Drummed Out Of The Cup
Saturday 19th September 2026
West of Scotland Amateur Cup - 1st Round
Oban Saints 4 - 5 Drumchapel Amateurs
Glencruitten 2
Mossfield Avenue
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4EH
Kick-off 2.00pm
Referee Mr Liam Butler
Oban Saints suffered a remarkable and bitterly disappointing defeat at Glencruitten last Saturday, throwing away a three-goal half-time lead as Drumchapel Amateurs staged an incredible second-half comeback to win 5-4.
On paper, Saints faced a difficult afternoon against a Drumchapel side who are the current Caledonian Premier League champions and were beaten finalists in last season’s Scottish Amateur Cup, but you wouldn’t have known it from the opening exchanges as the Oban side took the game to their more experienced opponents playing some great football in the process.
Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back three of Matty Pollock, captain Scott Maitland and Craig MacMillan. The central midfield three of Myles McAuley, Will Graham and Matthew Kelly were flanked by wingbacks Daniel MacVicar and Rhys Millar with David Beaton and Connor Moore forming the strike partnership up front.
Saints came flying out of the traps and took the lead after just four minutes. David Beaton was played through by Will Graham and made no mistake, calmly finishing beyond Drumchapel goalkeeper Scott Richardson. The home side created a couple of other reasonable chances, but good goalkeeping and last ditch defending kept the eager Saints strike force at bay.
Beaton doubled Saints’ advantage in the 10th minute before Lewis Campbell, who had come on for the injured Will Graham, added a third just three minutes later as the Oban side tore into their visitors.
Drumchapel finally found a way back into the contest when Olamide Olafoyeku broke clear in the 20th minute and calmly slotted the ball past Saints’ goalkeeper Craig Maitland. Saints, however, restored their three-goal advantage before the break. Connor Moore fired past Richardson in the 33rd minute to make the score 4-1 at half-time.
With a commanding lead and seemingly in complete control, Saints looked well on course for a place in the next round. What followed in the second half was almost unthinkable.
Saints began to self-destruct and Drumchapel were handed a route back into the game, via the penalty spot when Craig MacMillan clattered Jamie Ross inside the box just three minutes after the restart. James Gallagher stepped up and confidently dispatched the resulting penalty.
MacMillan was involved again as he conceded another spot-kick in the 68th minute after a reckless challenge in the box. Gallagher once again made no mistake from 12 yards, reducing the deficit to just one goal.
Suddenly, a match that Saints had dominated was transformed into a tense battle, with the visitors sensing that a remarkable comeback was possible, and the equaliser duly arrived. The home side failed to clear a Drumchapel corner and Paul McAlear was on hand to force the ball home from close range to make the score4-4, despite Craig Maitland’s valiant attempt to stop the ball crossing the line. Saints were now hanging on after having looked completely in control for the opening 45 minutes.
Saints almost regained the lead when Connor Moore’s effort beat keeper Richardson but came crashing back off the post and ran along the goal line but there was nobody on hand for what would have been atap in.
With seven minutes remaining, Drumchapel were awarded a third penalty of the afternoon when Myles McAuley was adjudged to have tripped Sean Keegan inside the box. Referee Liam Butler pointed to the spot once again. Gallacher stepped forward and completed a remarkable hat-trick of penalties, sending Maitland the wrong way to put Drumchapel 5-4 ahead.
The home side tried hard to get back into the game and force a penalty shoot-out, but there was to be no way back for Saints as the referee blew for full time. From 4-1 ahead at half-time to a 5-4 defeat at full-time, it was a collapse of extraordinary proportions. A shocked and bitterly disappointed Saints side eventually trooped off the Glencruitten Park pitch, left to rue a game they had appeared to have completely under control before the second-half implosion. For Drumchapel, it was an extraordinary comeback. For Saints, it was a case of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Saints manager Steven MacLeod said: ’’We were in total control of the game, up 4-1 against one of the top teams in Scotland, but our discipline let us down badly in the second half. "To give away one penalty is bad enough but three is totally unacceptable. We should have been able to keep the ball and see out the game quite comfortably but we failed to do that. "Credit to Drumchapel, they’re a good side and kept plugging away, but we should never have allowed them back into the game, to say I’m gutted is a big understatement.’’
Saints, who are sponsored by D&K Lafferty Contractors, The View Restaurant and MKM Building Supplies, have no game this Saturday due to the September holiday weekend. They return to action on Saturday 3 October with a tough away game against Thorniewood United in the second round of the Scottish Amateur Cup. The next home game is against Rossvale on Saturday 10 October.
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