Sunday, 25 October 2020

Five Star Saints

Saturday 25th October 2020

Friendly

Oban Saints 5 - 0 Lochgilphead Red Star

Oban Community Sports Field (3G)

Soroba Road

Oban

Argyll

PA34 4JB

Kick Off 1.30pm
Referee Mr Jimmy Litster

Oban Saints and closest neighbours Lochgilphead Red Star kept their engines ticking over ahead of a return to competitive action with an entertaining friendly encounter on the all weather surface at Oban High School last Saturday afternoon.

Heavy overnight rain put an end to any lingering hopes of the game going ahead on the grass at Glencruitten however, by the time kick-off arrived, the skies cleared and the game went ahead in pleasant autumn sunshine.

Strict matchday protocols, including no changing facilities or supporters, were followed by both sides where four goals from Lewis Cameron and one from David Beaton gave Saints a comfortable victory over a young and inexperienced Red Star side missing five first team regulars.

Myles McAuley, Aaron Mackay and Cammy Hill were all unavailable for Saints however Matty Kelly returned after finally shaking off the injuring sustained in the bruising encounter with Dunoon Amateurs five weeks previously.

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 Scott Johnston in the holding midfield roles with David Beaton, Lewis Cameron and James Ford supporting central striker Craig MacEwan. On the bench were Martin Bonar, Willie Gemmell, Matty Kelly and Kerr Newbigging.

Oban Saints starting lineup:-

Used substitutes:-

Martin Bonar

Matty Kelly

Kerr Newbigging

Unused substitute:-

Willie Gemmell

Attacking the Dalintart end in the first half Saints gave Red Star keeper Ally Lewis an early test when James Ford jinked his way into the box and fired off a left foot shot which the Lochgilphead youngster did well to push over for a corner kick.

The visitors were content to sit deep and try to hit Saints on the break and Steven MacLeod had to look lively to cut out a twelfth minute well measured Lee MacLean through ball intended for Stuart MacLean.

James Ford drew another good save from Ally Lewis with a sweetly struck fifteenth minute twenty five yard shot which the keeper did well to hold.

Saints opened the scoring in the seventeenth minute after David Beaton intercepted a stray pass from Red Star Skipper Lee MacLean. Beaton picked out James Ford on the left who in turn found Lewis Cameron on the edge of visitor's box. Cameron turned away from his marker and arced a low shot onto the inside of Ally Lewis' right hand post with the ball bouncing back across the goal line and into the net via the inside of the opposite goal post.

Last season's top scorer Craig MacEwan came within inches of doubling the Saints advantage with a cheeky flick which went the wrong side of the post after a Lewis Cameron corner kick landed fortuitously at his feet inside the six yard box.

Two last gasp interceptions from Red Star central defender Ben Forbes denied James Ford and David Beaton before Ally Lewis showed good handling to hold a Lewis Cameron shot low down to his left as the hosts turned up the heat leading up to the half-time whistle.

At the other end Graham Douglas did well to collect a long forty fifth minute Ben Forbes free-kick from the half-way line under pressure from Angus Lewis.

Saints Gaffer Willie Gemmell made a change for the beginning of the second forty five minutes replacing youngster Gavin Forgrieve with the returning Matty Kelly.

Elder statesman of the young visitor's line-up at the age of just twenty eight Ben Forbes continued his defensive heroics into the second half but fell foul of Referee Jimmy Litster's eagle eye when he was penalised for handball making a flying block to stop a Matty Kelly shot twenty eight yards out. Forbes' protestations of his innocence turned up another notch when Lewis Cameron arrowed the resulting forty eighth minute free-kick into the bottom corner past Ally Lewis' right hand to double the Saints advantage.

The visitors should have pulled one back two minutes after the restart but Angus Lewis fluffed his lines and missed an open goal after Chris Hart had capitalised on a moment of hesitation between Steven MacLeod and Graham Douglas.

Red Star hit Saints with another quick break in the fifty first minute with Graham Douglas redeeming his previous error with an excellent save to deny Red Star debutant striker Chris Hart after a good run and low right wing cross from Stuart MacLean.

