Saturday 28th January 2023
Central Scottish Amateur Football League
Cinema Cup
First Round
Oban Saints 2 - 1 Campsie Minerva
Oban Community Sports Field 3G
Soroba Road
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4JB
Kick-off 1.00pm
Referee Mr Pat O'Donnell
Oban Saints escaped the ignominy of three cup exits in successive weeks with a narrow Central Scottish Amateur Football League Cinema Cup first round victory over Campsie Minerva at Oban High School last Saturday.
Scottish and West of Scotland Cup defeats had left Saints cup hopes firmly focused on the Central Scottish Amateur Football League's premier cup competition and the D&K Lafferty Contractors and MKM Building Supplies sponsored side had to endure a serious ankle injury to Kyle Cooper and a red card for his replacement Cammy Hill before finally prevailing in a closely contested encounter.
Goals early in each half from David Beaton and Lewis Cameron ultimately proved to be enough to edge Saints past their Championship opponents despite an eighteenth minute equaliser from Jonathan Howat for the Lennoxton men.
Saints Manager Ross Maitland returned after missing the previous week's encounter with Shortlees as did players Graham Douglas, Lewis Cameron, James Ford, Fraser MacFarlane and Ryan Barclay. Injury victims Shaun Lockhart and Connor Moore missed out along with the unavailable Cammy Clark. Hot on the heels of the departure of Matty Kelly and Daniel MacCuish the Saints first team squad was further depleted by the return to his home on Malta of utility player Andrew Malia.
Saints lined up with Graham Douglas in goal behind a back four of Ruaridh Horne, Myles McAuley, Ben Forbes and Captain Scott Maitland. Gavin Forgrieve and Ross Campbell occupied the holding midfield roles with Rory Dowd tucked in behind a front three of David Beaton, Kyle Cooper and Lewis Cameron. On the substitutes bench were Ryan Barclay, James Conington, James Ford, Cammy Hill, Fraser MacFarlane and veteran goalkeeper David Dunlop.
The faithful home support had yet to see a Saints goal in 2023 but they didn't have too much longer to wait as Saints hit the front in the fourth minute. Kyle Cooper's powerful shot from a Lewis Cameron lay off brought a flying save from Scottish amateur international goalkeeper David Tait at the expense of a corner kick. Lewis Cameron's delivery from the left was met at the front post by Kyle Cooper who knocked the ball into the ground sending it bouncing awkwardly inside the six yard box. David Beaton's reactions were sharpest with an Olivier Giroud style scorpion kick looping the ball into the net past defender Anthony Donachie on the goal line.
The visitor's set-piece threat was evident when Ciaran Hogg ghosted in unchallenged at the back post to turn a ninth minute Connor Hogg free-kick from the right into the side netting.
David Beaton showed more speed of thought with a quickly taken fifteenth minute free-kick after Ross Campbell had been fouled inside the centre circle. Beaton sent Kyle Cooper racing through on the right with the speedy youngster's low shot taking a deflection off fullback Fraser Binnie for a corner kick on the Saints left. Beaton was lurking on the edge of the box and met Campsie Skipper Ross Brash's near post clearing header with a volley which flew agonisingly wide of the postage stamp corner.
Saints were dealt an injury blow when Kyle Cooper went down in agony after a coming together with Anthony Donachie on the left touchline. Physio David Dunlop quickly indicated there was no way Cooper could continue and Cammy Hill was summoned from the bench.
The visitors levelled when Saints failed to deal with an eighteenth minute corner kick from the left. Campsie changed the angle when the ball was played to the corner of the eighteen yard box but Saints still looked favourites to clear the deep cross. Jonathan Howat however stopped to ball from leaving the danger area and lifted it left footed high past Graham Douglas and into the net.
Substitute Cammy Hill combined with David Beaton to get in behind the Campsie defence in the twenty first minute. Patrick Griffin did well to halt Beaton's run on the right but could only find Rory Dowd with his attempted clearance which Dowd sent fizzing first time past David Tait's left hand post.
