Disappointing End To 2024
- Winning In The Rain
- Dec 15, 2024
- 5 min read
Saturday 14th December 2024
Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association
Premiership
Oban Saints 1 - 3 AFC Chryston
Glencruitten 2
Mossfield Avenue
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4EH
Kick-off 1.35pm
Referee Mr John McNab
Oban Saints brought the curtain down on 2024 in disappointing style with a 3 - 1 defeat to AFC Chryston at Glencruitten last Saturday afternoon. The the D&K Lafferty Contractors and MKM Oban Building Supplies sponsored home side went into their final Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership match of the year in good spirits having secured progress to the fourth round of the West of Scotland Amateur Cup and defeated old rivals Kings Park Rangers in their last two outings.
However, in a depressingly familiar story, a cheaply conceded sixth minute opener left Saints chasing the game against a very well organised Chryston side who remained firmly in control throughout. Saints second-half efforts to get back on terms saw them picked-off twice more in clinical counter-attacks with only an Aaron McKay consolation goal for the loyal home support to cheer.
Equally disappointing is the continuing problem with dog excrement on the Glencruitten pitch. The majority of dog owners who exercise their pets at Glencruitten are responsible and clean up any mess however the minority who do not are creating a health hazard for the players using the pitch, many of whom are youth teams. Oban Saints will therefore be lobbying Argyll and Bute Council for increased measures to counter this sickening problem.
Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back four of Craig Livingstone, Aidan Jackson, Ruaridh Horne and Drew Murray. Captain Scott Maitland joined Matty Pollock and Louie MacFarlane in midfield while, up front, David Beaton led the line flanked by Keiron Moore and Rhys Millar. On the substitutes bench were Ben Forbes, James Ford, Fraser MacFarlane and Aaron McKay.
Drew Murray was making his final appearance for Saints before leaving the town to take up a new job and made an early contribution picking out David Beaton with a cross from the left. Beaton's second minute shot on the spin was deflected narrowly wide of target with Scott Maitland's corner-kick from the right being easily dealt with by the Chryston defence.
Murray was involved again after six minutes this time conceding a free-kick midway inside the Saints half on the Chryston right. Ronan McLaughlin's delivery into the box looked to be a routine catch for Craig Maitland however the slippery conditions conspired against the Saints keeper and the ball squirmed from his grasp giving Stewart Maxwell a simple task to poke the ball over the line from point-blank range.
Matty Pollock played in David Beaton from the restart but a good save from Chryston keeper Aedan Houston prevented an immediate Saints equaliser.
Chances for both sides remained at a premium after that until, in the twenty-third minute, Drew Murray narrowly failed to pick out David Beaton in the Chryston box after linking well on the left with Skipper Scott Maitland who was a stand-out for Saints in an unfamiliar midfield role.
At the other end Aidan Jackson did well to concede a corner-kick against the ever-threatening Chryston left fullback Jason Stevenson. Skipper Ronan McLaughlin's delivery from the left found the head of Kenneth McLeod at the front post but the woodwork came to Saint's rescue when the big central defenders' header came back off the crossbar via a deflection.
With little being created from open play set-pieces remained the most likely source of further scoring and free-kicks were exchanged either side of the half-hour mark. For the visitors Ronan McLaughlin steered a low twenty-two yard effort inches wide of Craig Maitland's right-hand upright before, from a similar distance, David Beaton curled his attempt around the Chryston wall but straight into the midriff of Aedan Houston.
In between the free-kicks Saints tried to exploit Aidan Jackson's long throw-in but found Chryston keeper Houston equal to the task showing safe hands to hold under pressure from Louie MacFarlane.
Brendan Johnson came forward from central defence to send a long range shot over Craig Maitland's cross bar before making a telling interception in his own eighteen-yard box heading away a David Beaton cross intended for Scott Maitland.
On the stroke of half-time Drew Murray marked his final Saints performance with his traditional yellow card with Craig Maitland managing to push away the resulting free-kick from Stewart Maxwell.
There was an unwelcome symmetry to the start of the second with the visitors repeating their first-half feat of scoring after six minutes. Leo Simpson's deep cross from the right was met at the back post by Jason Stevenson who outjumped Keiron Lopez to send a header looping over Craig Maitland and into the far bottom corner of the net.
In an attempt to freshen things up Saints' Manager Ross Maitland made a triple change sending on James Ford, Fraser MacFarlane and Aaron McKay to replace Keiron Lopez, Rhys Millar and Matty Pollock respectively.
Although deployed in a midfield role, Scott Maitland's defensive instinct kicked in for a fifty-seventh minute foot race with Stewart Maxwell which Maitland won by the slenderest of margins to take the ball off Maxwell's toe just inside the Saints' eighteen-yard box.
Recent signing Louie MacFarlane, who had put in another good shift in the middle of the park, made way in the sixty-ninth minute for the returning Ben Forbes who slotted in at the back alongside Craig Livingstone, Aidan Jackson and Drew Murray with Ruaridh Horne moving forward to join Scott Maitland and Aaron McKay in midfield.
McKay's introduction gave Saints a little more bite and his determination on the right brought Saints' first real effort of the second half in the seventieth minute. McKay beat Jason Stevenson and fired a low cutback which David Beaton met first time to divert the ball inches wide of Aedan Houston's left-hand post with keeper rooted to the spot.
Still desperately looking for the goal which would bring them back into the game Saints left themselves short at the back committing numbers forward for a Ben Forbes free-kick from just inside the Saints' half. The delivery from Forbes was easily intercepted with Ronan McLaughlin immediately launching a counter-attack on the Chryston right which culminated with Leo Simpson's diagonal ball being tucked away with glee by second-half substitute Andrew Beveridge.
Aedan Houston made a brave save at the feet of Ruaridh Horne after Fraser MacFarlane had lifted a partially cleared David Beaton corner-kick back into the danger area.
MacFarlane was involved again in the eighty-first minute finding Aaron McKay from the Saints' left with McKay's dipping shot from twenty-eight yards bouncing over the despairing dive of Aedan Houston to give Saints a glimmer of hope going into the closing stages.
Saints' hopes however were fading as quickly as the mid-winter daylight and a hooked Aaron McKay effort which Aedan Houston saved comfortably was all they could muster before Referee John McNab, who had a good game, brought proceedings to a close after four added minutes.
Saints now enter the festive shutdown and will resume their Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership campaign on Saturday 11th January.
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