Saints lose out to Dunoon in Argyll and Bute Cup penalty shoot-out
OBAN Saints recent run of good fortune in penalty shootouts finally came to an end at the Ropework Park, Lochgilphead last Saturday allowing Dunoon Amateurs to wrestle the Argyll and Bute Cup from their grasp.
After five successfully converted penalties each Dunoon keeper Jamie Robertson got down low to his right to save the first sudden death effort from Jamie Graham. Robertson then stepped forward to take kick number six for his team sending Thomas McCulloch the wrong way to win the cup for Dunoon.
Injuries, holidays and a new arrival deprived Saints manager Alex Craik of the services of Martin Bonar, Paul Carmichael, Dougal Graham, Marc Maccallum, Willie Gemmell, Keith Millar and Dean Smith. However, he was still able to name a squad of 18 for the gruelling eight-hour day of football.
Included in the squad were new signings Matty Kelly, Fraser MacFarlane, Daniel Croarkin and Jay Cooper along with 15-year- old Lewis Buchanan who has been training with the first team squad.
Despite Lochgilphead being Saints shortest possible away trip the 10am kick off dictated an even earlier than normal 8am departure for the travelling party.
Cup holders Saints were drawn in group two alongside fellow Scottish Amateur Football League sides Dunoon Amateurs and Tarbert. Making up the group two line-up were tournament debutants Glasgow Islay of the Glasgow and District Saturday Morning League.
Saints and Tarbert got the action under way in the first of their 40-minute matches in bright sunshine attacking the Kilmory end and immediately had their Premier Division 2B opponents under pressure.
Craig MacEwan forced a corner kick on the left which Matthew Kelly swung in right footed towards the back post. Dene Cassells rose highest and nodded the ball high into the net to give Saints the lead.
Saints extended their lead two minutes later with Donald Campbell slotting a perfectly weighted through ball to Scott Maitland to place beyond the despairing dive of Chris Selfridge in the Tarbert goal.
Donald Campbell started and finished an excellent move for Saints third goal combining well with Matty Kelly in the middle of the park. Matty slipped the ball wide to the left to meet the rampaging run of Jamie Graham who squared for Donald to round off the move with a simple tap-in.
With the points in the bag Manager Alex Craik was able gave second half run- outs to Lewis Buchanan, Jay Cooper and Daniel Croarkin, replacing Donald Campbell, Craig MacEwan and Dene Cassells. The youngsters showed up well in their brief appearances and Saints saw the half out for a comfortable 3- 0 victory.
Next in group two were Dunoon Amateurs and new boys Glasgow Islay who put up a good fight before going down 2-1 to the men from Cowal thanks to a last-minute winner from Mark Hughes.
Over at the Ropework the opening three fixtures in group one saw hosts Lochgilphead Red Star beat Carradale 2-1 and Rothesay Brandane put three past other tournament new boys Kilchoman of the Islay Football League. The men from Bowmore recovered from their opening defeat to edge out Red Star by one goal to nil.
Saints resumed on the all-weather surface against Glasgow Islay with six changes to the previous starting eleven.
In a goalless first half Jay Cooper, Ross Maitland and Daniel Croarkin all brought good saves from the Glasgow Islay keeper. Half time changes saw Dene Cassells and Jay Cooper make way for Craig Campbell and Craig MacEwan.
Saints kept up their first half pressure and eventually capitalised on their domination in the 27th minute when Donald Campbell beat the offside trap and buried low past the keeper. Donald completed his brace five minutes later with a beautifully curled right foot finish into the postage stamp corner after a pass from the left from young Lewis Buchanan.
The group two action then moved over to the Ropework where, in torrential rain, a Mark Hughes hat-trick helped Dunoon Amateurs to a 4-1 win over Tarbert with the Dookers reply coming from a Nikki MacDougall penalty kick.
Manager Craik shuffled his pack again for Saints first match at the Ropework and what was to prove the first of two encounters with Dunoon Amateurs.
Thankfully the earlier rain abated and Saints kicked off playing up the slope and did most of the first half pressing with Dunoon sitting in and looking to hit on the counter attack.
Saints and Dunoon had both already qualified for the semi-finals but top spot in group two was still up for grabs. Despite this the opening ten minutes of the second half was a little flat with a stinging twenty eight yard free kick from Ross Maitland which the keeper did well to turn round the post being the only attempt of note.
With nine minutes remaining manager Alex Craik made an inspired substitution replacing Fraser MacFarlane with Lewis Buchanan. Young Lewis announced his arrival almost immediately making a run through the inside left channel to get on the end of a Craig MacEwan through ball.
With his first touch Lewis Buchanan placed the ball beyond the advancing keeper and into the bottom corner to put Saints in pole position to finish top of the group.
In the final group two fixture Tarbert and Glasgow Islay went head-to-head for third place with the Dookers coming out on top by three goals to one.