Anthony Donachie picked up the first caution of the match when he upended David Beaton twenty yards from goal after another driving run from the Saints wide man. Lewis Cameron tried to get the better of his former Scottish Amateur international colleague David Tait with the free-kick which the big keeper anticipated well to push behind for a corner kick.
At the other end Graham Douglas showed safe hands to claim a free-kick from the Campsie left in the thirty fourth minute but he was left hopelessly exposed two minutes later by a misplaced Lewis Cameron back pass which David Dodds lifted onto the roof of the net much to Saints relief.
Rory Dowd was again narrowly off target after a good turn and shot from the edge of the Campsie box before another let-off for Saints just before the interval when David Dodds turned a Connor Hogg corner kick from the right over the crossbar at the back post.
Saints kicked off the second half attacking the school end and a flying start saw Ben Forbes pick out Lewis Cameron on the left from where his cutback was helped on by David Beaton to Cammy Hill who shot narrowly wide of David Tait's right hand post.
Delightful footwork from Charles O'Donnell in the forty eighth minute opened up the Saints defence who were indebted to Graham Douglas for a fingertip save low to his left to deny O'Donnell a stunning individual goal.
Saints regained the lead in the fifty third minute from a Gavin Forgrieve free-kick just inside the Campsie half on the Saints right. Cammy Hill headed Forgrieve's delivery back across goal giving Anthony Donachie a difficult ball to deal with running back towards his own goal. As Donachie attempted to usher the ball behind the outside of Lewis Cameron's outstretched right boot wrong footed David Tait and sent the ball spinning wickedly over the keeper's head and into the net.
Saints Manager Ross Maitland looked to his bench two minutes before the hour mark sending on Ross Barclay and James Ford to replace Ben Forbes and Ross Campbell.
Sixty seconds later the home side were still adjusting to the personnel changes when the Saints defence was slow to react to a ball up the left for fullback Fraser Binnie who found David Dodds in the box for a hook shot which Graham Douglas held well.
Ross Barclay found his way into Referee O'Donnell's note book for a late challenge on Jonathan Howat ten yards inside the Saints half before Myles McAuley rolled back the years with a driving run out from the back. McAuley carried the ball deep into the Campsie half before finding James Ford who cut in from the left for a low shot which deflected wide of target.
Cammy Hill's failure to retreat the required distance at a seventy first minute Campsie free-kick on the halfway line earned the big striker a cheap yellow card which would ultimately cost him dearly.
Two minutes later David Beaton latched on to the loose ball when Steven McGregor robbed Cammy Hill on the edge of the centre circle in the Campsie half. Beaton's run took him all the way to the edge of the Campsie box where Patrick Griffin and Ross Brash's combined efforts to stop him continued into the box before finally sending Beaton to the deck. Mr O'Donnell however ruled there was no infringement inside the penalty area and awarded a free-kick a matter of inches short of the eighteen yard line. Saints failed to take advantage of the consolation prize which Lewis Cameron sent crashing into the Campsie defensive wall.
Disappointingly for Saints Cameron repeated the trick shortly afterwards failing to beat the Campsie wall from thirty yards.
James Ford's eightieth minute jinking run into the Campsie penalty area was snuffed out on the corner of the six yard box at the expense of a corner kick on the left. Lewis Cameron's deep delivery was chased all the way to the opposite corner flag by Steven McGregor and Cammy Hill. McGregor was the clear favourite and had successfully made his clearance when Hill recklessly clattered into him leaving Mr O'Donnell no option but to end Hill's involvement in proceedings with a second yellow card.
Saints Gaffer Ross Maitland made his final changes for the closing stages replacing Ruaridh Horne and David Beaton with Fraser MacFarlane and James Conington. To the relief of the home support the ten men saw out the final minutes fairly comfortably with the visitors unable to take any advantage from their numerical superiority.
This coming Saturday Saints are at home again when they welcome Drumchapel Amateurs in the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division.
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