First Victory Of The Season

Winning In The Rain
Sep 4, 2023
5 min read

Saturday 2nd September 2023

Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association

Premiership

Oban Saints 4 - 0 Neilston

Glencruitten 2

Mossfield Avenue

Oban

Argyll

PA34 4EH

Kick-off 2.00pm

Referee Mr Tom Cavanagh

A Connor Moore hat-trick helped Oban Saints to their first victory of the Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association campaign at a sun kissed Glencruitten last Saturday afternoon. Visitors Neilston came in search of their first points of the season and battled hard throughout but it was Saints who eventually prevailed. In a day of firsts young midfielder Daniel Beaton added to Moore's first treble for the club by rounding off the scoring with his first competitive goal while the icing on the cake was provided by keeper Craig Maitland with his first clean sheet.

Injury victims Steven MacLeod and David Beaton failed to shake off thigh strains while Drew Murray made a welcome return to the squad after missing the previous week's draw with Arthurlie through work commitments.

Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back three of Captain Marc Maccallum, James Conington and Drew Murray. Craig Livingstone, Aaron Moore, Paul McFatridge and Gavin Forgrieve formed the midfield engine room with Connor Moore, James Ford and Rory Dowd up front. On the heavily populated substitutes bench were Daniel Beaton, Martin Bonar, Oran Bryce, Ross Campbell, Cammy Hill, Aaron McKay and James Muir.

Attacking the railway line end in the first half Saints almost made the perfect start when Connor Moore flashed a header inches over the crossbar from a second minute Drew Murray left wing cross on the run.

The good start for the home side continued with an Aaron Moore shot which was blocked behind for a corner kick before Neilston goalkeeper John Lessells made the first of a number of good saves pushing over at full stretch a seventh minute James Ford shot from twenty yards.

Ford, the only survivor from when Saints last faced Neilston back in 2019, has provided Saints main attacking threat so far this season and his trickery on the left created a ninth minute opening for Gavin Forgrieve who unfortunately couldn't get Ford's cutback under control with the ball bouncing harmlessly through to keeper Lessells.

Marc Maccallum's return to the club has been a steadying influence at the back but the veteran defender still finds time for the occasional foray into opposition territory and his sixteenth minute run up the right wing took him just short of the Neilston bye-line from where his cross almost caught out John Lessells at the near post before finding the side netting.

The visitors forced a twenty-second minute corner-kick on the right which Adam Nisanci sent deep beyond the back post from where Ryan Anderson, who along with Liam Hughes and Paul McLean survived from Neilston's last visit to Glencruitten, shot straight at the midriff of Craig Maitland. Saints countered immediately and were again denied by an excellent save from John Lessells who threw himself to his right to fingertip a thumping Connor Moore shot onto his right hand post.

Referee Tom Cavanagh, who had a good game, halted proceedings for a water break and the action resumed with Gavin Forgrieve drawing another save from Lessells who was relieved to see Connor Moore given offside when he was first to reach the loose ball.

Saints kept up their search for the opening goal and when Craig Livingstone came forward from his defensive role it was Lessells to the rescue again beating away Livingstone's shot before recovering well to smother the ball at Connor Moore's feet.

The deadlock was broken in the thirty eighth minute when Drew Murray and James Ford combined well on the left for Ford to dig out a cross from the bye-line with Connor Moore getting in between Steven Neely and John Lessells to head into the unguarded net.

The visitors began the second half well but without troubling Craig Maitland whose biggest test was to claw away a miscued clearing header by Paul McFatridge from an Adam Nisanci corner-kick.

Saints doubled their advantage after fifty-nine minutes taking full advantage of a misplaced pass in the Neilston defence. James Ford chased down a Craig Livingstone ball over the top but it was Steven Cunningham who got there first. Cunningham's attempt to find a defensive colleague was however intercepted by Connor Moore who lifted the ball over the stranded John Lessells and rolled the ball right footed into the net ahead of the chasing pack of Neilston defenders.

Lessells made another fine save to deny Gavin Forgrieve who was replaced along with Paul McFatridge by Daniel Beaton and Aaron McKay in a straight swap in central midfield.

Immediately after the second half water break John Lessells stood up well to catch an attempted dinked finish from James Ford before he was left exposed again in the sixty ninth minute as Connor Moore raced onto a Daniel Beaton through ball. Neilston Skipper Kieran McDade's last ditch challenge sent Moore crashing to the Glencruitten turf inside the box. Referee Cavanagh pointed to the penalty spot and was satisfied that a caution for McDade was sufficient punishment. Connor Moore was entrusted with the spot kick and completed a 'perfect' hat-trick with an emphatic left foot finish.

With twenty minutes remaining Marin Bonar replaced Drew Murray on the left of the back three and James Ford made way James Muir in attack.

Substitutes Daniel Beaton and Aaron McKay were combining well in midfield and the two worked the ball forward to Connor Moore in the seventy second minute with Beaton continuing his return to lash home the return ball from Moore for Saints fourth goal.

Saints Gaffer Ross Maitland made his final change with ten minutes remaining sending on Ross Campbell to replace Rory Dowd.

Daniel Beaton was denied a second goal by yet another John Lessells save with the Neilston keeper continuing his fine performance to push Connor Moore's eighty-third minute shot behind for a corner-kick. James Muir's delivery from the left was headed out to the corner of the eighteen-yard box where it landed perfectly for James Conington whose arrowed low shot shaved the outside of far post.

There was no further scoring and Referee Tom Cavanagh sounded his final whistle after three added minutes leaving the Glencruitten faithful to celebrate a first victory of the season for their favourites.

This coming Saturday Saints travel to Kirkintilloch to face Harestanes in the Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership. The cup competitions then begin for the D&K Lafferty and MKM Oban sponsored Saints with home ties on Saturday 16th September against Calderglen in the West of Scotland Cup and on Saturday 23rd September against Steins Thistle in the Cinema Cup.