Saturday 28th August 2021

Lesmahagow 9 - 1 Oban Saints
Central Scottish Amateur Football League
Premier Division
Glebe Park
Abbeygreen
Lesmahagow
ML11 0EQ
Kick-off 2pm
Referee Mr. Douglas Gunning

Following three previous covid-19 related fixture cancellations Oban Saints finally made their Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division debut at a sun drenched Glebe Park, Lesmahagow last Saturday afternoon.

Despite missing a number of key players Saints made the 240 mile round trip with a squad capable of competing against fellow Premier Division new boys Lesmahagow. Unfortunately for Saints their lack of match sharpness and squad depth cost them dearly against a rampant Gow side which had already netted twenty five times in their opening four league and cup fixtures.

After matching their hosts well for thirty minutes Saints fell behind to a penalty kick successfully converted by Graham Gracie following a highly controversial award by Referee Dougie Gunning. Saints spurned the chance to equalise when Nathan Wharton saved Donald Campbell's spot kick before Alex Craik put past his own keeper to give the hosts a flattering two goal half time lead.

A succession of uncharacteristic second half errors from Saints were ruthlessly exploited by the free scoring hosts who were clinical in their finishing and relentless in their pursuit of goals to add to their already impressive tally finally running out 9 - 1 winners.

Saints lined up with Murdo MacKenzie in goal behind a back three of Steven MacLeod, Alex Craik and Dene Cassells. Across the midfield were David Beaton, Gavin Forgrieve, Lewis Cameron, Martin Bonar and Captain Craig MacEwan with young Kyle Cooper partnering Donald Campbell up front. On the substitutes bench were Cammy Clark, Rory Dowd and Willie Gemmell.

Oban Saints starting lineup:-

Used Substitutes:-

Rory Dowd

Cammy Clark

Unused Substitute:-

Willie Gemmell

Saints kicked off in bright sunshine attacking the car park end of the tight but excellently prepared Glebe Park and half chances for both sides came and went without either keeper being seriously tested in the opening exchanges.

Good defending from Gow Captain Darren Smith took the ball off the toes of Donald Campbell after Craig MacEwan had flicked on an eighth minute David Beaton throw-in from the right.

Making his competitive debut young Kyle Cooper linked well with strike partner Donald Campbell in the twelfth minute and sent over a cross from the right which Skipper Craig MacEwan couldn't direct on target at the back post.

Saints brought Gow keeper Nathan Wharton into the action sixty seconds later when Lewis Cameron sent David Beaton away on the right for a deep cross which Donald Campbell hooked on target but only into the midriff of Wharton.

Wharton made another comfortable save from a Lewis Cameron free-kick after Craig MacEwan had been felled twenty eight yards from goal with opposite number Murdo MacKenzie also getting a taste of the action safely holding a Scott Gray shot as Lesmahagow looked to hit on the counter attack.

Gray's long throw-in is a powerful weapon in the Gow arsenal and centre forward Graham Gracie won a header to help Gray's nineteenth minute throw onto Marc McGinty who shot just wide of Murdo MacKenzie's right hand post.

Dene Cassells did well to keep pace with Jordan McCrorie's twenty ninth minute run with the ball up the right touchline to the speedy winger another constant threat to the Saints back three. Cassells turned the ball out for another Scott Gray long throw which bounced around the Saints box before a coming together of bodies controversially resulted in a penalty kick being awarded to the home side. If anything Lewis Cameron looked to be victim rather than the perpetrator in the challenge however Referee Gunning saw it the other way. Graham Gracie found the bottom corner from the penalty spot sending Murdo MacKenzie the wrong way in the process.

An aggrieved Saints responded with a Martin Bonar shot wide of target after good work from Lewis Cameron and David Beaton before Mr Gunning levelled up the penalty count spotting a handball to stop a Craig MacEwan cross from the left.

Donald Campbell's spot kick was hit at a good height for Nathan Wharton who got across well to his right to make the save and preserve the home side's advantage.

The first half ended in disastrous fashion for Saints setting the tone for a calamitous second period. Lewis Cameron's dangerous free-kick to the Gow back post was well defended by Jack Turley whose clearing header found Scott Gray on the left. Gray's punt upfield for Graham Gracie to chase was watched by Alex Craik whose attempt to hook the ball back over his head came off his shin and looped over Murdo MacKenzie into the net.

The two goal half-time deficit was extremely harsh on Saints and no real indication of what was to follow in the second half. Straight from the re-start Scott Gray's diagonal ball picked out Jordan McCrorie's back post run and only an excellent save from Murdo MacKenzie denied the pacy winger.

Gray and McCrorie combined again in the fifty second minute with McCrorie nipping in at the near post to poke the ball past MacKenzie.

Ross Miller made way for Daryl Meikle in the Lesmahagow midfield and MacKenzie made another good stop to prevent Meikle from making an instant impact when sent through by Marc McGinty.

Gow Skipper Darren Smith's sixtieth minute block stopped a net bound Lewis Cameron effort before another long ball caught out the Saints rear guard. Alex Craik's indecision in dealing with the danger was exploited by Graham Gracie who pounced to steer the ball away from MacKenzie and into the net.

A groin strain ended Kyle Cooper's involvement in proceedings after sixty four minutes with his place being taken by Rory Dowd who was also making his competitive debut.

The hosts made a triple substitution withdrawing Darren Smith, Marc McGinty and Scott Gray and sending on replacements Johnny Logan, Robbie Kilpatrick and Nathan McConnell.

Logan's impact was almost instant and his sixty ninth minute run on the left beat Steven MacLeod with Murdo MacKenzie making another stop at his near post to deny the substitute. MacKenzie however was unable to hold Logan's shot with Graham Gracie on hand to lift the ball over Dene Cassells on the goal line to complete his hat-trick.

Saints gave another youngster a debut rewarding Cammy Clark for his recent solid second team performances with an appearance for the closing twenty minutes at the expense of Martin Bonar.

Clark was heavily involved in Saints consolation goal providing the cross from the right wing which Lewis Cameron poked home from close range.

The Saints toe hold in the match lasted barley sixty seconds when goal machine Gracie curled a free-kick left footed from the corner of the box around the four man Saints wall and over the head of Murdo MacKenzie.

When you are down fortune seldom favours you and Saints found this to be true when Jordan McCrorie's off target seventy ninth minute free-kick took a massive deflection sending it past the wrong footed Murdo MacKenzie for goal number seven.

Substitutes Johnny Logan and Daryl Meikle combined to rub more salt into the wounds of the punch drunk Saints when MacKenzie let another Logan shot squirm away from him and into the path of Daryl Meikle for a tap-in.

Derrin Mackenzie's untracked run from midfield to reach Johnny Logan's pass saw the substitute round MacKenzie before rolling the ball into the empty net for the host's ninth and final goal of the afternoon.

Referee Gunning, who this season is donating half of his fee for every match to The Beatson Cancer Charity, thankfully brought proceedings to a close before the Gow could hit double figures leaving Saints Gaffer Willie Gemmell with much to ponder ahead of this coming Saturday's encounter with 2015 Premier Division Champions Harestanes.

Any doubts harboured about the size of the challenge facing Saints in their debut Premier Division season will have been dispelled by this humbling at the hand's of the league's early pace setters and the Gaffer and his charges must re-group quickly. Top of the Manager's agenda will be getting a full strength team on the park coupled with a swift return to the commitment levels which won Saints promotion to the Premier Division in the first place.

If you want to support Dougie Gunning in his #CharityReffing you can do so on his Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dougiecharityref