Three second half goals see Saints through in West Cup
Kilsyth 0 Oban Saints 3 West of Scotland Cup - 3rd round
Oban Saints were made to dig deep to book their place in the fourth round of the West of Scotland Amateur Cup at a windswept Kilsyth Sports Field last Saturday afternoon.
Well-organised hosts Kilsyth Community FC Amateurs, who are flying high in Division 1A of the Caledonian League, kept Saints at bay for almost an hour before a deflected Craig MacEwan shot finally turned the tie in Saints’ favour.
Kilsyth’s front pairing of Peter Gribbin and Jack Williamson remained a constant threat throughout before close range efforts from Matthew Kelly and David Beaton finally made the tie safe for Saints.
Returned
Illness and injury kept Lewis Cameron and Shaun MacIver at home, while Craig MacEwan, Fraser MacFarlane and Ruaridh Horne returned to an otherwise unchanged travelling party from the Scottish Amateur Cup third win in Forfar two weeks earlier.
Saints kicked off on the bumpy grass surface at Kilsyth Sports Field with a strong bitingly cold wind blowing across the park which would cause problems for both sides.
In the fourth minute, Saints skipper Dene Cassells conceded the first of a number of free-kicks in dangerous positions, which on another day may have proved costly, when he clattered into the back of Peter Gribbin 28 yards from goal. Peter Griffin lifted the ball over the four man wall but also managed to clear the Saints crossbar by some distance.
Two minutes later at the other end Craig MacEwan turned a dangerous ball across the face of goal after gathering in a Jamie Graham throw-in from the right only to see Kilsyth keeper Derek Keough lift the ball off the toes of James Ford at his near post.
The home side launched a quick counter-attack in the eighth minute after breaking up a promising Saints move midway inside their own half. Jack Williamson raced away on the right and swung a deep cross to strike partner Peter Gribben who snatched a good chance well wide of target.
Saints were struggling to get behind the well organised Kilsyth defence and found themselves limited to set pieces which failed to trouble Derek Keough in the home goal.
Yellow card
Referee Derek Dempster of the Central Scottish Amateur Football League produced his only yellow card of the afternoon for a badly mistimed tackle on James Ford by Ross Whyte. Thankfully Ford suffered no lasting damage and continued after a quick rub down with Davie Buchanan’s magic sponge.
The first half, when the hosts were the better of the two sides, ended with Dene Cassells forced to concede a corner kick from another quick break and the Saints skipper headed clear under pressure from opposite number Peter Griffin.
Saints started the second half with an improved sense of purpose with Donald Campbell sending a tempting ball across the Kilsyth box which unfortunately bisected the runs of Craig MacEwan and David Beaton.
The deadlock was broken in the 58th minute when a goal bound Craig MacEwan shot from the edge of the box took a massive deflection which left Derek Keough flat footed and saw the ball nestle neatly in the bottom corner of the Kilsyth net.
Saints almost doubled their advantage 60 seconds later when Scott Maitland and Donald Campbell combined well on the left for Donald to fire a dangerous ball across the six yard box which narrowly evaded David Beaton coming in at the back post.
A loud 59th minute appeal for offside from the Saints defence was ignored by referee Dempster with Jamie Graham arriving with a perfectly timed sliding interception to deny Peter Gribben a clear strike on goal at the expense of a corner kick.
Kilsyth gaffer Gary Meechan made the first of his two changes on the hour mark sending on new signing David McWilliams to replace Tony Donachie. Saints co-manager Willie Gemmell responded four minutes later with his only change of the afternoon continuing Matthew Kelly’s injury rehabilitation with another short appearance at the expense of Daniel Croarkin.
Revenge
As the hosts committed more men forward, it was Saints turn to hit on the counter with David Beaton winning a free-kick after being hauled down by Kyle Brown. Beaton exacted his revenge with a delivery into the box which Dene Cassells helped on to Craig MacEwan arriving at the back post. MacEwan’s cushioned left foot ball across the face of goal had Derek Keough scrambling across his line but not quickly enough to prevent Matthew Kelly from tapping in from close range after an excellent late run from the edge of the centre circle.
At the other end, Kilsyth keeper Derek Keough produced an excellent reaction save to deny Craig MacEwan throwing up a strong right hand to push MacEwan’s left foot volley from a David Beaton right wing cross over the bar.
Beaton almost caught out
the big keeper at his near post from the resulting corner kick landing his in-swinger from the left on the roof of the net.
The D& K Lafferty sponsored Oban side rounded off the scoring with five minutes left on referee Dempster’s watch when Craig MacEwan held his run to remain onside and darted through the inside left channel to reach Matthew Kelly’s measured through ball.
MacEwan raced in behind the Kilsyth defence and, from the corner of the six yard box, took out Derek Keough and Ross Whyte with a flicked pass along the six yard line presenting David Beaton with an open goal for his first strike of the season.
A consolation goal was the least the home side deserved to take from the match, however the Saints defence, with Steven MacLeod once again impressive at its heart, were in no mood to surrender a highly prized clean sheet and stood firm for the remaining five minutes plus time added on for stoppages.
Kilsyth had one final chance to breach the Saints rearguard in the final minute, however, Grant Penman’s well flighted delivery from the right was headed wide of target by James Kerr. Referee Dempster, who handled proceedings well, brought the encounter to an end immediately on the goal kick from Graham Douglas confirming Saints progress to the last 32 of the competition.
Saints return to league business this Saturday where they face their biggest test of the season so far in the shape of current Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division leaders St Joseph’s FP. Kick off at Glencruitten is 2pm. Referee Jimmy Litster.