The concluding group one fixtures on the all weather surface saw Caledonian League 1B Rothesay Brandane thrash West of Scotland Amateur Football League Premier Division Carradale 5- 0 before confirming their group winners status with a 2- 0 victory over Lochgilphead Red Star.
The hosts were then left to sweat over the outcome of the final match between Kilchoman and Carradale where a win for either team could see them pip Red Star for second spot.
The match turned out to be the highest scoring affair of the day with the Kintyre men running out 5-2 winners. However, the two Kilchoman goals were enough to see the hosts progress with a somewhat underwhelming goal difference of minus two.
The semi-finals line-up paired Saints with Red Star and Rothesay Brandane with Dunoon, The Bute v Cowal clash was first on the Ropework with the men from Cowal edging out the Butemen by two goals to nil.
In the second semi-final Saints faced their closest neighbours and old rivals Lochgilphead Red Star. Saints were attacking the pavilion end in the first 20 minutes and kept the home side on the back foot without finding a way past Luke Kalache in the Red Star goal. The big Australian keeper produced an inspired display to keep Saints at bay as the hold- ers looked to get their place in the final booked early.
Kalache made the first of a string of excellent saves in the fifth minute getting down smartly at his near post to turn a Donald Campbell effort round the post for a corner. Donald took the corner kick from the left himself and found the head of Craig Campbell at the back post with the big defender getting in a good downward header which Oz held on his goal line.
Two minutes later Kalache foiled Craig Campbell again this time from a Scott Maitland corner from the right.
After a quieter spell Saints closed the first half on the attack but still found Kalache in no mood to let them pass.
Scott Maitland forced his way into the box on the left hand side and looked to have lifted the ball over the keeper but the big custodian showed lightning quick reflexes to throw up a strong left hand keeping the ball out.
The breakthrough for Saints came in the 31st minute and started with a good tackle on the half way line from David McArthur. David dug in well to win the ball and quickly released Myles McAuley on the right wing. Myles drove into the box and sent a cut back to Donald Campbell who finally found a way past Kalache with a sweetly struck shot into the bottom corner for the only goal of the game.
And so with the clock ticking past five o’clock the 2016 Argyll and Bute Cup final between Oban Saints and Dunoon got under way.
Saints got off to the best possible start when, in the second minute, Matthew Kelly threaded an excellent pass for Donald Campbell who expertly lobbed Jamie Robertson from the left hand corner of the box to give Saints an early advantage.
The lead however came at a cost as Matthew injured his groin when making the pass and had to leave the field before the restart. Matthew’s place in the middle of the park was taken by Daniel Croarkin.
The Cowal men equalised in the 11th minute when Mark Hughes bisected Craig Campbell and Dene Cassells to head home a cross from the left wing.
Saints regained the lead in the 15th minute when David McArthur took a quick throwin on the right sending Ross Maitland to the bye-line. Ross dug out a hanging cross which Craig MacEwan climbed above Harry Hall to head into the net past Jamie Robertson.
Over elaborating in the middle of the park left Saints vulnerable to a 29th minute counter attack from which Thomas McCulloch pulled off a good save to foil Scott Lauder.
However the warning wasn’t heeded and Saints put themselves under unnecessary pressure again with a cheaply conceded 32nd minute free kick just inside their own half.
The straight free kick should have been easily dealt with but Thomas McCulloch elected to come a long way off his line for a cross he was never likely to reach allowing a back header from Dunoon central defender Craig Anderson to loop over him and into the unguarded net.
In the eight minutes that remained, Saints huffed and puffed but failed to conjure up a way of taking the lead for a third time. A late curling left foot shot high and wide of target from Craig MacEwan was the last action of the match and referee Litster blew for full time signalling the need for a penalty shoot- out to decide the winners of the 2016 Argyll and Bute Cup.
Dene Cassells was first up for Saints slotting the ball low to Jamie Robertson’s right. Successful kicks from Ross Maitland, Craig MacEwan, Paul Kerr and Donald Campbell followed with Stuart MacIntyre, Kieran Bowie, Stephen Jackson, Mark Hughes and Brendan MacIlkenny replying for Dunoon. Jamie Graham was brave enough to volunteer for the first of the sudden death kicks but saw his effort saved by Jamie Robertson low down to his right. Robertson fancied his chances of scoring the winner and sent his opposite number Thomas McCulloch the wrong way to seal victory for Dunoon Amateurs.
Saints will reflect on a good overall tournament performance, particularly from the youngsters drafted into the squad, let down only by late lapses in concentration which is perhaps understandable after such a long day.
After the tournament the teams retired to the Argyll Inn for hospitality where the trophy and medals were presented.
Pre-season preparations now complete, the serious action resumes on Saturday when Saints welcome their other great Argyll rivals Campbeltown Pupils to Glencruitten in the Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division. The game kicks- off at 2pm with referee Jimmy Litster in charge.