Saltcoats Victoria 2–1 St Anthony's

Saltcoats Victoria 2–1 St Anthony's at Campbell Park. Photo: JazzaMcG Photography

West of Scotland Football League Third Division · Saturday 14 November 2026 · Campbell Park, Saltcoats

Saltcoats Victoria got back to winning ways with a 2–1 victory over St Anthony's at Campbell Park on Saturday. Olamilekan Adebomi opened the scoring and Brian McCullough got the winner early in the second half. It was a scrappy afternoon in difficult conditions, but the Vics held on for three valuable points.

Coming off the back of last week's goalless draw with Vale of Leven, Stevie Wilson had to shuffle his pack after losing a couple of players to illness. Dean Wilson came into the starting eleven, with Rudi Johnston again wearing the armband.

Adebomi Lights Up a Bright Start

Victoria started brightly and were rewarded on 13 minutes when Olamilekan Adebomi scored a superb goal to put the home side in front.

The Vics played well in that opening spell, but the game soon became a scrappy affair. With the wind and the conditions playing their part, the ball spent long spells in the air and out of play, and neither side could settle.

St Anthony's drew level on 24 minutes. A ball into the box was spilled and visiting captain Ewan Valentine was on hand to score, giving the visitors a lift heading towards the break.

Victoria made an early change on 40 minutes, with Ross Agnew replacing Cameron McIntyre, and the sides went in level at 1–1.

McCullough Restores the Lead

The Vics needed just three minutes of the second half to go back in front. Brian McCullough's effort found its way into the net on 48 minutes. His manager wasn't sure afterwards whether the keeper should have saved it or the wind helped it in, but he was happy to take it.

St Anthony's turned to their bench, making five changes in the second half, including a change of goalkeeper on 53 minutes when Harry Purves replaced Damien Lorimer.

From there it was a case of rolling the sleeves up for Victoria. Ruaridh Thompson came on for Andrew McIntyre on 77 minutes and Gary Brown replaced Owen McGhee three minutes later, as the home side dug in and saw the game out to take all three points.

Manager's Reaction

Manager Stevie Wilson was honest about the quality of the game, but delighted with the result:

"Delighted with the three points. It wasn't the greatest of games. I feel sorry for the supporters who paid money to come in and watch it. I was saying to a few of them after it that they'd probably be asking for their money back! Obviously the conditions weren't great either, but I'm delighted just getting the points."

"Ola scores a great goal in the first 13 minutes or so and I thought we played well for that spell. Then I thought we really fell away in the game after that, and it just became very, very scrappy. They managed to score to make it 1–1 and it gave them a wee bit of a boost going into the second half. But fair play to Brian. He steps up and I don't know if it's the goalie's or wind assisted, but I'll take it. Then it was just a case of rolling the sleeves up for the rest of the game."

Wilson said the result showed the progress he has been asking for:

"I've been saying to the boys that I want us to get to a stage where, if we're not playing well, we don't need to lose. Last week we got a penalty and didn't score, but we managed to see it out and get a point. You're looking to build on that. We knew it was going to be a difficult game. They're down there fighting for points, and we're hoping to open up gaps. Three points is the most important thing for us, especially at this time of year."

Wilson also wished St Anthony's well as they look to appoint a new manager.

Wilson praised the players who came into the side:

"You lose a couple of bodies through illness and stuff like that, so you need to re-jig again. That's the reason we've got a big squad, and I'm delighted with the guys that came in. They fought away well. Hopefully we get two nights of good training this week, get the bodies back in, and then it gives us a selection headache for next week. That's what we want."

Teams

Saltcoats Victoria: Thomas Barrett; Euan Anderson, Reiss Love, Jamie Stirling, Andrew McIntyre (Ruaridh Thompson 77'), Rudi Johnston (c), Cameron McIntyre (Ross Agnew 40'), Olamilekan Adebomi, Owen McGhee (Gary Brown 80'), Dean Wilson, Brian McCullough.
Unused subs: Taylor Clark, Ryan Ritchie, Finlay Smith, Lewis Donachy.
Goals: Adebomi 13', McCullough 48'.

St Anthony's: Damien Lorimer (Harry Purves 53'); Matthew Montgomery (Danny Pugh 71'), Aiden McPhail, Austin McLaughlin, Reiss Cridge, Ross Canavan (Gary Sherriff 71'), Kieran Wilkie, Ewan Valentine (c) (Adam Love 46'), Robert Murray (Mat Laczi 56'), Jack Parker, Paul Devlin.
Unused subs: Cole Shearer, Jay McEachran.
Goal: Valentine 24'.

Up Next: Carluke Rovers Away

Victoria travel to the John Cumming Stadium next Saturday to face Carluke Rovers on the artificial surface. Wilson is looking forward to the challenge:

"The games are becoming bigger and tougher as they go. On the Astro it'll be a different game compared to what we played today. The ball will move a lot quicker, so we just want to go up there, play our own game and do the basics well. We don't fear anybody. We know they're going to be tough games, and we've had some really tough games up there, but if we apply ourselves properly and have the right attitude, we believe we can go and compete. I'm looking forward to it."

Saturday 21 November 2026

Carluke Rovers v Saltcoats Victoria

John Cumming Stadium | 2:00pm Kick-Off

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