Solid Foundation But Shaky Superstructure
- Winning In The Rain
- Aug 24
- 5 min read
Saturday 23rd August 2025
Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association
Premiership
Stenhousemuir Foundation 1 - 4 Oban Saints
Larbert High School
Carrongrange Avenue
Stenhousemuir
FK5 3BL
Kick-off 1.40pm
Referee Mr Donald McCallum
Four goals in a blistering twenty-eight minute first half spell saw Oban Saints take three points from their first away fixture of the 2025 - 26 Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership season against Stenhousemuir Foundation at Larbert High School last Saturday afternoon.
Strikes from Rhys Millar, Aaron McKay and a brace from top marksman Connor Moore gave Saints a solid foundation which, much to the frustration of Manager Steven MacLeod and Coach Archie MacLean on the touchline, they failed to build on in a largely disappointing second half.
Saints lined up with Craig Maitland in goal behind a back three of Matthew Pollock, James Conington and Ryan Barclay. In the middle of the park were Captain Matthew Kelly, Gavin Forgrieve and Rhys Millar flanked by wingbacks Aaron McKay and Donald Campbell. Up front were Connor Moore and David Beaton. Joining Manager Steven MacLeod on the substitutes bench were Connor Beattie, Innes Fraser, Keiron Lopez.
There was just three minutes on the clock when Saints opened the scoring from a throw-in on the right. Aaron McKay, David Beaton, Rhys Millar, Connor Moore and Donald Campbell were all involved in the build up with Campbell eventually providing the lay-off from which Moore fired high into the net past the right hand of Mark Angus.
Saints doubled their lead straight from the restart quickly regaining possession and breaking forward on the left. Donald Campbell, Connor Moore and Rhys Millar combined well with Moore looking set to add to his tally before unselfishly playing in Millar to knock home from eight yards.
It was almost three goals in three minutes when Connor Moore turned Aaron McKay's low fifth minute cross from the right back across the face of goal and inches wide of the far post.
The visitors continued to threaten and Stenhousemuir had Mark Angus to thank for keeping them in the game with saves from Connor Moore and Matty Kelly.
Ryan Barclay sent Rhys Millar away on the right in the eighteenth minute with Millar threading in David Beaton for a left foot effort which Mark Angus managed to block but had to watch anxiously as the ball bounced just wide of his right-hand post and behind for a corner kick. Angus immediately denied Beaton again standing up well to Beaton's shot after a short corner kick routine with Gavin Forgrieve.
Aaron McKay made it two goals in two games when he repeated his heroics from the previous week against Steins Thistle to get on the end of a twenty-second minute Rhys Millar cutback from the left.
Saints' Gaffer Steven MacLeod was in the fortunate position of making just one enforced change to his starting line-up which was to bring in James Conington to replace the unavailable Aidan Jackson in the middle of the back three flanked by Matty Pollock and Ryan Barclay. Conington climbed well in the twenty-fifth minute to head away a long throw-in from Stenhousemuir left fullback Ryan Scott.
Connor Moore completed his brace in the twenty-eighth minute getting on the end of a well weighted through ball from Gavin Forgrieve before rounding Mark Angus and slotting the ball from a tight angle through the legs of Rennie Hamilton on the goal-line.
Rhys Millar came close to adding to his tally with a right foot shot from eighteen yards which curled wide of the postage stamp corner before David Beaton and Mark Angus resumed their personal battle with the big keeper once again coming out on top.
The half-time message to the players from Saints' Manager Steven MacLeod and Coach Archie MacLean was to keep on doing what they had been and the second half got off to a positive start when young Donald Campbell, who made his Saints debut in the corresponding fixture last season, was brought down inside sixty seconds when racing forward on the left. Gavin Forgrieve sent an excellent delivery to the far corner of the six-yard box where Connor Moore and Ryan Barclay had both made good runs. Barclay looked better place for an attempt on goal but it was Moore who cushioned an effort off his right foot well wide of target.
Connor Beattie, another Saints' youngster who made his debut against Stenhousemuir last season, came on after fifty-four minutes to replace Aaron McKay at right wingback. It was a scoring debut for Beattie at Ochilview six months earlier, but he couldn't repeat that feat with a first time volley from eighteen yards from a fifty-ninth minute Gavin Forgrieve corner-kick.
when trying to volley a ball dropping over his shoulder from a fifty-ninth minute Gavin Forgrieve corner-kick.
There was a change of wingback on the opposite flank when Donald Campbell made way for Keiron Lopez after sixty-four minutes.
The hosts produced their best move of the match in the sixty-fifth minute which began with Rhys Robertson in the right fullback position. The Warriors moved the ball across the back four and up the left wing where Adam Cunningham played in Matthew Newlands for a shot across Craig Maitland which curled agonisingly wide of the far post.
The crisp passing of the first half had long since deserted Saints with the chances drying up accordingly. Despite this, Mark Angus had to save well at Connor Moore's feet before Connor Beattie failed to trouble the keeper with a difficult skill when attempting to volley a ball dropping over his shoulder in the sixty-seventh minute.
There had been little for Craig Maitland to do in the Saints' goal but he had to show good reactions after seventy-four minutes to safely gather a Rhys Robertson header from a Tushar Patil corner-kick.
Steven MacLeod made his final change with fifteen minutes remaining sending on Innes Fraser to replace Connor Moore.
Saints' frustrations continued with Rhys Millar firing into the side netting and Mark Angus once again saving from David Beaton before Matty Pollock headed a Gavin Forgrieve corner-kick over the crossbar.
David Beaton was sent tumbling twenty yards from goal by Jordan Piercy in the dying minutes for one last chance to beat Mark Angus. Beaton's off-target dead-ball effort summed up Saints' second-half performance before the hosts notched a deserved consolation in the final minute. Matthew Newlands got on the end of Tushar Patil cross from the right to end Craig Maitland's hopes of a first clean sheet of the season.
The D&K Lafferty Contractors and MKM Oban Building Supplies sponsored Saints have no fixture this coming Saturday but will return to Scottish Premier Amateur Football Association Premiership action on Saturday 6th September with a trip to Dunblane High School to face Dunblane Soccer Centre.
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