Pupils learn their lesson to win Argyll derby match
Campbeltown Pupils 1 Lochgilphead Red Star 0 SAFL Premier Division One
Campbeltown Pupils made it three league wins in a row last Saturday with a hardfought win over Argyll rivals Lochgilphead Red Star.
A 200-strong crowd, encouraged by a calm, crisp autumn day, watched the Kintyre Park side leave it late to overcome their stubborn visitors by a single goal.
Beyond the derby hype, the first half proved a nonevent, the spongy grass pitch helping only to produce cagey play from both sides.
Red Star’s midfield linchpin Aaron Moore was the first to have an effort on goal, seeing his early free kick tipped round the post by Pupils keeper Alasdair Ferguson, the latter enjoying another fine display.
Some tidy work in the box on the half-hour mark saw Pupils left-winger Gregor McFadyen release attacking midfielder Donald McCallum, but the Pupils number 10 directed his effort over the bar with his left foot from 15 yards out.
Lone striker Scott Souden also had a good chance for the Pupils but could only guide his cushioned effort over the bar.
There was a moment of worry for the Pupils later in the first half, too, when a Red Star cross from the visitors’ right flank was seemingly destined to loop over Ferguson into the Pupils’ net, but floated just wide, and ran out for a goal kick.
Red Star staged a Centenary Cup coup on their last visit to the Wee Toon, in August, overturning a 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 win back to Mid Argyll. This time, a defensively disciplined performance by the Pupils’ back four of Stuart Crossan, Ross Souden, Lee Allen and Keith Mitchell kept the Red Star attackers at bay for long spells, keeping the game poised at 0-0 going into the second half.
Just after the hour, the McFadyen-sponsored Pupils shuffled the pack in search of a winner, John McCallum replacing Gregor McFadyen and playing as lone striker in the Pupils’ usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with Scott Souden shifting to left midfield, while young Calum McKillop entered the fray at right midfield to replace the hard-working Ryan Gilchrist, the latter playing well outside his usual central midfield role.
These fresh legs would prove important for the home side to break down the determined Red Star back-line, and on 75 minutes, the Pupils’ own red terror, ex-Arbroath man Donald McCallum, provided the match-winning strike for the home side.
Picking up possession 30 yards out, McKillop took control before playing a delicate slide-rule pass to John McCallum, whose low firsttime pass across the box with his right foot found his brother Donald, who despatched a low shot that proved too fast for the Red Star keeper’s outstretched legs.
And while the Featherssponsored Pupils were worthy of their goal, leading 1-0 is a precarious advantage at any level of football, and the hosts were almost made to pay when Red Star’s ex-Dumbarton trainee Coll MacCallum met a header perfectly from a corner, but he directed his downwards effort just wide of Ferguson’s left-hand post.
As in Paisley the week before, Liam Renton occupied the Pupils’ holding midfield role, and was backed up by Ellis Robertson. The 21-year old grew into the game and made some great interventions to maintain the Pupils’ hold on possession in the closing minutes, helping the hosts edge out their rivals in a keenly-fought match.
The Feathers Inn-sponsored Pupils are in Argyll league derby action again tomorrow (Saturday) when they travel to face Dunoon Ams, with the Dunoon Stadium the expected venue.
The Pupils would also like to thank West Coast Electrical (Argyll) Ltd for kindly sponsoring the match ball, and AM Transport, for their recent kind donation towards the team’s training equipment.
Video of last Saturday’s game’s winning goal is available on the Campbeltown Football Facebook page, or @PupilsAFC on Twitter.