Saints prepare for Scottish Cup tie
WITH the Scottish Amateur Football League in its traditional September Weekend shutdown, Oban Saints arranged a 90-minute 11-a-side training match at Glencruitten last Saturday to keep the wheels turning ahead of this Saturday’s Scottish Amateur Cup tie against Plains.
To allow the players to take in the spectacle unfolding at Ibrox, a 9.45 kick-off was arranged although some will wish they had missed that particular event altogether.
The usual mix of injuries, holidays and work commitments dictated that youth team players and guest stars would be required to make up the numbers. However, those who appeared certainly enjoyed a good workout.
In keeping with the informal nature of the match, the strips were kept in the kit bag in favour of the players’ own training gear and yellow bibs.
None of Saints’ goalkeepers was available so grateful thanks are extended to Ben Pollock of Lochgilphead Red Star who kept goal for the bibs while the gaffer donned the gloves at the other end.
The unexpected goalkeeping gig for Alex meant a late change of referee with coach Peter MacCallum taking the whistle and stopwatch. Dressed for an afternoon in Aulay’s Bar rather than a football match, Peter wisely restricted his movements to a minimum, rarely straying out of the centre circle.
Another Lochgilphead Red Star man, Andy Moore, opened the scoring for the non-bibs, venturing out from the left side of defence and firing a 35-yard screamer into the postage stamp corner past Red Star colleague Pollock.
The non-bibs doubled their advantage with crisp finish from Sol Smith low past Pollock’s left hand.
A sensational header from Mark Robertson, powering home a Fraser MacFarlane free-kick, brought the bibs back into contention. Unfortunately for Mark, his header was past his own goalkeeper earning him the dubious distinction of scoring one of the finest own goals ever witnessed at Glencruitten.
Donald Campbell drew the bibs level just before half-time, getting on the end of a David Smith pass and slotting the ball low past Alex Craik’s despairing left hand. Chances were at a premium in the second half with only a moment of brilliance from Donald Campbell able to finally separate the two sides. Donald collected a Daniel Croarkin through ball and, after tricking his way past Jude Bain and Marc Maccallum, beat Alex Craik from the tightest of angles guiding the ball inside the far post to seal victory for the bibs.
Saints face Strathclyde Saturday Morning Amateur Football League opposition for the second consecutive fixture when they take on Plains FC from Airdrie in the Scottish Amateur Cup second round at Glencruitten this Saturday.
After seeing off Cambusnethan Talbot Community in the West of Scotland Cup in their last outing, Saints now turn their attention to the national cup competition and their quest to go one better than the semi-final stage achieved in each of the past two seasons.
Founded in 2015, Satur- day’s opposition joined the Strathclyde Saturday Morning Amateur Football League where they ended their debut season second bottom of the Second Division. Plains made significant progress with their league standing in their second season, finishing seventh in the 10-team Division 1B.
A win and two draws from their opening league fixtures sees Plains in ninth place in this season’s Championship B, trailing leaders Holytown Colts by six points but with two games in hand. Unlike Saturday’s opponents, Plains, who received a bye, Saints had to negotiate a tricky Scottish Amateur Cup first round tie against Mauchline United of the Ayrshire Amateur Football Association First Division. The Oban side eventually ran out 4-0 winners in a hard-fought encounter
With squad numbers recovering, manager Alex Craik should be able to field a strong line-up for what is likely to be a thorough examination of Saints’ Scottish Amateur Cup credentials.
Unlike almost every other cup competition in amateur football, the Scottish Amateur Cup includes replays therefore Saints must put the tie to bed during the 90 minutes if they are to avoid a difficult trip to Airdrie in seven days.
Kick-off at Glencruiten will be 2pm. If Glencruitten is unplayable the match will go ahead on the 3G pitch at Oban High School. Referee is Peter Kerr from Glasgow.