Saints At The Double
- Winning In The Rain
- Jun 14
- 6 min read
Saturday 13th June 2026
Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association
Premiership
Oban Saints 3 - 0 FC Pather
Oban Community Sports Field 3G
Soroba Road
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4JB
Kick-off 2.00pm
Referee Mr Kevin McIntyre
The Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership season concluded at Oban High School last Saturday 13th June where Oban Saints faced strongly fancied opponents FC Pather in a match which would decide the final destination of the coveted Premiership trophy.
The final match of the league season had been delayed to accommodate Pather's participation in the West of Scotland Amateur Cup Final which they lost by the slenderest of margins to St Patrick's F.P. however the long wait for the league title decider served only to heighten the sense of anticipation among the large crowd of locals and visitors who had gathered to cheer on their respective favourites.
Wishaw based Pather were without five of the squad which had triumphed on their last visit to Oban however, despite Saints requiring just one point to be crowned league champions, that thoroughly convincing Cinema Cup quarter-final victory installed Pather as firm favourites to finish top of the league table.
Saints' Manager Steven MacLeod demanded ninety minutes of maximum effort from his charges who delivered in spades to see off their vastly more experienced opponents. Two first half strikes from leading marksman Connor Moore were added to early in the second half by Aaron McKay putting Saints in a winning position which they never looked likely to relinquish.
Pather who already had the Bunrigh League Cup in their trophy cabinet pushed Saints all the way but a dogged defensive performance from front to back kept goalkeeper Craig Maitland well protected and secured what, only a matter of weeks ago, had seemed an impossible Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association and McAvoy and McIntyre Trophy league and cup double.
Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back three of Ryan Barclay, Captain Scott Maitland and Matty Pollock. The central midfield three of Aaron McKay, Aaron Moore and Gavin Forgrieve were flanked by wingbacks David Beaton and Preston Macintyre with Rhys Millar and Connor Moore forming the strike partnership up front. Joining Manager Steven MacLeod and Assistant Manager Graham Douglas on the substitutes were Connor Beattie, Donald Campbell, James Conington, Innes Fraser and Kuba Ryska.
Pather Skipper Brian Ross won the toss of Referee Kevin McIntyre's coin and kicked off attacking the school end. It was Saints however who were first to threaten and should have opened the scoring in the third minute. David Beaton's run and cutback from the right was met at the front post by Connor Moore who passed-up a glorious opportunity to settle the nerves on the touchline by side-footing the ball the wrong side of Pather keeper Brian North's left-hand post.
Referee McIntyre penalised Saints for an eighth minute handball on the right edge of the eighteen-yard box which gave Pather's left fullback Jordan Murphy a good angle for a strike on goal. Craig Maitland got down well to stop Murphy's effort but needed the combined efforts of Aaron McKay and Scott Maitland to hold off the attentions of Lee Dixon before eventually smothering the ball.
Sixty seconds later the Saints' number one was in action again punching away former Scottish Amateur internationalist Murphy's cross from the left. Maitland's punch however only made it as far as Lee Dixon who volleyed high and wide of target.
Left winger Dixon was more controlled with his twelfth minute strike which Maitland saved well before launching a counterattack up the left where Matty Pollock picked out Preston Macintyre who was sent tumbling by experienced Pather central defender Garry Fleming. Scott Maitland's delivery into the Pather box was met by the head of Aaron Moore with the ball narrowly clearing the crossbar.
The visitors survived a penalty kick appeal when right fullback Darren Smith appeared to control Scott Maitland's nineteenth minute free kick delivery into the Pather box with his arm. Referee Kevin McIntyre, who handled the potentially volatile clash excellently, however was not interested and waved away the Saints' players appeals.
Connor Moore atoned for his earlier miss when he successfully converted another David Beaton cutback in the twenty-third minute. Matty Pollock won the ball well on the halfway line and sprayed a diagonal pass to David Beaton on the right wing. Beaton raced to the bye-line and this time his cutback was met perfectly by Moore with a cheeky flick which deceived Brian North at his near post.
David Beaton came close to adding a goal to his assist when his twenty-seventh minute free-kick grazed to top of Brian North's crossbar after Connor Moore had been impeded by Garry Fleming.
A rare moment of indecision in the Saints' defence allowed John Harrison to force his way through on goal on the half-hour mark. Craig Maitland however did well to narrow the angle which was enough to see Harrison squeeze his effort wide of target.
Gavin Forgrieve's quick thinking was instrumental in the build-up to Saints' forty-third minute second goal. Forgrieve sent Connor Moore racing at the Pather defence where his crisply struck early strike from twenty-five yards gave the Pather goalkeeper no time to set himself and nestled snugly in the bottom corner of the net.
Saints were very much in the ascendency at this point and should have stretched their advantage still further when David Beaton fired over from six yards range after good work on the left by Connor Moore.
In the final piece of first-half action Preston Macintyre was brought down by Gianluca Deluca giving Saints another opportunity with the dead ball. From an almost identical position to David Beaton's earlier free-kick Gavin Forgrieve shaved a further coat of paint off the top of Brian North's crossbar.
Deputising between the posts for the unavailable Thomas Elvin, Brian North produced an excellent save to deny Connor Moore his hat-trick seven minutes after the restart. Rhys Millar did well to get away from Jordan Murphy and play in strike partner Moore whose shot across goal looked set to find the bottom corner until North, at full stretch, tipped the ball round the post for a corner kick.
More acrobatics followed from North as his team defended a fifty-fifth minute Gavin Forgrieve free kick. Brian Ross got his head to Forgrieve's delivery from the right with the ball glancing out towards the left touchline. Preston Macintyre retrieved the ball and his cross was pushed away by the flying North at his near post. Luck however deserted North when Aaron McKay was first on the scene to fire the ball into the roof of the net for Saints' third goal.
Prior to the restart Pather made their only change of the afternoon sending on striker Dewi Taylor to replace central defender Bryan King showing their intent to find the goals necessary to swing the outcome in their favour.
Saints however refused to let their energy levels drop defending stoically and looking to hit on the counterattack. David Beaton, Connor Moore and Aaron McKay all came close to adding a fourth Saints goal while at the other end Skipper Scott Maitland ensured his troops maintained their focus to return a highly prized clean sheet.
As the clock ticked down Saints' Gaffer Steven MacLeod replaced Rhys Millar, Preston Macintyre, Matty Pollock, David Beaton and Connor Moore with Jakub Ryszka, Donald Campbell, James Conington, Connor Beattie and Innes Fraser.
Anticipation levels were building on the home touchline however Referee McIntyre kept everybody waiting by playing a full seven minutes of stoppage time before eventually sounding his final whistle.
Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Vice-President Donnie Brooks commenced the presentation ceremony by commiserating with FC Pather who had narrowly missed out on the league title for a second successive season. The understandably disappointed Pather players and officials showed great class in remaining for the trophy presentation and applauding the victors. There still remains some doubt as to where Pather will be playing their football next season but wherever that is they will surely continue to challenge for honours.
Mr Brooks then invited the Saint's players to come forward to receive their league winner's medals before presenting the handsome trophy to Saints' Captain Scott Maitland much to the delight of the faithful home supporters.
The elongated league season gives the D&K Lafferty Contractors and MKM Oban Building Supplies sponsored Saints just two weeks off before they return to action on Saturday 4th July with the D&K Lafferty Cup Tournament. Joining the hosts and cup holders Kilmarnock this year are Dundee United, Livingston, Partick Thistle and Queens Park.
Comments