Saints Tame The Pumas
- Winning In The Rain
- Feb 15
- 6 min read
Saturday 14th February 2026
Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association
Cinema Cup
Fourth Round
Cumbernauld Pumas 0 - 5 Oban Saints
Riverbank Community Hub
Sykeside Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4PG
Referee Mr Mark Daly
Oban Saints progressed to the last eight of the Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Cinema Cup with a convincing win over a young Cumbernauld Pumas side at Riverbank Community Hub, Coatbridge last Saturday afternoon.
A first-half brace from last season's Young Player of the Year, Rhys Millar, put Saints on their way with David Beaton marking his return from injury with a second-half hat-trick to complete the scoring and put Saints in the hat for the quarterfinals draw.
Gaffer Steven MacLeod made four enforced changes to the squad which had beaten Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership leaders Stirling University the previous week. Out went departed shinty trio Daniel MacCuish, Louie MacFarlane and Daniel MacVicar and the unavailable Gavin Forgrieve. Returning to action were David Beaton, Aidan Jackson, Fraser MacFarlane and Kuba Ryska.
Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back three of Ryan Barclay, Captain Scott Maitland and Matthew Pollock. Aaron McKay, Matthew Kelly and Innes Fraser patrolled the midfield 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, Aidan Jackson, Fraser MacFarlane, Kuba Ryszka and goalkeeper Graham Douglas.
The excellent 3G surface at Riverbank Community Hub, Coatbridge survived the hard overnight frost which wiped out a large part of the amateur football fixture list and the match kicked off in dry but chilly conditions at the slightly unusual time of 1.15pm.
Hosts Cumbernauld Pumas of the 21's Premiership had disposed of Southside United and Remo, both from the Colleges section of the Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association, in the previous rounds and were now looking to add a Premiership scalp to that list.
Saints were first to threaten when Connor Moore gathered-in David Beaton's fifth minute throw-in from the right and turned away from the close attentions of Puma's defender Lewis Carlin to fire a low left-foot shot inches wide of goalkeeper Krzysztof Kurdasinski's left-hand post.
Cumbernauld responded sixty seconds later with the first effort on target with Craig Maitland saving from Sean Murray after Saints failed to clear a deep Ben Hopkins free kick.
Moore was off-target again in the ninth minute firing low across goal from a tight angle on the left after strike partner Rhys Millar had flicked-on a long clearance from Craig Maitland.
The strikers combined again in the thirteenth minute to open the scoring. Rhys Millar won a throw-in on the right from which the ball was worked across to Connor Moore on the left who took the ball to the bye-line and lifted a cross into the six-yard box for Millar to nod home at the back post.
The hosts had the chance to hit back immediately from a set-piece on the right which Keir Wright lofted into the Saints' box for Ben Hopkins to rise unchallenged and glance wide of Craig Maitland's right-hand post.
Saints returned the compliment five minutes later after Donald Campbell had been fouled on the left edge of the Pumas' eighteen-yard box. Ryan Barclay made a good back post run to meet David Beaton's delivery with a powerful header which he placed the wrong side of Krzysztof Kurdasinski's left-hand post.
Saints continued to look the more likely to add to the scoring but couldn't find a way past Kurdasinski in the Pumas' goal who stopped a good effort from Matty Kelly and saved bravely at the feet of Connor Moore and Rhys Millar.
When Rhys Millar did get the better of the Cumbernauld keeper, he was somewhat harshly denied a second goal by an extremely tight offside call from Referee Mark Daly after the young striker appeared to have timed his run onto Connor Moore's through ball well.
Prompted by midfield trio Matty Kelly, Aaron McKay and Innes Fraser, Saints continued to create chances but remained frustratingly hesitant in front of goal with Moore and Millar both passing up presentable shooting opportunities in the twenty-ninth minute leaving Matty Kelly with a more difficult chance which deflected off Pumas' Skipper Adam Mathers for a corner kick.
