Saints Dish Out Six Of The Best At Clyde Valley High School
Saturday 22nd August 2026
Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association
Premiership
Netherton Community 0 - 6 Oban Saints
Clyde Valley High School
Castlehill Road
Wishaw
ML2 0LB
Kick-off 1.00pm
Referee Mr Gordon Mackay
Oban Saints maintained their winning start to the Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership season dishing out six of the best to Netherton Community at Clyde Valley High School last Saturday 22nd August.
Better finishing would have given Saints a wider winning margin however the hosts were also guilty of missing chances and Saints number one Craig Maitland had to produce two excellent saves to ensure back-to-back clean sheets.
In the absence of Manager Steven MacLeod, Head Coach Archie MacLean took control of team affairs ably assisted by Club Secretary David Buchanan. Unavailable trio Matty Kelly, James Conington and Innes Fraser dropped out of the travelling party and were replaced by Preston Macintyre, Connor Beattie and Drew Murray who returns to the club after a spell in the West of Scotland League with Greenock Juniors.
Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back three of Matty Pollock, Captain Scott Maitland and Drew Murray. The central midfield three of David Beaton, Will Graham and Preston Macintyre were flanked by wingbacks Craig Livingstone and Lewis Campbell with Rhys Millar and Connor Moore forming the strike partnership up front. On the youthful substitutes bench were Connor Beattie, Donald Campbell, Archie Lewis, Ruari MacLeod and Kuba Ryszka.
The early sparring saw Netherton fullback Ryan Crielly cut out a Connor Moore cross looking for Rhys Millar while, at the other end, Scott Maitland was on hand to take the ball off Gary McTavish's toes from a Declan Sexton cutback from the left.
Lewis Campbell brought Jordan McClune into the action in the fifth minute after a give and go with Connor Moore. From the big keeper's block, the home side hit back on the counterattack with Declan Sexton getting the better of Matty Pollock but placing his shot wide of Craig Maitland's right-hand post.
Saints opened the scoring after ten minutes when David Beaton took the ball down well on the halfway line and released Connor Moore on the right. With Netherton Skipper Keiran Ward closing in and Jordan McClune closing the angle, Moore deftly lifted the ball over the advancing keeper and into the net.
Off target efforts from David Beaton and Lewis Campbell followed as Saints dominated possession without seriously threatening the home defence.
Ciaran McKenna produced a moment of magic to trick his way into the Saints' eighteen-yard box in the nineteenth minute however his overly theatrical fall to the ground failed to convince Referee Gordon Mackay who waived away the hopeful Netherton appeals. Saints almost rubbed salt into the wound when they raced up the park where Rhys Millar was denied by the substantial frame of Jordan McClune who spread himself well to block Millar's effort at close range.
Netherton striker Declan Sexton climbed well to reach Ciaran McKenna's twenty-fifth minute corner kick from the left but couldn't keep his header down. It was a similar story at the other end eight minutes later when Rhys Millar peeled off to the back post to meet David Beaton's deep delivery with a looping header which also cleared the crossbar.
As the first half drew to a close Saints continued to create openings but couldn't find the finishing touch with keeper McClune making saves to deny Connor Moore and Will Graham while Preston Macintyre and Rhys Millar both found the side netting.
Despite holding a narrow lead at half-time, Head Coach Archie MacLean was far from happy and threatened sweeping changes if an increase in tempo didn't materialise after the interval.
MacLean got exactly the response he was looking for from his charges but not before Craig Maitland made an instinctive stop on his goal-line to block a net bound header from a corner kick on the Netherton right.
In the forty-seventh minute Saints succeeded where the home side had failed and made a corner kick count. Rhys Millar's turn and shot inside the eighteen-yard box came back off Jordan McClune's left-hand post and was turned behind for a corner kick. Lewis Campbell's inswinger from the right was helped on at the front post by a Netherton head and, when the ball dropped back into play off the underside of the crossbar, Matty Pollock was on hand to tap the ball home.
That was to be the first of four goals in a devastating eight-minute spell with Connor Moore closing down the home defence straight from the restart and lifting deftly over Jordan McClune for a second time to complete his brace.
In the fifty-second minute Preston Macintyre's refusal to give up a seemingly lost cause saw him retrieve the ball just inside the right touchline and find Connor Moore who turned away from Kieran Simmons and played the ball across the six-yard box for Rhys Millar to tuck away at the back post.
The same three were heavily involved again for Saints' fifth goal cutting through the Netherton defence before Moore rewarded Lewis Campbell's supporting run teeing him up for a easy finish from eight yards.
Despite the shock of the Saints' salvo, the hosts looked to hit back and, when Gary McTavish was given time and space to cut inside from the right wing, Craig Maitland made another fine save low to his right to keep his clean sheet intact.
Connor Beattie, who had missed the previous week's match against Clydeside Athletic through injury, replaced Craig Livingstone at right wingback after fifty-eight minutes.
Drew Murray's welcome return to the club presents another opportunity for the defender to break his scoring duck however that particular search will continue a while longer after his shot on the hour mark from a Lewis Campbell cutback flew wide of Jordan McClune's left hand post.
Lewis Campbell made way for Donald Campbell in a sixty-third minute straight swap at left wingback which was almost an instant impact substitution. Young Donnie's excellent run on the left took him in behind the Netherton back four however his pass angled towards the far post was fractionally too heavy for Preston Macintyre to reach.
Connor Moore and Will Graham both had off target efforts before Rhys Millar made way for Ruari MacLeod in the sixty-sixth minute.
Connor Moore slipped in new strike partner MacLeod in the twentieth minute, but the youngster was thwarted by Jordan McClune who stretched out a strong left hand to take the ball off MacLeod's toes.
As Saints continued to dominate Connor Beattie picked out Preston Macintyre with a cross from the right however Macintyre's finish across the keeper slipped inches wide of target.
The hosts remained a threat from set pieces and there was another let off for Saints when Declan Sexton climbed well at the back post to head a Gary McTavish corner kick from the right wide.
Dropping back to help out his beleaguered defence, Sexton made an excellent seventy-fifth minute sliding interception to deny Connor Moore the chance to complete his hat-trick.
Kuba Ryszka replaced Preston Macintyre with twelve minutes remaining and immediately pressurised Sexton into conceding a free kick on the Saints' right. An attempted clearance of Will Graham's delivery into the box was sliced back towards the home goal and clawed out to the edge of the eighteen-yard box by Jordan McClune from where Connor Beattie shot well wide.
Closer, but still off target, was Skipper Scott Maitland who joined the attack in the eightieth minute for a dipping left foot shot narrowly wide of McClune's left-hand post.
Saints' final personnel change of the afternoon saw Drew Murray make way for young Archie Lewis who joined Matty Pollock and Scott Maitland in the back three.
Jordan McClune got down well to deny Donald Campbell from a Kuba Ryszka pass in the eighty-second minute but was beaten for the final time two minutes later. David Beaton's driving run left the Netherton defence trailing in his wake and his shot had just enough power to find the net despite keeper McClune getting a touch.
Scott Maitland fancied his chances from a twenty-four yard free kick after Connor Moore had been sent tumbling but Jordan McClune was able to gather comfortably before Mr Mackay, who had handled a sportingly contested affair with minimal fuss, brought proceedings to a close.
This coming Saturday 29th August the D&K Lafferty Contractors, The View and MKM Oban Building Supplies sponsored Saints continue their Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership campaign when they welcome Stirling University to Glencruitten.
Comments