Five Star Jags Ease Past Saints GG

Wednesday 19th May 2021

Greater Glasgow Premier Amateur Football League

Spring Cup Section One

Oban Saints GG 3 - 5 South Lochaber Thistle

Oban Community Sports Field (3G)

Soroba Road

Oban

Argyll

PA34 4JB

Kick Off 7.00pm
Referee Mr Martin Rae

Oban Saints Greater Glasgow Premier Amateur Football League side launched their Spring Cup campaign with a 7pm kick off against Division One outfit South Lochaber Thistle at Oban High School last Wednesday evening.

In a high scoring encounter the young Saints acquitted themselves well in patches against their more experienced opponents however the top flight Lochaber side were ultimately comfortable and deserved winners.

Saints lined up in their new all red kit kindly sponsored by D&K Lafferty Contractors with Murdo MacKenzie in goal behind a back four of Craig Livingstone, Aiden Campbell, Alex Craik and Captain Kenneth Black. Cammy Clark and Louis MacFarlane anchored the midfield with the more advanced trio of Aaron McKay, Gavin Forgrieve and Robert Johnstone supporting central striker Cammy Hill. On the bench were Nathan Allan, Alan Buchanan, Fraser MacFarlane, Keir MacLean and Andrew Moore.

Before the action got underway Referee Martin Rae lead both sides in a silence of remembrance for the late Tam Maitland, father of Saints Scottish Amateur International Scott Maitland and a stalwart supporter of the Club.

After both goalkeepers had made good early saves midfielder David Forbes opened the scoring for the visitors in the twentieth minute with a cushioned volley into the top corner after Alex Craik had headed out a Martin Munro free-kick from the right.

The talismanic Munro was a constant threat and veteran Saints defender Alex Craik had to use all of his experience to marshal his defence through a difficult first half where the visitors held the upper hand for the most part. 

It wasn't however all one way traffic and rampaging runs on the right from Robbie Johnstone twice narrowly failed to find the feet of striker Cammy Hill with cutbacks from the bye-line.

When Johnstone eventually managed to pick out Hill in the thirty sixth minute after good work from Forgrieve and McKay the Thistle keeper denied the big Saints striker with a smart save low to his left.

Three goals in a devastating ten minute spell at the start of the second half effectively clinched the tie for the visitors with thirty five minutes still to play. 

Manager Donald Black made his first changes on the hour mark with Fraser MacFarlane and Keir MacLean replacing Cammy Clark and Cammy Hill.

Despite the four goal deficit the young Saints side refused to let their heads drop and found a way back into the game in the sixty fourth minute when Alex Craik climbed well at the back post to head a Gavin Forgrieve corner kick crashing into the top corner of the net.

Further personnel changes followed with Nathan Allan, Alan Buchanan and Andy Moore replacing Kenneth Black, Aaron McKay and Craig Livingstone respectively.

With just three minutes of the ninety remaining Saints were handed the opportunity to half the deficit when Fraser MacFarlane was tripped in the Thistle box. Never short of confidence the diminutive Saints striker grabbed the ball and placed his sweetly struck spot kick well out of reach of the Thistle keeper.

Regrettably for Saints the visitors, who had rarely been seen as an attacking threat since their blistering start to the second half, restored their three goal cushion just sixty seconds later cruelly punishing a mix-up in the Saints defence.

Keir Maclean immediately grabbed another goal back for Saints latching onto a Gavin Forgrieve through ball and lobbing the keeper from thirty yards to give Saints a glimmer of hope of snatching an unlikely draw.

Maclean and MacFarlane both had chances to add to their respective tallies in the four minutes of time added on by Referee Martin Rae but found the Thistle number one equal to the task ensuring victory for the South Lochaber men.  

#monthesaints