Before play could restart, the home side made an enforced change sending on Grant Armour to replace the injured Keir Wright. With usual dead ball man, Gavin Forgrieve, unavailable due to work commitments, David Beaton took the corner kick from the right and expertly picked out Rhys Millar's clever near post run with the youngster tucking a cushioned volley inside the post to double Saints' advantage.
Adam Mathers made a good sliding interception to deny Innes Fraser at the expense of a corner kick on the left which Connor Moore trotted out to take. Matty Pollock climbed highest on the six-yard line to send a powerful header crashing off the underside of the Pumas' crossbar. Any debate as to what side of the goal line the ball had bounced became irrelevant when Referee Daly penalised Pollock for a high boot.
As the first half drew to a close Connor Moore's pace tormented the home defence again when a won a foot race with Lewis Carlin to poke the ball wide of Krzysztof Kurdasinski but also wide of his right-hand post. At the other end the Pumas followed suit just before the half-time whistle with a Lennon Sommerville shot which Craig Maitland was relieved to see go wide of his right-hand post.
Saints' Gaffer Steven MacLeod made his first change at the interval replacing Donald Campbell with Connor Beattie in a straight swap at left wingback.
Two minutes into the second period, Krzysztof Kurdasinski made another brave save at Connor Moore's feet before launching a long clearance which bounced over Scott Maitland and left Sean Murray one-on-one with Craig Maitland. Murray deftly lifted the ball over the advancing Saints' keeper but onto the face of the crossbar and straight back into Maitland's grateful arms.
Kurdasinski produced heroics in the fiftieth minute to block net bound efforts from Rhys Millar, Connor Beattie and Aaron McKay before denying Beattie again two minutes later with another fine stop. The Cumbernauld keeper's luck however ran out when David Beaton volleyed the loose ball spectacularly into the top corner for Saints' third goal.
The woodwork came to the Pumas' rescue six minutes later when Aaron McKay's thumping drive came back off the post with Kurdasinski able to reach the rebound and smother the ball ahead of Connor Moore.
Sixty seconds later Moore's driving run into the Pumas' box panicked Ben Hopkins into a trip which Referee Daly had no hesitation in punishing with a penalty kick. Such is Saints' chequered record from twelve yards that this no formality however David Beaton followed up his earlier composed finish with aplomb to further stretch Saints' advantage.
Steven MacLeod made further personnel changes on the hour mark sending on Aidan Jackson and Kuba Ryszka to replace Matty Pollock and Innes Fraser.
With two goals each under their respective belts, Rhys Millar and David Beaton vyed for a third with Millar eventually providing the assist for Beaton to reach the three-goal mark. Millar collected a throw-in on the right from Ryan Barclay before hitting the bye-line and digging out a cross into the six-yard box where Beaton leapt salmon-like two yards from goal to header over Krzysztof Kurdasinski and into the net to complete his hat-trick.
That proved to be the final involvement for Beaton and Barclay who were promptly replaced by Fraser MacFarlane and Kenneth Black in Saints' final substitutions of the afternoon.
The closing twenty minutes followed a similar pattern to Saints' previous outing against Stirling University where they created chance after chance without adding to the scoring and only rarely testing the opposition goalkeeper.
Rhys Millar and Kuba Ryszka both fired wide of target before Kenneth Black headed a Connor Moore corner kick straight at Krzysztof Kurdasinski after Fraser MacFarlane, making his first appearance of the season, saw his shot from a tight angle deflected behind.
Connor Beattie's eighty-seventh minute back heel from a Connor Moore cutback also went straight at the goalkeeper which was a considerably better outcome than his skied effort sixty seconds later which cleared the perimeter fencing and landed in the carpark behind the Cumbernauld goal.
Saints are joined in the hat for the quarterfinals by AFC Chryston, Clydebank, Linwood Rangers 21's and Rutherglen Glencairn with the three remaining fourth round ties still to be played.
The D&K Lafferty Contractors and MKM Oban Building Supplies sponsored Saints resume their Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership campaign this coming Saturday when they welcome Stenhousemuir Foundation to Glencruitten.
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