Saturday 25th September 2021

Central Scottish Amateur Football League

Premier Division
Greenock High School Former Pupils 0 -3 Oban Saints
Battery Park
Eldon Street
Greenock
PA16 7QG
Kick off 1.00pm
Referee Mr Kevin O'Neil

Oban Saints bagged their first Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division points of the season last Saturday at Battery Park, Greenock home of old friends and rivals Greenock High School Former Pupils.

Goals from Cammy Hill, Craig MacEwan and James Ford earned the injury ravaged Saints the points and the bragging rights in the first league meeting of the former Scottish Amateur Football League rivals since the 2010 - 11 season.

Saints lined up with Jamie Strachan in goal behind a back four of Steven MacLeod, Dene Cassells, Alex Craik and Cammy Hill. Donald Campbell and Cammy Clark anchored the midfield with Ross Maitland, Gavin Forgrieve and Captain Craig MacEwan behind central striker Kyle Cooper.

The every deepening Saints injury crisis saw Gaffer Willie Gemmell joined on the substitutes bench by Preston Macintyre and Aidan MacDonald from Saints 2006's and the short of match fitness James Ford whose second half strike eventually rounded off a comfortable victory for the visitors.

Saints starting line-up:-

Used Substitutes:-

James Ford

Preston Macintyre

Aidan MacDonald

Unused substitutes:-

Willie Gemmell

Saints kicked off attacking the pavilion end and quickly established the upper hand in the key midfield battle where Donald Campbell once again excelled in his new deeper role.

Campbell's sixth minute ball up the right wing for Ross Maitland to run onto turned the home defence and Skipper Craig MacEwan will feel he should at least have hit the target with his shot on the half volley which flew high and wide from Maitland's well measured cross.

Sixty seconds later Greenock central defender Neil Rankin made an excellent sliding interception to prevent young Saints striker Kyle Cooper from getting on the end of a Cammy Hill cross from the left.

Cooper stretched the home defence again in the twelfth minute and skipped away from Chris MacAllister on the end of a Ross Maitland pass. Cooper resisted the temptation to go for goal himself and attempted to pick out Craig MacEwan but sent his cross too close to Greenock keeper Kyle Maclean. Unfortunately for the home side MacAllister's stretch to reach Cooper brought the Greenock veteran's afternoon to a premature end his place in central defence being taken by Robert O'Kane.

Steven MacLeod, one of just three survivors from Saints last visit to Battery Park in December 2017 to face Greenock in a Scottish Amateur Cup tie, joined the attack in the thirteenth minute for a dipping shot which was unfortunately closer to dipping in the Clyde rather than under the crossbar.

Despite Saints having the majority of the play it was the home side who came closest to opening the scoring after eighteen minutes. Craig Malloy pounced on a misplaced pass deep in the Saints half and fired in a fierce shot from twenty five yards which Jamie Strachan acrobatically pushed onto his crossbar before gathering safely at the second attempt.

Saints capitalised fully on Strachan's good work taking the lead just two minutes later. Cammy Hill combined with Craig MacEwan on the left before cutting inside to wrong foot Kyle Maclean and roll the ball into the bottom corner.

The "they shalt not pass" attitude which saw Saints keep the Harestanes attack safely at bay at Glencruitten seven days previously was in evidence again with, firstly, Alex Craik getting back with a covering challenge to take the ball off the toes of Kenny Munro before a sensational point blank block from Donald Campbell sent a Luke Mullin header spinning over the Saints crossbar.

The resulting corner kick was cleared with Alex Craik leading the counter-attack and releasing Craig MacEwan whose ball through the inside right channel for Kyle Cooper saw the young Saints front man hauled down by Cian McAuley earning the Greenock midfielder the first yellow card of the match.

Referee Kevin O'Neil evened up the card count in the thirty ninth minute harshly showing Cammy Clark the yellow card after what appeared to be little more than a coming together with Luke Mullin. The Saints defensive wall did it's job to block Mullin's free-kick however the ball broke kindly for Craig Molloy who tried again to beat Jamie Strachan with a dipping effort but found Strachan equal to the task with another excellent flying save.

Leading up to the half-time interval the hosts were enjoying their best spell of the match but Saints almost hit on the counter-attack in the fortieth minute when Cammy Clark shot into the side netting after linking well with Ross Maitland on the right.

Craig Molloy finally found a way past Jamie Strachan in the forty second minute and couldn't believe his luck when his crisply struck shot came back off the inside of Strachan's right hand post before being thumped to safety.

Saints doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time when Donald Campbell was tripped in the Greenock box and Captain Craig MacEwan dispatched the resulting penalty kick safely past Kyle Maclean.

Saints made a positive start to the second half with Gavin Forgrieve curling a forty eighth minute right foot shot wide of the postage stamp corner and Cammy Hill heading a Forgrieve corner kick over the Greenock crossbar ten minutes later before Saints Gaffer Willie Gemmell made his first change. Cammy Clark, who did well on his starting debut, was replaced by James Ford in a switch which saw Ross Maitland take up an unfamiliar central midfield role alongside Donald Campbell.

Ford's introduction proved to be decisive when he netted Saints third and final goal of the afternoon in the sixty eighth minute. Gavin Forgrieve and Craig MacEwan liked well on the Saints left with Forgrieve laying off to Ford who carried the ball along the eighteen yard before eventually finding the opening to slam the ball into the bottom corner beyond the despairing right hand of Kyle Maclean.

Saints three goal cushion gave Willie Gemmell the chance to blood Preston Macintyre and Aidan MacDonald with both fifteen year olds repaying the Gaffer's confidence with solid performances on their first appearances in such experienced company.

Particularly pleased to see Macintyre and MacDonald make their debuts was proud 2006's Gaffer Alex Craik who promises there are more of his young crop waiting to make the breakthrough to the first team.

The Saints back four of Steven MacLeod, Dene Cassells, Alex Craik and Cammy Hill coped comfortably with a late rally from the hosts before Kyle Maclean denied Saints a fourth goal saving a Ross Maitland effort with his feet.

Referee O'Neil flashed a yellow card in the direction of second half substitute Colin McEachnie for a late swipe at James Ford as the tricky Saints winger threatened to burst through on the right before bringing the generally good natured encounter to an end.

It's Tail O' The Bank opposition again for Saints this coming Saturday when they welcome Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division Port Glasgow Amateurs to Glencruitten in the Scottish Amateur Cup second round.