There was a moment to forget in an otherwise solid performance from Ally Lewis when the young keeper allowed a fifty fifth minute Lewis Cameron shot to squirm from his grasp and creep over the line for Cameron's hat-trick.

A devastating burst of pace and trickery on the right wing from James Ford in the fifty seventh minute took him to the bye-line from where his low cutback picked out the near post run of David Beaton who gleefully steered the ball into the bottom corner for Saints fourth.

Good shifts from Scott Johnston and James Ford were cut short on the hour mark by Willie Gemmell when the Saints Gaffer opted to withdraw the hard working pair in favour of Kerr Newbigging and Martin Bonar. The personnel change also prompted a change of formation to 3-5-2 for the final third of the match.

Red Star keeper Ally Lewis made further good saves to deny David Beaton, Lewis Cameron and Craig MacEwan before Saints Skipper Dene Cassells struck the outside of the post from a tight angle after taking down a deep Lewis Cameron corner kick from the left.

The hard pressed visitor's defence held out until the final minute when Lewis Cameron completed his four goal haul with a twenty yard free-kick up and over the Red Star wall to round off a comfortable victory.

Referee Litster, who handled the good natured encounter well, brought proceedings to an end giving both sides ninety welcome minutes of action in these most uncertain times.

Saints Gaffer Willie Gemmell and Secretary Davie Buchanan will continue the search for available opponents to keep the players ticking over ahead of a return to competitive action.

Visiting Gaffer Colin Weir, despite the score line, can feel pleased that his young charges competed well for long periods against considerably more experienced opponents.

Graham Douglas

Scott Maitland and Chris Hart

Ben Forbes

Ally Lewis saves from James Ford

Lee MacLean

Scott Johnston

Gavin Forgrieve

Willie Gemmell

Lewis Cameron finds the bottom corner for his second goal

Ruaridh Horne

James Ford and David Beaton

Steven MacLeod

Craig MacEwan and Kyle Selfridge

Dene Cassells heads over

Lewis Cameron rounds off the scoring

#monthesaints

Sunday, 4 October 2020

A severely depleted Oban Saints side missing a host of key players made the long trip to Dalziel Park Motherwell last Saturday to complete the D&K Lafferty sponsored side's 2019-20 Central Scottish Amateur Football League Division 1B fixtures.

With the league title already in the bag the only incentive for Manager Willie Gemmell's makeshift squad was to make it twelve wins out of twelve and end their debut Central Scottish Amateur Football League season with a 100% record.

Hosts Lesmahagow still harboured hopes of joining Saints in gaining promotion to the Premier Division but knew that only three wins from their three remaining fixtures would be good enough to achieve that goal.

Unfortunately for Saints there was to be no perfect end to the season with Lesmahagow putting in their best performance of the season to secure the points.

Saints lined up with Jamie Strachan in goal behind a back four of Ruaridh Horne, Steven MacLeod, Kerr Newbigging and Scott Maitland. Gavin Forgrieve partnered Scott Johnston in the holding midfield roles with David Beaton, Craig MacEwan and James Ford supporting central striker Cammy Hill. On an experienced bench were Donald Campbell, Sean Ford and Willie Gemmell.

Oban Saints starting lineup:-

Used Substitutes:-

Donald Campbell

Willie Gemmell

Unused Substitute:-

Sean Ford

Saints started brightly in the heavy rain which poured down relentlessly throughout the ninety minutes and carved out an excellent opportunity in just the third minute. Captain for the day Craig MacEwan and David Beaton linked up well on the right and fed the ball in to Cammy Hill on the edge of the Lesmahagow box. The tall striker turned away from his marker and fired off a shot but was denied by a fine save from Fraser Campbell. The big keeper, who had answered the club's late call to ease their goalkeeping crisis, was quickly back on his feet to complete an excellent double save when David Beaton latched onto the loose ball.

