Take a bow Connor Howe . . .
Oban Saints 4
Dumbarton United 1
DFDL Under 19 League
WITH a sheet of snow blanketing Oban High School’s all-weather pitch and snow falling from the sky, visbility wasn’t at its best, but Oban Saints Under 19s had no difficulty in finding the back of the net.
The home side’s emphatic first half performance was enough to secure all three points last Saturday, running out 4-1 winners over Dumbarton United.
Saints started the game well and early on Fraser Macfarlane gave the Dumbarton defence something to think about when his pass caught them by surprise.
Dumbarton recovered well, but they only managed to clear their lines as far as Matty Kelly, who sent a cross into the box that found Innes MacColl, who slotted the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net from six yards.
The home side wasted no time in regaining possession from the restart and after some good football in the middle of the park, which ended with a through ball to Douglas MacLeod.
MacLeod found himself one on one with Dumbarton goalkeeper, Craig Ronald, and the Saints midfielder skilfully chipped the ball over Ronald then followed it in with a header to make sure the ball crossed the line.
The Oban side continued to control the game and made it 3- 0 when Innes MacColl secured his second goal of the day with a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box.
Connor Howe then got his name on the score sheet with an excellent goal. The Saints man expertly pulled the ball out of the air on the half way line, turning his marker in the process, and drove forward into the United penalty area before accurately placing the ball into the far right corner of the net leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
This led to a voice in the Saints coaching team shouting: ‘Take a bow Connor Howe.’
The first half ended with the home side well in control. However, they seemed to take their foot off the pedal and allowed the visitors back into the game in the second half. Jason Burrows had a great opportunity to start a comeback. Burrows was one- on- one with Oban’s Mateusz Polewaczyk and tried to chip the Saints goalkeeper, but Polewaczyk pulled off a great save to deny the United striker.
Saints then regained some control and Macfarlane, who was eager to get on the score sheet, volleyed the ball from the edge of the box, but his shot drifted past the wrong side of the post.
The man who looked the most likely to score for Dumbarton, Burrows, had another chance.
He took the ball round the Saint’s goalkeeper, but before he was able to slot the ball home, he was closed down by the Oban defence who recovered well.
Dumbarton did manage to get a consolation goal after Ross McGroggan’s header found its way into the back of the net but Saints fully deserved their 4-1 victory after a great first half performance.
Oban Saints 6 Dunoon 0
DFDL Under 13 League
SAINTS Under 13s took on Dunoon last Sunday on the 3G pitch and the youngsters turned in a first class performance, running out comfortable 6- 0 winners.
The home side’s Neily Russell opened the scoring, before Lee Harris made it two after the pair, who are both from Lochgilphead, linked up well. Harris ran the ball in to the box before drilling it past a helpless goalkeeper.
The home side were then awarded a free kick on the edge of the box after Dunoon’s goalkeeper ventured one step too many outside his box when kicking the ball out of his hands.
Russell scored his second and Saints’ third of the day from the set piece, striking the ball over the wall and into the back of the net with a little help from the post.
Russell then played the ball through to Harris, who fired the ball accurately into the top right hand corner to make the score 4- 0. Harris wasted no time in completing his hat-trick. The ball fell to him on the edge of the box and the youngster volleyed it home to make the score 5- 0.
Not to be outdone Russell then completed his hat-trick and the scoring for the day when he chested the ball down on the edge of the box before volleying it into the back of the net to make the final score 6- 0.