Saints lose out to high flying Lesmahagow
Oban Saints 0 Lesmahagow 4 Central Scottish AFL Premier Division
Last Saturday Oban Saints welcomed high flying Lesmahagow to Glencruitten in the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division where four unanswered goals from the visitors kept the South Lanarkshire men’s title charge well on track.
Manager Willie Gemmell had Steven MacLeod, Scott Maitland, Thomas McCrindle, David Beaton and Ross Maitland all unavailable so once again called on the experience of Alex Craik and the youthful promise of Preston Macintyre to bolster the match day squad.
Attacking the railway line end in the first half, the D & K Lafferty and MKM Builders Merchants-sponsored Oban side made a good start with Jack Wright’s adventure on the right forcing the first corner kick of the match in the fourth minute.
Gavin Forgrieve’s delivery was knocked out to Wright on the edge of the box who picked out Daniel MacCuish for a left foot shot which Nathan Wharton got down well to his left to push behind for another corner kick.
Gavin Forgrieve saw a 15th minute shot from 22 yards deflected behind for a corner kick before at the other end a hooked Graham Gracie effort from the corner of the Saints box looped harmlessly into the arms of Graham Douglas.
Gracie’s rich vein of form has earned him a call-up to the Scottish Amateur International Squad and he gave the Glencruitten faithful a glimpse of his striking prowess with a pin-point lob from near the left touchline which sailed over Graham Douglas and into the postage stamp corner to give the visitors the lead
Gavin Forgrieve put another good delivery from the corner flag into the Gow six-yard box in the 27th minute, however Kyle Cooper’s glancing header was blocked by the combined efforts of Nathan Wharton and Robbie Kilpatrick.
Very much still in the game
Saints kicked off the second half knowing that the all-important second goal would have a massive influence on the eventual outcome of the match.
Unfortunately the all too familiar slow second half start haunted Saints again and the visitors doubled their advantage just nine minutes after the restart. Having survived a previous scare when Jordan McCrorie struck the base of Graham Douglas’ left hand post Saints had their pockets picked playing out from the back. Dropping deep to receive the ball Craig MacEwan was robbed by Lewis Meikle who sent Ross Miller through the inside right channel. Miller raced into the box and slotted the ball low past Graham
Douglas to give Saints a mountain to climb.
Saints gaffer Willie Gemmell made his first change after 59 minutes replacing Jack Wright with James Ford. The tricky winger registered Saints first effort on target of the second half, cutting in from the right for a tame effort which bounced into the arms of Nathan Wharton.
The visitors increased their lead when Johnny Logan launched another of his long throws for which Darren Smith made an untracked near post run to glance a looping header into the postage stamp corner.
The fourth and final goal for Lesmahagow came in the 76th minute at a high cost for Graham Douglas who was forced to leave the field for a hospital visit to stitch a cut above his eye following a collision with Dene Cassells. A ball over the top saw Graham Gracie nick the ball away from Dene Cassells leaving Cassells and Douglas to run into one another before rolling the ball into the unguarded net.
Alex Craik took the gloves and the number one jersey with Fraser MacFarlane coming on as a replacement for Douglas. The visitors also made a change sending on Blair Weir for Ryan Innes
Youngster Preston Macintyre was given another taste of first team action as a replacement for Kyle Cooper who had run himself to a standstill.
Daniel MacCuish looked to have finally beaten Nathan Wharton in the Lesmahagow goal in the 88th minute but saw his left foot shot from 20 yards slip inches wide of Wharton’s right hand post.
Saints survived an injury time goalmouth scramble before referee Dougie Gunning, who handled a keenly but fairly contested encounter well, brought proceedings to a close.
This coming Saturday Saints host Fallin in the first round of the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Cinema Cup. The game will be held at Glencruitten with a 2pm kick-off.