Pacy wide man Jordan McCrorie gave an early indication of the danger he would pose on the Gow right and only a well timed sliding interception from Scott Maitland halted a promising sixth minute attack from the hosts. From the resulting throw-in a deflected shot from Daryl Meikle forced the first corner kick of the afternoon. McCrorie's delivery from the right was met by Steven MacLeod however his header under pressure went back across the six yard box and was thumped into the net by the unmarked Meikle.

The hosts doubled their advantage five minutes later in very similar circumstances. After Ruaridh Horne had turned a Douglas Bell long throw behind for a corner kick on the left Saints this time left Robbie Kilpatrick unattended and the big central defender tucked a near post flick-on under Jamie Strachan from close range.

As Saints struggled to create any chances of note Cammy Hill was felled trying to force his way through a ruck of players on the edge of the Gow box. Craig MacEwan took responsibility for the fourteenth minute free-kick but, despite successfully lifting the ball over the five man wall, was unable to direct his effort on target.

Leading goal scorer MacEwan was off target again three minutes later heading a David Beaton right wing corner kick wide of the junction of post and crossbar.

Deputising for the unavailable Graham Douglas Saints goalkeeper Jamie Strachan had his name taken by Referee Gunning in the twenty second minute for an accidental handball outside his penalty area when trying to intercept another lightning quick break from Jordan McCrorie. After Douglas Bell had run over the ball the Saints wall obligingly jumped high enough for Darren Smith to drill a fierce low shot which zipped along the sodden 4G surface and into the bottom corner beyond Strachan's despairing right hand.

Strachan's struggles with the difficult conditions continued in the twenty eighth minute when, despite initially doing well to intercept Douglas Bell just inside his eighteen yard box, the big keeper allowed the greasy ball to squirm from his grasp which Bell was able to square to the unmarked Jordan McCrorie who tucked the ball into the unguarded net to put the hosts four goals ahead.

Glimpses of goal remained at a premium for Saints and another free-kick opportunity was spurned after Craig MacEwan had been fouled twenty eight yards from goal. Kerr Newbigging left his centre back berth to try his luck but was unable to beat the Gow wall which stood firm to deflect his low effort behind for a corner kick.

Newbigging and Jason McCrorie were involved in a spot of pushing and shoving just before the half-time whistle with McCrorie deemed by Mr Gunning to be the aggressor and picking up a caution for his troubles.

The second half was only seven minutes old when Newbigging's tightening hamstring forced him off with Willie Gemmell having to fill the void in the back four.

Gemmell had only been on the pitch for three minutes when his illegal attempt to halt Jordan Callan's run to meet a Jordan McCrorie free-kick saw Referee Gunning point to the penalty spot. Mr Gunning, who handled proceedings well throughout, added Gemmell to the list of miscreants in his notebook with no complaints from the Saints Gaffer. Darren Smith expertly dispatched the spot kick into the bottom corner sending Jamie Strachan in the opposite direction in the process.

Sadly lacking any creative midfield spark Saints introduced Donald Campbell at the expense of Cammy Hill with Craig MacEwan moving forward to take the young strikers place in attack.

Campbell's influence gave Saints a boost and brought them within inches of snatching a consolation goal. From a quickly taken Scott Maitland free-kick Campbell found Craig MacEwan in the box with his back to goal. MacEwan held the ball up well and laid off to Campbell who clattered Fraser Campbell's right hand upright with a fierce strike from twenty two yards.

The improved spell from Saints continued in the sixty seventh minute with a driving run on the left from Scott Maitland who picked out David Beaton's supporting run through the middle. Beaton's first touch was good setting him up for a low strike which Fraser Campbell, displaying agility belying his bulky stature, got down extremely well to his left to stop.

More good build-up play on the left involving Scott Maitland and Donald Campbell presented Craig MacEwan with a seventieth minute half chance which he hooked wide of target.

The brief Saints resurgence fizzled out and the home side comfortably saw out the closing minutes for a thoroughly deserved victory setting the stage for another vital home clash this coming Saturday against Cambusnethan Talbot.

Saints have no fixture this weekend and will use the free date to regroup for the massive challenge which awaits in the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division, arguably the top league in Scottish amateur football.