Saturday 12th December 2020

Friendly

Rothesay Brandane 5 - 4 Oban Saints

Rothesay Joint Campus

Townhead

Rothesay

Isle of Bute

PA20 9JH

Kick Off 1.30pm
Referee Mr James Crichton

A Jekyll and Hyde performance from number one Graham Douglas played a pivotal role in the final outcome of Oban Saints friendly encounter with Rothesay Brandane at Rothesay Joint Campus last Saturday afternoon. After keeping his strangely out of sorts team mates in the match with a string of fine first half saves, two uncharacteristic lapses in concentration from the Saints keeper ultimately helped the home side come out on top in a nine goal thriller.

Local Referee James Crichton ensured the current match day protocols, including no spectators inside the perimeter fencing, were strictly enforced for the 1.30pm kick-off played in pleasant winter sunshine.

Saints Manager Willie Gemmell's ongoing selection headaches intensified with Kerr Newbigging the latest to join the lengthy list of injury victims. Coach Jamie Graham was therefore pressed into a starting role and Fraser MacFarlane was called up from Oban Saints GG to make up a thirteen man squad.

Saints lined up with Graham Douglas in goal behind a back four of Aaron McKay, Steven MacLeod, Jamie Graham and Captain Scott Maitland. Scott Johnston anchored the midfield behing Matty Kelly and Gavin Forgrieve. Up front were David Beaton, Cammy Hill and James Ford. Joining Gaffer Willie Gemmell on a sparsely populated bench was Fraser MacFarlane.

Oban Saints starting lineup:-

Used substitutes:-

Fraser MacFarlane

Unused substitute:-

Willie Gemmell

The home side kicked off playing into the low sun and the first half's main protagonists, Graham Douglas and Sean Lawrence commenced their own personal battle in the tenth minute when the Saints keeper spread himself well to prevent a Lawrence cutback from the right finding it's way to the waiting Robert Fisher.

Prior to that Cammy Hill smashed a shot into the side netting after timing his run onto a Matty Kelly pass well enough to leave the home defence appealing in vain for an offside decision.

Skipper for the day, Scott Maitland, was pushing his side forward on the left and combined well with James Ford in the twenty second minute only for Ford to send his cross looking for the head of Cammy Hill into the grateful arms of Brandane goalkeeper William Lawrence.

Danes central defender Kalum Ledicott sent Sean Lawrence racing through the inside right channel in the twenty fifth minute where the Rothesay dangerman found Graham Douglas equal to the task getting down well to his right to gather safely. Douglas released the ball quickly to Steven MacLeod who launched a counter attack which saw Referee Crichton ignore Saints appeals for a free-kick when Matty Kelly was sent crashing on the edge of the Rothesay penalty area.

Sean Lawrence left Graham Douglas firmly rooted to the spot with a twenty sixth minute thirty yard screamer which came crashing back off right hand upright.

Far too many Saints passes were going astray and when Steven MacLeod joined the guilty list it was Douglas to the rescue again getting down well to his left to push another Sean Lawrence effort behind for a corner kick.

Lawrence looked suspiciously offside when found wide on the left by a Joe Livingstone ball over the top. Referee Chrichton however allowed play to continue with Lawrence sending a cross to the back post which Calum Robertson headed back across the face of goal for a spectacular overhead kick from Robert Fisher which looped high over the crossbar.

Mr Chrichton ruled in Lawrence's favour again in the thirty eighth minute ignoring Saints appeals for offside and allowing Lawrence to continue his personal duel with Graham Douglas with the Saints keeper once again coming out on top.

David Beaton's driving run on the right in the fortieth minute was unceremoniously halted on the edge of the Rothesay box by Ryan Craig. Saints however failed to exploit the free-kick opportunity and the home side countered quickly finding Sean Lawrence whose swerving thirty yard effort was watched carefully by Graham Douglas who took no chances in pushing the ball behind for a corner kick.

