrieve.

Oban Saints starting lineup:-

Used substitutes:-
James Ford
Gavin Forgrieve
Fraser MacFarlane
Aaron McKay
Matt Rippon

Heavy rain forced a switch of venue from the grass Glencruitten to the all weather surface at Oban High School where Saints kicked off with the stiff breeze at their backs attacking the Dalintart end.

Making a rare starting appearance, evergreen Ross Maitland smacked the Renfrew Town crossbar in the second minute after cutting in from his wide left berth and unleashing a fierce right foot shot which left goalkeeper Ross Dougall rooted firmly to the spot.

An end to end spell saw David Beaton narrowly fail to connect with a Ross Maitland left wing cutback and Renfrew wide man William Johnstone send a tempting ball along the Saints six yard line for which there was no takers. The action quickly returned to the other end where David Beaton cut in from the right but saw his shot saved by Ross Dougall who narrowed the angle well.

Lewis Cameron, Craig MacEwan and Willie Gemmell all had efforts off target before Renfrew striker Chris Burke repeated the feat with a wayward overhead kick which failed to trouble Jamie Strachan.

Making his home debut standing in for the suspended Graham Douglas, recent signing Strachan made a routine twentieth minute save from a speculative Adam Williams shot after Chris Burke had flicked-on a Ross Dougall clearance.

As the first half wore on Saints began ramping up the pressure on the Renfrew goal and eventually made the breakthrough in the twenty fifth minute. Ross Maitland's perfectly weighted through ball sent Matty Kelly into the box where his cutback from the left was sent back across the keeper by leading goal scorer Craig MacEwan and into the net via the inside of the post.

Saints came close to doubling their advantage straight from the restart when Kelly popped up in the box again, this time on the right, but saw his decent effort blocked by Stuart Connelly.

A flurry of Saints corners were well defended by the Renfrew rearguard but when a Saints head finally managed to connect with Lewis Cameron's delivery Captain Dene Cassells headed wide of target.

A rash challenge on the corner of his own box by the Saints Skipper gave William Johnstone a chance to demonstrate his prowess with the dead ball however the Renfrew wide man failed to trouble Jamie Strachan with his well off target left foot effort.

Renfrew keeper Ross Dougall made the first of a number of good saves getting down well to his left to push a thirty sixth minute Lewis Cameron shot behind for a corner kick. Cameron's delivery was met on the six yard line by Willie Gemmell who was frustrated to see his goal bound header blocked inadvertently by David Beaton with Gemmell hooking a difficult chance on the rebound wide of target.

There was a loud appeal for a penalty kick in the thirty eighth minute when Ross Maitland's cutback from the left appeared to strike the arm of Renfrew defender Josh Gallacher. However Referee Gerry Reid, who was well placed, was satisfied no infringement had taken place.

Ross Dougall acrobatically tipped a thirty ninth minute Craig MacEwan lob over his crossbar with Dene Cassells glancing the outside of Dougall's right hand post with a right foot shot after retrieving Lewis Cameron's deep corner kick from the right.

Saints deservedly doubled their advantage in the fortieth minute when Lewis Cameron wriggled clear in the heavily congested Renfrew box to tuck a low left foot finish beyond Ross Dougall.

The visitors were almost handed a lifeline on the stroke of half-time when Dene Cassells and Jamie Strachan got their wires crossed and the Skipper's pass back rolled past the big keeper and, to gasps of relief from the large crowd who had braved the elements, inches wide of the post. Cassells climbed well to head clear William Johnstone's corner kick sending Willie Gemmell off on a counter attack which was unceremoniously halted by Stuart Connelly inside the centre circle at the expense of a yellow card.

Saints started the second half brightly and Ross Maitland forced Ross Dougall into an early save after racing through the inside right channel on the end of a Craig MacEwan through ball.

Dougall was in action again two minutes later plucking a looping Craig MacEwan header from a Ruaridh Horne right wing cross out of the air.

Renfrew central defender Alex McDonald made a crucial interception to take a forty eighth minute Lewis Cameron cross off the head of the waiting Craig MacEwan.

Ross Dougall produced another excellent save to deny Craig MacEwan in the fiftieth minute after MacEwan had kept alive a partially cleared Willie Gemmell free-kick and jinked into the Renfrew box on the Saints right. From the resulting corner kick Matty Kelly shot inches wide of Dougall's left hand post.

Second half substitute Steven Mitchell became the second Renfrew player to find his way into Referee Gerry Reid's notebook when he was penalised for handball on the corner of the Renfrew box in the fifty third minute. Lewis Cameron's delivery from the Saints left was met by a firm downward header from Willie Gemmell which bounced over the despairing grasp of Ross Dougall for Saints third goal.

Three minutes later the bookings tally increased to three when Martin Donald's late challenge on Willie Gemmell was punished with a free-kick and a yellow card. Gemmell rolled his free-kick short to Lewis Cameron thirty yards out who thundered an unstoppable dive into the net off the underside of the crossbar for the goal of the day.

James Ford replaced David Beaton, who had put in another energetic performance wide on the right, for the closing half hour.

The visitors remained a threat on the break and an unsuccessful offside appeal from the Saints rearguard left allowed William Johnstone in behind for an attempted lob which drifted wide of target with Jamie Strachan stranded well off his line.

A sustained period of patient Saints possession ended with Craig MacEwan hooking a Willie Gemmell cross over the Renfrew crossbar from twelve yards in the sixty fifth minute.

Experience made way for youth when Ross Maitland was replaced by Aaron McKay in Saints second change of the afternoon.

James Ford robbed Stuart Connelly on the edge of the Renfrew box and slipped in Craig MacEwan who successfully wrong footed Ross Dougall but sent his clipped right foot effort inches wide of the keeper's right hand post.

Saints introduced Gavin Forgrieve at the expense of Matty Kelly in the seventieth minute and the youngster was quickly involved in a good move on the right with Willie Gemmell and Ruaridh Horne which set up Lewis Cameron for a hat-trick chance which he unfortunately lifted over the crossbar.

Further changes followed with Matt Rippon and Fraser MacFarlane replacing Willie Gemmell and Ruaridh Horne.

Lewis Cameron continued to torment the Renfrew defence screwing a good eightieth minute opportunity across the face of goal and wide of target before being denied by the feet of Ross Dougall after good work on the left by Aaron McKay.

Leading goalscorer Craig MacEwan's search for a second goal of the afternoon continued in vain when he turned a good Fraser MacFarlane cross from the right inches wide before going for the spectacular and narrowly failing to connect with an excellent left to right diagonal ball from James Ford.

Ross Dougall's busy afternoon continued with another good save this time dropping smartly to his right to stop a Fraser MacFarlane shot from the edge of the box.

The visitor's perseverance was rewarded in the eighty ninth minute when Scott Maitland was dispossessed midway inside the Renfrew half and a swift counter attack was rounded off with a crisp left foot William Johnstone strike for a deserved consolation goal.

The scoring didn't end there however when James Ford had his dancing feet whipped away from him in the Renfrew box in the ninety first minute. Skipper Dene Cassells strode up confidently to smash his second successful penalty kick of the season into the bottom corner giving Ross Dougall no chance.

Referee Reid, who had a good game, brought proceedings to an end shortly after the restart inching Saints ever closer to the holy grail of a Hampden Park cup final appearance.

Saints return to league business this coming Saturday with a trip to Dalziel Park, Motherwell to face Cambusnethan Talbot.