Saints Put Four Past The Students At Stirling University
- Winning In The Rain
- Feb 8
- 5 min read
Saturday 7th February 2026
Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association
Premiership
Stirling University 0 - 4 Oban Saints
University of Stirling
Airthrey Road
Stirling
FK9 4LA
Kick-off 2.00pm
Referee Mr Matthew Denne
Four goals inside the opening half hour gave Oban Saints full points in last Saturday's Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership encounter with league leaders Stirling University. The D&K Lafferty Contractors and MKM Oban Building Supplies sponsored Saints travelled to Stirling in buoyant mood following the previous week's home victory over league title aspirants Dunblane SC and gave their own hopes of landing some silverware a major boost with another convincing victory.
Top goal scorer Connor Moore returned from injury to spearhead the attack and gave Saints the perfect start netting the opening goal after just three minutes. Moore completed his brace eight minutes later before strikes from Aaron McKay and Daniel MacCuish completed the scoring before the half hour.
A clean sheet for goalkeeper Craig Maitland and his defence, once again excellently marshalled by Captain Scott Maitland, was another positive for Manager Steven MacLeod as he looks to steer a course towards a successful end to his first season in charge. MacLeod will however have to do so without the services of shinty trio Daniel MacCuish, Louie MacFarlane and Daniel MacVicar who will shortly return to Oban Camanachd for the upcoming shinty season.
Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back three of Matty Pollock, Captain Scott Maitland and Louie MacFarlane. In the middle of the park Gavin Forgrieve, Matty Kelly and Daniel MacCuish were flanked by wingbacks Aaron McKay and Donald Campbell with Rhys Millar and Connor Moore up front. Warming the substitutes bench were Ryan Barclay, Connor Beattie, Kenneth Black, Innes Fraser and Daniel MacVicar.
Saints' first visit to the excellent facilities at the University of Stirling Sports Campus got off to a perfect start when top marksman Connor Moore struck with just three minutes on the clock. Matty Kelly made an interception in midfield and guided the ball back to goalkeeper Craig Maitland who quickly sent the ball long making good distance against the wind. Rhys Millar helped the ball onto strike partner Connor Moore who raced into the box and fired low across Uni keeper Louis Bisset and into the far corner.
Skipper Scott Maitland claimed a rare assist for Saints' second goal with a perfectly weighted ball over the top for Connor Moore to run onto. Daniel MacCuish won possession in the centre-circle and laid the ball back to Maitland who sent Moore through the inside-left channel from where he expertly lobbed the advancing Louis Bisset.
The visitors continued to dominate and added a third in the seventeenth minute. Rhys Millar was fouled on the halfway line with Scott Maitland lofting the dead ball into the Uni eighteen-yard box. Daniel MacCuish and Gavin Forgrieve exchanged headers before the ball bounced to Connor Moore on the eighteen-yard line. Moore controlled well and rolled the ball into the path of Aaron McKay who took a touch to take the ball into the box and, from a tight angle, arrowed a shot through the legs of Louis Bisset and into the far corner of the net.
Connor Moore was denied his hat-trick by a fine save from Louis Bisset after Moore had showed good strength to hold off the combined attentions of Jack Dutch and Harry Sawdon.
Louie MacFarlane was inches off target with a towering header from a Gavin Forgrieve free kick after Aaron McKay had been brought down on the Saints' right. From the resulting twenty-ninth minute goal kick the visitors got themselves in a tangle attempting to play out from the back and, when Connor Moore regained possession, he was able to pick out the unmarked Daniel MacCuish who marked his final Saints' appearance before returning to the world of shinty in style by lashing the ball into the postage stamp corner from twenty-two yards.
Connor Moore and Donald Campbell linked well on the left in the thirty-sixth minute with Campbell winning a corner kick when his cross was deflected behind. Louie MacFarlane made a good run to reach Gavin Forgrieve's delivery but could only make the slightest of contact and glanced his header agonisingly across the face of goal.
Craig Maitland faced his first serious test of the afternoon in the thirty-eighth minute when Uni dangerman Beppe Giordmaina's ball across the box from the left was returned by Jack Dutch into the stride of Ewan Blues whose shot was well held by Maitland.
The hosts exerted a brief spell of pressure on the Saints' defence and Skipper Scott Maitland made a vital block on opposite number Ben Telfer to deny the big midfielder a strike on goal.
Saints closed out the first-half action on the attack with Louis Bisset making a fine save flying to his right to push behind a twenty-two-yard effort from Rhys Millar. Gavin Forgrieve produced another excellent delivery from the corner flag which Louie MacFarlane was inches away from making contact with at the back post.
Stirling University were an improved proposition in the second period and prevented Saints from getting back into their first-half groove. Despite this, Louis Bisset remained the busier of the two goalkeepers showing good handling to hold a Gavin Forgrieve free-kick and saving bravely at the feet of Aaron McKay as he burst into the eighteen-yard box.
Saints' Gaffer Steven MacLeod made his first change of the afternoon just before the hour mark replacing Donald Campbell with Daniel MacVicar in a direct swap at left wingback.
The hosts were forced to see out the final thirty minutes with ten men when two quick-fire yellow cards from Referee Matthew Denne for central defender Harry Sawdon were followed by the inevitable red.
Rhys Millar failed to replicate his delicate lobbed finish from the previous week against Dunblane SC with his sixty-eighth minute effort which could only find the gloves of Louis Bisset.
More changes followed from Steven MacLeod with Ryan Barclay, Connor Beattie and Innes Fraser coming on to replace Louie MacFarlane, Rhys Millar and Daniel MacCuish.
The ten men battled on gamely, but Saints continued to make chances which deserved better than the wayward finishing which posed no threat to the Uni keeper.
Saints' final change saw Matty Pollock make way for Kenneth Black to come on and face his former team-mates on the left of the back three.
A predilection for power over placement from Saints ensured that there was no further scoring and Referee Matthew Denne, who had a good game, brought proceedings to a close after two added minutes.
This coming Saturday Saints are on Scottish Amateur Football Association Cinema Cup duty when they travel to North Lanarkshire to face Cumbernauld Pumas with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.
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