Saturday 19th March 2022

Central Scottish Amateur Football League

Premier Division

Oban Saints 0 - 4 Lesmahagow

Glencruitten 2

Mossfield Avenue

Oban

Argyll

PA34 4EH

Kick Off 2.00pm
Referee Mr Douglas Gunning

Last Saturday Oban Saints welcomed high flying Lesmahagow to Glencruitten in the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division where four unanswered goals from the visitors kept the South Lanarkshire men's title charge well on track.

A wonder strike from Gow striker Graham Gracie was all that could separate the two sides after an evenly contested first forty five minutes however the visitors kicked on in the second half for a deserved victory which leaves Saints still struggling at the wrong end of the league table.

Manager Willie Gemmell had Steven MacLeod, Scott Maitland, Thomas McCrindle, David Beaton and Ross Maitland all unavailable so once again called on the experience of Alex Craik and the youthful promise of Preston Macintyre to bolster the match day squad.

Saints lined up with Graham Douglas in goal behind a back four of Jack Wright, Dene Cassells, Alex Craik and James Connington. Across the five man midfield were Matty Kelly, Daniel MacCuish, Myles McAuley, Gavin Forgrieve and Captain Craig MacEwan with Kyle Cooper up front. On the bench were James Ford, Willie Gemmell, Fraser MacFarlane and Preston Macintyre.

Oban Saints starting line-up:-

Used substitutes:-

James Ford

Fraser MacFarlane

Preston Macintyre

Unused substitute:-

Willie Gemmell

Attacking the railway line end in the first half Saints made a good start with Jack Wright's adventure on the right forcing the first corner kick of the match in the fourth minute. Gavin Forgrieve's delivery was knocked out to Wright on the edge of the box who picked out Daniel MacCuish for a left foot shot which Nathan Wharton got down well to his left to push behind for another corner kick. Dene Cassells connected well with Gavin Forgrieve's corner kick but sent his downward header bouncing narrowly wide of Wharton's left hand upright.

Scott Gray was already making a nuisance of himself on the Gow left and sent over a dangerous looking cross in the seventh minute which Alex Craik did well to head behind at the front post ahead of the waiting Jordan McCrorie. Central defender Darren Smith got his head on the corner kick from the Gow right which Graham Douglas clawed off his goal line before Ryan Innes headed to loose ball wide.

Gavin Forgrieve saw a fifteenth minute shot from twenty two yards deflected behind for a corner kick before at the other end a hooked Graham Gracie effort from the corner of the Saints box looped harmlessly into the arms of Graham Douglas.

Gracie's rich vein of form has earned him a call-up to the Scottish Amateur International Squad and he gave the Glencruitten faithful a glimpse of his striking prowess with a pin-point lob from near the left touchline which sailed over Graham Douglas and into the postage stamp corner to give the visitors the lead. The twenty fourth minute strike from Gracie was no fluke as he had already left his own goalkeeper similarly stranded from a similar position during the warm-up.

Gavin Forgrieve put another good delivery from the corner flag into the Gow six yard box in the twenty seventh minute however Kyle Cooper's glancing header was blocked by the combined efforts of Nathan Wharton and Robbie Kilpatrick.

On the half hour mark Kilpatrick beat Dene Cassells in the air to head a Gavin Forgrieve free-kick behind for a corner kick on the Saints right. Cassells made a good near post run and was inches away from connecting with Forgrieve's delivery but it was Kilpatrick again who made the clearing header.

With ten first half minutes remaining Kilpatrick chopped down James Connington twenty five yards from goal. Craig MacEwan's free-kick beat the Gow wall but not Nathan Wharton who made a smart save low to his left sending his side into the interval one goal to the good.

Very much still in the game Saints kicked off the second half knowing that the all important second goal would have a massive influence on the eventual outcome of the match. Unfortunately the all too familiar slow second half start haunted Saints again and the visitors doubled their advantage just nine minutes after the restart. Having survived a previous scare when Jordan McCrorie struck the base of Graham Douglas' left hand post Saints had their pockets picked playing out from the back. Dropping deep to receive the ball Craig MacEwan was robbed by Lewis Meikle who sent Ross Miller through the inside right channel. Miller raced into the box and slotted the ball low past Graham Douglas to give Saints a mountain to climb.

Saints Gaffer Willie Gemmell made his first change after fifty nine minutes replacing Jack Wright with James Ford. The tricky winger registered Saints first effort on target of the second half cutting in from the right for a tame effort which bounced into the arms of Nathan Wharton. The Gow goalkeeper launched a counter-attack which saw Graham Douglas parry a Scott Gray effort from the left at his near post with Dene Cassells knocking the ball out for a throw-in.

Gow Skipper Johnny Logan launched another of his long throws for which Darren Smith made an untracked near post run to glance a looping header into the postage stamp corner.

Saints kept probing for a breakthrough but received little encouragement from the visiting defence with Robbie Kilpatrick producing a man of the match performance at it's heart.

A Scott Gray foul on James Ford gave Gavin Forgrieve a sixty seventh minute dead-ball opportunity which Craig MacEwan headed wide at the back post.

Cameron Ballantyne replaced Darren Smith in the centre of the Gow defence for the closing twenty minutes in the first of visitor's personnel changes.

James Connington and Craig MacEwan linked up well on the Saints left to force a seventy fourth minute corner kick which Nathan Wharton did well to push away under pressure from Daniel MacCuish and Dene Cassells.

The visitors withdrew another of their goal scorers with fifteen minutes remaining replacing Ross Miller with Daly McSorley.

The fourth and final goal for Lesmahagow came in the seventy sixth minute at a high cost for Graham Douglas who was forced to leave the field for a hospital visit to stitch a cut above his eye following a collision with Dene Cassells. A ball over the top saw Graham Gracie nick the ball away Dene Cassells leaving Cassells and Douglas to run into one another before rolling the ball into the unguarded net.

Alex Craik took the gloves and the number one jersey with Fraser MacFarlane coming on as a replacement for Douglas. The visitors also made a change sending on Blair Weir for Ryan Innes.

The reshuffled Saints back line of Dene Cassells, Myles McAuley and James Connington did a good job of protecting stand-in keeper Craik and successfully saw out the closing stages without conceding further.

Youngster Preston Macintyre was given another taste of first team action as a replacement for Kyle Cooper who had run himself to a standstill.

Daniel MacCuish looked to have finally beaten Nathan Wharton in the Lesmahagow goal in the eighty eighth minute but saw his left foot shot from twenty yards slip inches wide of Wharton's right hand post.

Saints survived an injury time goalmouth scramble before Referee Dougie Gunning, who handled a keenly but fairly contested encounter well, brought proceedings to a close.

In a magnificent fundraising effort for a very worthy cause Mr Gunning has donated half of his fee from thirty five matches so far this season to the Beatson Cancer Charity. You can support Dougie in his efforts on his JustGiving page 'Dougie's Charity Refereeing'.

This coming Saturday Saints host Fallin in the first round of the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Cinema Cup.