Saints Make Sweet Start To M&M Trophy Campaign
- Winning In The Rain
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Saturday 28th March 2026
Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association
McAvoy and McIntyre Trophy
Group One
Dunblane Soccer Club 0 - 3 Oban Saints
Dunblane High School
Old Doune Road
Dunblane
FK15 9EW
Kick-off 2.00pm
Referee Mr Pat O'Donnell
Oban Saints kicked off their Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association McAvoy and McIntyre Trophy campaign at Dunblane High School last Saturday afternoon 28th March. Saints had suffered a heavy reverse at the hands of hosts Dunblane Soccer Club when the two sides met there on league business in September installing Dunblane as early league favourites and another difficult afternoon was anticipated. However, a considerably improved defensive performance provided a solid foundation for Saints to make a winning start to the group stage thanks to a first half brace from David Beaton and a late strike from top goal scorer Connor Moore.
Graham Douglas, Will Graham, Aaron Moore and Louie MacFarlane dropped out from the squad which had defeated AFC Chryston in the league seven days earlier with Manager Steven MacLeod recalling Kenneth Black and Innes Fraser to the fifteen-man travelling party.
Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back three of Ryan Barclay, Captain Scott Maitland and Matthew Pollock. In the middle of the park Aaron McKay, Gavin Forgrieve and Preston Macintyre were flanked by wingbacks David Beaton and Donald Campbell. Up front were Connor Moore and Rhys Millar. On the substitutes bench were Connor Beattie, Kenneth Black, Innes Fraser and Kuba Ryszka.
In a lively start Connor Moore and Donald Campbell combined on the left to force a corner kick which Dunblane keeper Ben Innes did well to punch behind with Connor Moore ready to connect. Gavin Forgrieve's second delivery from the corner flag was cleared and Craig Maitland has his first taste of the action when he safely gathered Lewis Collie's shot on the counterattack.
Captain Scott Maitland sent Donald Campbell away on the left wing in the third minute to win another corner kick which Gavin Forgrieve again delivered into a dangerous area. Donald Campbell and Matty Pollock both climbed well and Campbell's solid downward header looked net-bound until Ben Innes adjusted his feet and threw out a strong right hand to push the ball across the face of goal. Unfortunately for Innes David Beaton was well placed for a diving header just inside the post to open the scoring.
Goal scorer Beaton almost turned provider with a fizzed ninth minute cross which Callum MacDougall got a vital touch on to divert away from the onrushing Connor Moore.
Dunblane striker Lewis Collie tested Craig Maitland again in the eleventh minute this time with a little more power in his shot which Maitland had to parry before gathering at the second attempt.
Gavin Forgrieve's excellent pass from the centre-circle sent David Beaton away again on the right in the seventeenth minute. Beaton's cutback found intended target Connor Moore in the Dunblane eighteen-yard box where he was flattened by Gavin Morrison. David Beaton accepted the challenge from twelve yards and duly despatched the ball into the bottom corner to complete his brace.
Donald Campbell was enjoying a good battle with opposing wingback Riley McGill and got the better of McGill in the twenty-first minute to pick out Connor Moore on the edge of the Dunblane eighteen-yard box where he spun away from Ewan Banks to fire a shot straight at Ben Innes.
The Dunblane number one was called into action again sixty seconds later when he saved bravely at the feet of Rhys Millar after Millar's clever run through the inside-right channel had been well picked out by Donald Campbell.
The Saints defence comfortably dealt with a deep Gavin Morrison free-kick to launch a twenty-fifth minute counterattack which saw Ben Innes fingertip a Preston Macintyre left-foot shot onto his crossbar.
Macintyre and Innes were in direct opposition again two minutes later with Macintyre's effort this time lacking the earlier venom affording Innes a far more routine save.
The hosts' determination to play out from the back looked risky on occasion with Saints' front pair Connor Moore and Rhys Millar working hard to close down the Dunblane defence. Millar's tenacity almost paid off after thirty-one minutes when he correctly read the goalkeepers intentions and stuck out a foot to block Innes' pass and send the ball bouncing agonisingly over the crossbar.
The Saints' back three of Ryan Barclay, Matty Pollock and Skipper Scott Maitland were doing a good job of keeping Dunblane's lively front pairing of Lewis Collie and Alexander Gogu in check with the hosts main threat coming from Gavin Morrison's long throw-ins.
The midfield triumvirate of Aaron McKay, Gavin Forgrieve and Preston Macintyre were working equally hard and created another good opening for Connor Moore who drew an excellent save from Ben Innes in the thirty-eighth minute.
When Moore was unceremoniously upended by Ewan Banks experienced Referee Pat O'Donnell, who handled proceedings well, produced the first yellow card of the afternoon. Gavin Forgrieve had found the net from a similar distance when the sides met on league business in Oban in January but there was to be no repeat on this occasion when his dead-ball effort grazed the outside of the junction of post and crossbar.
Saints kicked-off the second half defending the school end but struggled initially to reach their first half levels and found themselves pinned back as Gavin Morrison continued to launch throw-ins deep into the Saints' eighteen-yard box.
When they did manage to get out, Saints looked dangerous on the counterattack and Dunblane central defender Callum MacDougall got a vital touch to deflect a forty-ninth minute Connor Moore piledriver wide of target.
Gavin Morrison also proved to be a threat with the ball at his feet and curled a decent effort from a fifty-first minute free kick towards the top corner which Craig Maitland did well to push behind for a corner kick.
The counterattack continued to look the most likely source of a further Saints' goal but twice in quick succession Ben Innes came out on top in one-on-one battles with Connor Moore.
Having successfully weathered Dunblane's best spell of the match Saints began making better use of the ball and when Donald Campbell and Preston Macintyre combined on the left in the seventieth minute Macintyre's delightful spin and shot looked set to ripple the net only for another telling interception from Callum MacDougall to send the ball spinning behind.
Matty Pollock headed the resulting corner kick wide before, two minutes later, Connor Moore and Ben Innes were in direct opposition again with Moore this time managing to lift the ball over the keeper but wide of target.
Saints' Gaffer Steven MacLeod made his first change of the afternoon after seventy-three minutes sending on Kuba Ryszka to replace Rhys Millar. This was quickly followed three minutes later by the introduction of Connor Beattie as a direct replacement for David Beaton at right wingback.
Dunblane didn't have a monopoly on last ditch interceptions and Gavin Forgrieve's excellent sliding challenge on Lewis Collie denied the Dunblane striker an eighty-first minute strike on goal.
Youngsters Donald Campbell and Kuba Ryszka combined well when Campbell's well weighted cross from the left was met at the back post by Ryszka whose cushioned volley couldn't find a gap between Ben Innes and the upright.
With seven of the ninety minutes remaining Steven MacLeod made his final change replacing Preston Macintyre with Innes Fraser.
Substitutes Kuba Ryszka and Innes Fraser combined well with Connor Moore in setting up Aaron McKay for a powerful shot from twenty-two yards to which Ben Innes got a strong hand to push over for an eighty-eighth minute corner kick on the Saints' right. Donald Campbell's in-swinging delivery was headed down by Matty Pollock with Connor Moore getting to the ball just ahead of Ryan Barclay to fire high into the net and round off the scoring.
The win gives Saints a good start to the McAvoy and McIntyre Trophy group stage but with tricky ties against Clydeside, AFC Chryston and Nethercraigs to come there is still a lot of work to be done if they are to reach the semi-finals.
The D&K Lafferty Contractors and MKM Oban sponsored Saints have no fixture this coming weekend but will return to action on Saturday 11th April when they host FC Pather in the quarter finals of the Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Cinema Cup.
