Saturday 4th March 2023
Greater Glasgow Premier Amateur Football League
Division Three
Oban Saints GG 1 - 5 Duncanrig
Oban Community Sports Field 3G
Soroba Road
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4JB
Kick-off 3pm
Referee Mr Alex Craik
Oban Saints GG looked to build on their impressive 6 - 1 win away at North East Thistle in their last Greater Glasgow Premier Amateur Football League Division Three outing when high flying Duncanrig visited Oban High School on Saturday 4th March. Despite holding their own for the majority of the first half the Saints second string were completely undone by three goals in a four minute spell either side of the half time interval before the visitors added a fifth just after the hour mark to seal a comfortable victory.
Saints lined up with Murdo MacKenzie in goal behind a back four of Lewis Campbell, Paul Logan, Martin Bonar and Ryan Hill. Across the three man midfield were Kieran Hendry, Craig Livingstone and Keith Millar with Robert Johnstone, Ruairidh Buchanan and Oran Bryce up front. On the substitutes bench were Szymon Chmielecki, Adam Gilmour, Adam Macintyre and Ollie Sharp.
Duncanrig strikers Jack Belshaw and Scott Gillespie were making an early nuisance of themselves with Belshaw bringing Saints number one Murdo MacKenzie into th eaction with a good save in the seventh minute,
After a stoppage for treatment to a bloody nose for Craig Livingstone Saints were caught out at the back when Scott Gillespie forced his way into the box. Gillespie went down under a challenge from from Kieran Hendry with Referee Alex Craik, in his first match at this level, correctly pointing to the penalty spot.
Murdo MacKenzie won the personal battle with Jack Belshaw making a fine save low to his left to keep the scores level.
Parity however only lasted until the fifteenth minute when Saints failed to deal with a corner kick from the right after another MacKenzie save. The ball broke to Belshaw on corner of the eighteen yard box from where he rifled an unstoppable shot across MacKenzie and into the top corner.
Robert Johnstone won a twenty ninth minute corner kick for Saints on the right with Ruairidh Buchanan's delivery being headed out to the edge of the box from where Craig Livingstone returned it goalward drawing a good save from the Duncanrig keeper.
Kieran Hendry's thirty third minute driving run was brought to an end seven yards short of the eighteen yard line giving the Saints midfielder an opportunity with the dead ball which he despatched wide of the postage stamp corner.
The good spell from the home side continued with Robert Johnstone forcing his way into the Duncanrig box for a low shot which the keeper turned round his near post for a corner kick. Buchanan's delivery from the right was nodded out to the eighteen yard line where Craig Livinstone was waiting for another effort which couldn't find it's way through the wall of bodies in the box. The danger however wasn't over and Kieran Hendry picked out Keith Millar's back post run to beat the Duncanrig offside trap. Millar showed all of his experience to keep a cool head and roll the ball past the advancing keeper and into the bottom corner to level the scores.
Young fullback Lewis Campbell made an excellent forty third minute clearance to prevent Scott Gillespie from reaching a Jack Belshaw cutback from the right however the visitors were not to be denied for long. Saints immediately conceded possession just inside their own half and Belshaw drove forward to the right corner of the Saints box from where he found the bottom corner again.
Deep into first half stoppage time Saints were pulled apart at the back after again conceding possession cheaply in midfield. Kyle McCaskell this time produced the finish tapping in from close range after good approach play from Belshaw and Gillespie.
The Saints Management team of Donald Black and Robert Johnstone made a double substitution for the start of the second half replacing Paul Logan and Oran Bryce with Szymon Chmielecki and Ollie Sharp.
The changes however did nothing to improve Saints fortunes and visitors stretched their lead still further just two minutes after the restart when Scott Gillespie knocked home a Kyle McCaskell cross from the right.
A further change followed in the fifty fourth minute when Adam Macintyre replaced Ruairidh Buchanan up front.
Macintyre had only been on the field for sixty seconds when he held the ball up well and laid off to Ollie Sharp who raced into the box only to be denied by a good stop from the Duncanrig keeper low down at his near post.
Saints kept pressing for an unlikely lifeline but were caught on the counter-attack again in the sixty second minute. Scott Gillespie galloped away on the right and squared for Jack Belshaw to complete his hat-trick.
Saints made their final change with eighteen minutes remaining sending on Adam Gilmour to replace scorer of their only goal Keith Millar.
The fifth goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the home side who offered little in the closing stages and were indebted to goalkeeper Murdo MacKenzie for keeping the deficit at four. Two excellent saves in as many minutes saw the Saints number one push over a Scott Gillespie shot before throwing himself to his left to stop a thumping effort from Jack Belshaw.
The frame of the goal also played it's part in keeping the score down when Scott Gillespie hit the crossbar with a late effort before Mr Craik, who handled proceedings well, decided he had seen enough and blew for full-time.
Oban Saints GG had no fixture on Saturday 11th March but return to Greater Glasgow Premier Amateur Football League Division Three action this coming Saturday when they host Duntocher based Antonine.
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