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.