The strangely disjointed Saints finally found some fluidity and took an undeserved lead on the stroke of half time. Gavin Forgrieve found James Ford on the left where his quick feet took him away from Matthew Leitch and into the box before slotting a low finish across William Lawrence and into the bottom corner.

The second half was just five minutes old when Graham Douglas managed to undo all of his good first half work by mis-controlling a David Beaton pass back into his own goal.

Calamitous defending from Saints saw Steven MacLeod concede a fifty ninth minute penalty kick giving Sean Lawrence the opportunity to finally get the better of Graham Douglas which he did with ease beating the Saints number one emphatically from twelve yards.

Steven MacLeod departed shortly thereafter to be replaced by Fraser MacFarlane prompting a reshuffle which left Saints with an entirely unfamiliar back four of David Beaton, Scott Johnston, Jamie Graham and Scott Maitland.

Saints were offering more of an attacking threat in the second half pushing fullbacks David Beaton and Scott Maitland forward at every opportunity. Maitland combined well with James Ford on the left in the sixty second minute only for Kalum Ledicott to get a toe to Ford's low cutback looking for Cammy Hill.

Sixty seconds later Ryan Craig got a vital touch to divert a Cammy Hill header from a Gavin Forgrieve freekick behind for a corner kick.

The home side counter attacked to devastating effect in the sixty sixth minute when Calum Robertson raced away on the right wing and picked out Sean Lawrence in the middle who steered an excellent finish across Graham Douglas and into the net.

The Saints defence was all at sea once again two minutes later requiring Graham Douglas to make another excellent save to deny Sean Lawrence his hat-trick.

Rothesay central defender Ryan Craig upended Cammy Hill on the corner of the eighteen yard box in the seventieth minute. The big Saints striker climbed high above the home defence to meet Gavin Forgrieve's freekick but failed to generate sufficient power in his downward header which bounced through into the grateful arms of William Lawrence.

Scott Maitland, Aaron McKay and James Ford linked well on the left in the seventy second minute with the Saints Skipper wriggling through to slot the ball past Lawrence and cut the arrears to one.

Lawrence made an excellent save at his near post sixty seconds later to deny James Ford an equaliser. From the resulting corner kick on the Saints left Jamie Graham climbed highest to meet Gavin Forgrieve's delivery but couldn't direct his header on target.

Referee Crichton ignored loud Saints appeals for a penalty kick in the seventy fifth minute instead awarding a freekick just outside of the eighteen yard box after James Ford had been sent crashing to the artificial turf. The Rothesay wall did it's job to block Gavin Forgrieve's freekick before Aaron McKay sent the rebound wide of William Lawrence's right hand post.

After an improved spell Saints shot themselves in the foot once again when Graham Douglas sent a seventy seventh minute goal kick straight to the feet of Ryan Driver who gleefully accepted the invitation to restore the home side's two goal advantage.

James Ford set up an anxious final five minutes for the home side when he grabbed his second goal of the afternoon with a thumping right foot effort from twenty five yards which slammed into the roof of the net.

The thrills and spills kept coming and after William Lawrence had saved an eighty eighth minute Fraser MacFarlane effort the home side once again hit Saints on the counter attack. Aiden MacGregor sent an inch perfect pass into the stride of Ryan Driver on the right who raced into the Saints box and shot low across Graham Douglas into the bottom corner for his second goal of the afternoon.

Remarkably, despite such a below par performance, Saints were able to half the deficit for a third time and, after Gavin Forgrieve and David Beaton had both sent efforts over the crossbar, Rothesay central defender Ryan Craig stooped to divert a ninetieth minute Fraser MacFarlane right wing cross beyond his own goalkeeper.

There was insufficient time left on Referee Chrichton's watch for Saints to grab what would have been an ill deserved draw and after the final whistle Saints Manager Willie Gemmell left his charges in no doubt that he expects a marked improvement when training resumes after the Christmas and New Year break.