AIRDRIE UTD

St. Johnstone

Both teams played out a tentative first half of the match that included very little goalmouth action. The main feature of the game was the battle for midfield dominance. Airdrie had been weak in midfield last week but it was very obvious that a lot of work had gone on in training to gel Marv Wilson and David Dunn. Dunn in particular sat very deep in the first half, curbing his natural tendency to roam forward at every opportunity. Marv Wilson was eager to make up for last week’s howler and set about winning every battle, and how. To counter St. Johnstone’s ‘third’ man, and protect Willie Wilson, Jerome Varielle sat very deep throughout the game, a move severely restricted his ghosting runs into the box, so Airdrie struggled to impose themselves on the game as much as usual. Coyle looked particularly isolated throughout the first half though Gow dropped deep to get on the ball to little avail. Defensively both teams looked sound. Saints had Ian Maxwell dominating his area whilst the majestic Alan McManus ruled supreme in the Airdrie defence. McManus has been unbelievable in the last year, easily looking like an SPL class defender. A season of this standard and he WILL be next year. Airdrie’s main stopper was absolutely everywhere, winning possession all over the place and basically leading the team by example. That’s not to say the defence is a one-man show, Paul Lovering was tremendous too, as was McGowan till he went off injured very early. Both the Wilsons had good games too, Scott could have scored twice from set pieces, whilst wee Willie played out his skin despite a couple of heart in the mouth moments. One such moment, where he’d been skinned by Hardy on the left, Dunn commited a foul in the ‘D’ to concede a direct free kick that thankfully Sheerin wasted. Saints went close in the last minute of the first half when Sheerin had a free header but things were pretty easily matched though I was expecting a lot more from Airdrie. My main gripe at half time was that Roberts and Vareille weren’t getting into the box at all.

After the interval Airdrie came out like a house on fire. Early on Gow crossed for Coyle who headed over and Scott Wilson had a couple of chances from corners. Airdrie were playing with a lot more flair, Dunn making more productive runs from midfield, Gowser showing all his party tricks, and Marvyn Wilson winning every tackle in that congested midfield. The main difference though was Owen Coyle. At half time I’d thought that Coyle was looking really out of it, even questioning if his time was slipping away. But, almost on que, big Owenie sprung to life. Where the game had passed him by in the first half, Coyle decided to go looking for the game in the second. Airdrie chipped away at Saint Johnstone for forty minutes of the second half to no avail, but despite turning the screw there was a certain something missing. Then, from a throw-in, Gowser picked up the ball, evaded a couple of challenges, and floated a deep cross to the back post for, you guessed, Jerome Varielle, making his first real venture into the box all game, to smash home the winner.

Airdrie immediately brought on McKeown and Docherty for Varielle and Gow in an effort to secure the game. With only about three minutes on the clock, Airdrie skilfully killed the game stone dead after fine work by McKeown and Roberts in the near corner. Both forwards, Roberts in his finest Airdrie moment in two years, won succession of corners and throw-ins to really take the pressure off and condemn the title favourites to an early defeat.