Extended Paddy's Day Celebrations for St Pat's

Saturday 18th March 2023

Central Scottish Amateur Football League

Premier Division

Oban Saints 0 - 3 St Patrick's F.P.

Oban Community Sports Field 3G

Soroba Road

Oban

Argyll

PA34 4JB

Kick-off 1.30pm

Referee Mr Kevin McIntyre

For the second game in succession Oban Saints played host to one of the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division title chasers. On this occasion it was reigning champions St Patrick's F.P. who were the visitors and, like Lesmahagow two weeks earlier, they too left with full points.

With the weather taking a heavy toll on the shinty fixtures Saints Gaffer Ross Maitland was able to call on the services of Daniel MacCuish who took his place on the substitutes bench alongside Connor Howe and evergreens Donald Campbell, David Dunlop and Ross Maitland.

Saints lined up with Graham Douglas in goal behind a back four of Cammy Clark, Steven MacLeod, Ben Forbes and Captain Scott Maitland. Gavin Forgrieve and Ross Campbell occupied the holding midfield roles with Rory Dowd tucked in behind a front three of David Beaton, Cammy Hill and Kyle Cooper.

Saints Skipper Scott Maitland gave Kyle Cooper a ball to chase on the left in the sixth minute and central defender Jon Gray had to move quickly across to get there just ahead of Cooper at the expense of a corner kick. Gavin Forgrieve's delivery from the left was headed back out to him from where he wriggled into the box and picked out Kyle Cooper who had the ball taken off his toes before he could strike.

St Pat's left sided midfielder Ciaran McElroy came within a matter of inches of exploiting a dead-ball opportunity when he struck the junction of post and crossbar with a curling eighteenth minute effort from the left.

The visitors opened the scoring in the twenty first minute when Liam Rowan was afforded too much time on the edge of the Saints box to measure up his shot and find the bottom corner with a good strike past the despairing left hand of Graham Douglas and undoing what had been a decent opening spell for Saints.

Saints almost struck back immediately when Cammy Hill robbed Ryan McColl and raced into the St Pat's box. Hill however took the ball a little too wide allowing goalkeeper Brian Gallacher to narrow the angle still further and save well with his feet.

Gallacher saved again in the twenty fifth minute after Scott Maitland, Kyle Cooper and Rory Dowd had linked up well on the left. Cooper spun into the St Pat's box to meet Dowd's threaded pass but his shot across Gallacher was well saved by the big keeper at full stretch.

The visitors punished Saints failure to take their chances when they notched a second goal just after the half hour mark. A cheaply conceded corner kick on the left was taken short with the Saints defence slow to react allowing Ciaran McElroy time to place a cross onto the forehead of the unmarked Ian Paterson who nodded home unchallenged from close range.

It was a similar story for St Pat's third goal when Saints again failed to deal with a corner kick this time from Matthew Doherty on the right. Doherty picked out Eamon McElroy on the corner of the eighteen yard box whose clipped ball into the danger area was headed out to the eighteen yard line from where Shaun Wallace found the bottom corner through a ruck of bodies.

On the stroke of half-time Graham Douglas made an excellent double save to prevent Luke Gray from extending St Pat's lead still further blocking at his near post and recovering quickly to smother the ball after Gray's run through the inside right channel had left him one-on-one with the Saints number one.

As improbable as a second half comeback was Saints can at least take some consolation in not conceding further against the league's top scorers during an incident packed second forty five.

Graham Douglas again saved well as substitutes Gary McCulloch and Kevin McElroy combined well for McElroy to hook McCulloch's sixty fifth minute left wing cross on target.

Saints Gaffer Ross Maitland made a double change replacing Ross Campbell and David Beaton with Connor Howe and Donald Campbell before a calf injury for Gavin Forgrieve necessitated another switch with Daniel MacCuish joining Rory Dowd and Cammy Hill in a rejigged midfield.

Donald Campbell had a sixty eighth minute effort well off target before Graham Douglas was again in action showing good handling to cut out an Eamon McElroy cross from the right looking for Kevin McElroy.

A twist to his left ankle cut short Rory Dowd's involvement with Ross Maitland being forced to make another appearance from the bench.

There was panic in the eyes of Saints last remaining replacement, veteran goalkeeper David Dunlop, when Ben Forbes' ever tightening calf threated to end his afternoon. However Forbes was able to continue, much to the relief of legendary net minder Dunlop.

Referee Kevin McIntyre took centre stage for the closing ten minutes with three highly controversial decisions which infuriated both camps in equal measure.

Firstly Mr McIntyre rejected Saints appeals for what appeared to be a stone-wall penalty kick when Matthew Doherty tripped Scott Maitland just inside the St Pat's box on the Saints left. To rub salt into the wound Referee McIntyre flashed a yellow card in the direction of the incredulous Saints Skipper.

Six minutes later Kevin McElroy felt he had been caught by a flying elbow, Mr McIntyre however was not impressed and was even less impressed with McElroy's choice of vocabulary in questioning his decision and sent the St Pat's striker packing with a straight red card.

In the eighty ninth minute Saints were again on the wrong end of a hotly disputed penalty decision when Roan Holloway slipped into a challenge in the Saints box and was rewarded with a penalty kick. St Pat's Skipper Liam Rowan had opened the scoring in the first half and now had the chance to double his tally from twelve yards however Graham Douglas read his intentions well and got down well to his right with a strong right hand to stop Rowan's effort and keep the deficit at three.

It's title chasing opposition again for Saints this coming Saturday when they travel to St Modan's High School in Stirling to face Bannockburn in the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division.

#monthesaints