AIRDRIE UTD

There was a sense of something special in the air at the start of this one. Having been delayed leaving for the match I arrived with seconds to spare till kick-off. My first thought on entering the ground was that I had just arrived mid-way through a party. The first fifteen minutes of the match though were a bit of a slog as the newly fashioned team got gelling as a unit. Arbroath were first to threaten with a powerful long-range shot that Mark McGeown brilliantly tipped over his bar. Airdrie did eventually get going but it was all powder puff stuff. Willie McLaren twice came in from the left wing to make well-timed runs through the centre forward position, but both times fluffed his shot. He then made a mazy run starting on the left wing, cutting a swathe through the Arbroath defence before shooting right footed, meekly, toward Mark Peat in Arbroath’s goal. The equally enigmatic Alan Gow got in on the act too. Gow and McLaren swapped passes the left Gow with a half chance to shoot from distance but he too could have done a lot better. News was soon filtering through that Hamilton were beating Morton and the news must have reached the players who took things up a gear. If they didn’t get the message I’ll never know, “one nil to the Hamilton” indeed! Five minutes before the break Alan McManus came close to opening the scoring with a bullet header that Peat did well to save at the second attempt with Coyle lurking ominously. Moments later however the stalemate was broken in typical no-nonsense fashion by the no-nonsense striker (but playing midfield) Stephen McKeown. A loose ball inside the penalty area was thrashed goalward by ‘Dosser’ to get the party started at long last. To take things to a completely different level Airdrie fan Murray Carr, who was ‘wired’ to his personal stereo, took great delight in personally delivering the news everyone wanted to hear, Hamilton were amazingly three up on Morton. Right after the goal though, Willie McLaren was victim of a shocking challenge that left him limping off for half-time treatment.

McLaren came out for the second half and appeared to be limping. The game was barely restarted when Owen Coyle played him in down the left. MacLaren accelerated away from the defence and slipped the ball past Peat with ease. Airdrie turned on the style but without much end product before putting the match beyond doubt with a late double. Firstly, Scott Wilson nodded home a deep back-post cross from McLaren, then Paul Lovering scored his first for Airdrie with a powerful header from a Gow corner. By that point news had reached us that Morton were six down. Happy days indeed!

Airdrie did well in the circumstances, especially considering the players missing. In defence, the pairing of Scott Wilson and Alan McManus looked as strong, if not stronger, than when McGowan plays. Even with such a small squad there is competition for places in some departments. To highlight this, Marvyn Wilson looked much more like the player we used to know with an all action, tough tackling, display. Only his lack of prowess at shooting let him down but he still negated the loss of Docherty from the midfield. Marv’s midfield partner was Stephen McKeown, benched at the expense of Owen Coyle, but who showed the exact temperament required by producing a neat and tidy display to hold things together, and even coming up with the nerve steadying opening goal when others toiled. McKeown is no David Dunn in terms of midfield skills but he certainly did enough to justify the belief the fans have in him. Martin Glancy had one of his better games too on the right wing, one particular mazy run in the first half to feed McLaren was impressive. And what can you say about the other three strikers? McLaren continues to impress on the wing, even on a quiet day, whilst Coyle and Gow put in a power of work up front, full of skill, pace and vision. Gow infuriates the crowd at times with the odd misplaced pass, weak shot and withheld pass but his overall contribution shouldn’t be understated. Gow certainly makes things happen. You notice the difference when he’s missing.