Curtain Descends On Season 2024/25
- Winning In The Rain
- Jun 1
- 5 min read
Saturday 31st May 2025
Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association
Premiership
Castlemilk Community 2 - 0 Oban Saints
Barlia Football Centre
Glenwood Business Centre
Castlemilk Drive
Glasgow
G45 9UH
Kick-off 2.00pm
Referee Mr Kevin McIntyre
Oban Saints brought the curtain down on season 2024/25 at Barlia last Saturday afternoon with an all too familiar gutsy but ultimately fruitless performance. Despite battling bravely against an excellent Castlemilk Community side, Saints once again with five schoolboys in their ranks, eventually succumbed to the incessant home pressure and returned to Oban empty handed.
Family commitments kept Manager Ross Maitland away from what would have been his final game in charge therefore team affairs were left in the safe hands of goalkeeping triumvirate Archie MacLean, David Dunlop and Graham Douglas.
Saints have been frequent visitors to Barlia over the years, but this was their first visit since Castlemilk Community Football Trust completed the thorough overhaul of the pitches and pavilion. Full credit is due to everybody involved for their hard work in creating an excellent facility for the benefit of the entire Castlemilk community.
Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back four of Keiron Lopez, Matty Pollock, Captain Scott Maitland and Oran Bryce. Aaron McKay and David Beaton anchored the midfield with Connor Beattie, Donald Campbell and Innes Fraser ahead of them. Ploughing a lone furrow up front was leading goal scorer Connor Moore. On the substitutes bench were Shaye Black, Rhys Millar and Graham Douglas.
The strong wind was blowing in Saints' favour in the first half which assisted in the outlet ball to Connor Moore whose pace up front provided welcome relief from the home side's constant pressure.
Moore forced a corner kick in the third minute with Castlemilk keeper Joe Duffy having to claw away from under his crossbar David Beaton's net bound delivery from the corner flag.
Matty Pollock, who performed well in central defence alongside Skipper Scott Maitland, headed a Kenny Duffy cross behind for a seventh minute corner kick which Connaire Dawson rolled short to Andrew Gilmartin. Castlemilk Skipper Gilmartin then picked out Gregg Twaddle on the eighteen-yard line for a low shot which Craig Maitland saved well.
Maitland denied Twaddle again two minutes later getting down smartly at his near post at the expense of another corner-kick. Dawson's delivery from the left was met by Martyn Cairns whose header came crashing back off the crossbar.
The industrious Aaron McKay drew a save from Joe Duffy in the tenth minute after linking well with Connor Moore and Donald Campbell.
Moore continued to carry a threat up front and deserved better support after climbing well to head down a Scott Maitland free-kick into an area where none of his teammates had gambled on.
David Beaton was covering a lot of ground and tracked back well to block a Jamie Gillan effort at the expense of a corner kick. Gregg Twaddle's delivery was on the money, but Anthony Dempsey's header was fractionally too high and clipped the top of the Saints' crossbar on its way over.
Connor Moore's pace up front was too much for the Castlemilk defence on the half hour mark and his low shot from just inside the eighteen-yard box beat the left hand of Joe Duffy but glanced off the outside of the post.
The hosts hit the woodwork for a third time when Matthew McGibbon's dipping thirty-second minute free kick hit the top of Saints' crossbar with Craig Maitland well beaten.
In the dying stages of the first half attacking midfielder Andrew Gilmartin had a shot blocked and left winger Gregg Twaddle sent a decent effort inches wide ensuring parity at the interval.
Skipper Gilmartin was at the heart of everything for Castlemilk and he began the second half with a stooping header which lacked the power to trouble Craig Maitland. Despite kicking into the strong wind Maitland managed to find Connor Moore in the opposition half for a left foot effort which flew over the crossbar.
Gilmartin's opposite number, Scott Maitland, was equally impressive in an unaccustomed central defensive role but he had to rely on younger brother Craig for an excellent flying save to his right to prevent Gilmartin from opening the scoring in the fifty-first minute.
Saints made a double substitution just before the hour mark with Shaye Black and Rhys Millar coming on to replace Oran Bryce and Connor Moore.
Driving rain made playing conditions difficult for both sides and chances from open play were few and far between with the biggest threat from the home side coming from set-pieces. From accurate Andrew Gilmartin deliveries Craig Maitland saved a Conor McVey header before substitute Reiss Moran headed over.
The deadlock was broken in the seventy-seventh minute when the hosts profited from a free-kick very harshly awarded against Scott Maitland by Referee Kevin McIntyre. From the right of the Saints' eighteen-yard box Andrew Gilmartin lifted the ball to the six-yard line where Jamie Gillan got across his marker to nod the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Despite the disappointment of conceding so late in the game Saints didn't allow their heads to drop and continued to work hard all over the pitch and probably didn't deserve the injustice of conceding a second goal with almost the last kick of the game.
Donald Campbell appeared to be fouled on the edge of the centre-circle inside the Saints' half however Referee McIntyre waved play on just as he did when Philip Lee appeared to come from an offside position to lay the ball off to Matthew McGibbon. Top marksman McGibbon made no mistake with an unerring left foot finish which curled beyond the despairing right hand of Craig Maitland.
The victory keeps alive Castlemilk's hopes of a second-place finish in the Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership behind champions Steins Thistle. Saints meanwhile can console themselves that, despite their trials and tribulations through another difficult season, they have managed to finish top of the bottom six in a league where the gulf in class between the top and bottom sixes has at times been massive.
Oban Saints will return to action on Saturday 5th July with the ever-popular D&K Lafferty Cup tournament. Joining the hosts this year will be Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Queens Park, St. Johnstone and cup holders Hamilton Academical.
Off the field Saints have arranged a fund-raising race night at The View on Friday 27th June. Doors open at 8.30pm immediately following the club's end of season presentation ceremony.
