Awards Night 2026
- Winning In The Rain
- Jun 28
- 3 min read
Oban Saints Amateur Football Club held their annual awards night at Glencruitten Golf Club on the evening of Saturday 27th June where refreshments and a buffet kept the large turnout of players, management, committee members and supporters suitably fed and watered for the presentation and fund-raising race night.
Club Secretary David Buchanan extended a warm welcome to everybody who had come along to support what has become an extremely important event on the Club's calendar and invited Manager Steven MacLeod and Head Coach Archie MacLean to join him for the presentation ceremony.
Before proceeding to the awards, Saints Supremo Buchanan paid tribute to the management team of Steven MacLeod and Graham Douglas and also coaches Archie MacLean, David Dunlop and Peter MacCallum for their hard work in what has been an incredibly successful season for the Club. Mr. Buchanan also thanked the players whose dedication to the cause had secured the Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership and McAvoy and McIntyre trophies earning the club a league and cup double for the first time since 2014.
With the introductions out of the way Messrs Buchanan, MacLeod and MacLean proceeded with the presentation ceremony which began with the handing out of league winner's medals to Craig Livingstone, Daniel MacCuish and Daniel MacVicar who had been unable to be present at the final match of the league season.
The first award was for the Young Player of the Year which for the second successive year went to Rhys Millar. Millar pipped a strong field, including Connor Beattie, Donald Campbell, Innes Fraser and Kuba Ryszka who all impressed in their first full season, to lift the trophy. Due to his departure for a football training camp in the United States of America, Millar had been presented with the trophy immediately following the victory over FC Pather which had secured the league title.
The top goal scorer award once again went to Connor Moore. Nineteen different players featured on the score sheet during the course of the season, but Moore's tally of thirty-one goals was enough to see off the challenge of David Beaton and Rhys Millar who were the only others to reach double figures.
Next up was the Referees' Player of the Year. At every fixture during the season the match Referee was asked to select the Saints' player who had impressed him the most. In all, ten players were selected at least once however the goal-scoring exploits of Connor Moore ultimately made him the clear winner. Currently out of the country on holiday, Moore was unable to attend so his mother Jackie was invited to come forward and accept both trophies on his behalf.
A number of candidates were under consideration for the Coaches' Player of the Year award giving the backroom team much to ponder. After much deliberation the Coaches were in full agreement that the standout performer over the course of the season had been Scott Maitland making it back-to-back Coaches' Player of the Year trophies for the Skipper.
The final award was the Players' Player of the Year trophy which went to popular central midfielder Aaron McKay as a reward for his tenacity in the side's engine room. Fittingly it was McKay who scored the final goal of the league season sending the large crowd at Oban High School wild with delight.
Concluding the formal part of the evening, "Mr Oban Saints" Buchanan revealed that preseason training will commence on Wednesday 1st July ahead of the traditional preseason curtain raiser, the D&K Lafferty Cup Tournament. Joining hosts Oban Saints on Saturday 4th July will be cup holders Kilmarnock, Dundee United, Livingston, Partick Thistle and Queens Park.
Having had just two weeks off, and with the new league season due to start on 8th August, Saints are not planning to have too hectic a preseason schedule but will still manage to squeeze in a couple of fixtures details of which are still to be finalised.
Following the presentation ceremony the club held a race night and raffle in aid of Club funds which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Event organisers, Steven MacLeod and Ross Maitland extended grateful thanks to all those who contributed raffle prizes and sponsored the various horse races. In revealing a total sum raised of close to £3,000 Maitland also thanked race organisers Sandy Rokitta, Harry McMaster and Morvan Rokitta, hosts Glencruitten Golf Club and all those who contributed so heavily on the night to give the club funds such a welcome boost.
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