AIRDRIE UTD

Clyde

What a match? Airdrie started the match with a fresher look to the team. McGroarty looked mobile on the left of defence though his defending will need some training ground tuition from Sandy and Kenny. In midfield Kevin Barkey was very impressive in his work-rate, commitment and ability, a standard very close to the level displayed week in, week out, so far this season from Marvellous Marvyn Wilson. At the back Willie Wilson was playing like a man possessed and Kevin Christie, despite his lumbering appearance, showed why Sandy Stewart preferred his experience to that of Scott Wilson, more of which later. Up front Stephen McKeown was again displaying his ability to hold up the ball and bring others into the game. The first talking point of the game was a booking for Kevin Christie for a foul that left Ian ‘Lazarus’ Harty incapacitated for all of about, oh, five seconds. The card was deserved, the striker deserving another oscar, though he’ll be annoyed that it took him five minutes to hit the dirt. At that stage the cynic in me wondered how long we’d keep ten men on the pitch, my thoughts that Christie would be unable to play the remaining 80odd minutes without walking. Unfortunately Mark Roberts decided to take matters into his own hands. After only about ten minutes Roberts reacted ‘violently’ to a Clyde player. I wasn’t paying attention to whatever went down beforehand, but Roberts unforgiveably drew the boot off the back of the Clyde players legs and deserved to walk. I’d love to see the incident in full tomorrow on Scotsport First to see if the ref should have taken any other action but Roberts let his team-mates and the fans down, though, on the upside, we’ll not need to suffer him next week now.

It didn’t take Clyde long to capitalise on Airdrie’s misfortune. Gilhaney(?) skipped down the right wing and crossed for Wilford to out-jump Willie Wilson at the back post to nod home. Airdrie looked rattled, McManus straining to get the defence organised, and Marvyn Wilson having to really gee up his team. It took a good quarter of an hour of intense Clyde pressure to be soaked up before Airdrie could really get back into the match, with Mark McGeown performing heroics in goal. Airdrie got back in the match when McGroarty skilfully fed the ball infield to Stephen McKeown. Dosser turned and shot from the edge of the box and fortunately their goalie, Halliwell, spilled the ball for the alert and nippy Kevin Barkey to beat the Clyde defence to poke the ball into the gaping net. Good fortune at last and the perfect ‘pick-me-up’ for the goal starved Airdrieonians. A tremendous tackle from David Dunn – you don’t hear that often? – almost set McKeown up for another similar effort moments later as the ten men in red and black halves made a mockery of their numerical inferiority as he halve closed.

After the break Airdrie seemed to become more and more composed, looking at ease with their system and tactics. McKeown held the ball up, Barkey and Marv ran the midfield like they had Duracell batteries fitted, Christie and McManus got on top of things and the goalie was in control of his box. Clyde played into Airdrie’s hands with their uninventive long ball play. The only real down side for Airdrie was another patchy display from Owen Coyle. Coyle is the kind of player that survives by getting on the end of chances but in a game like this he needed to drop off and get on the ball before getting others involved. Not really his kind of game? But, as I was thinking that we’d be better off with Varielle partnering McKeown, who would decide to make a mockery of me by getting involved in the winning goal? Coyle made headway down the left and whipped over a dangerous cross that the increasingly influential Barkey just couldn’t get to. As Barkey fought for possession he won a corner that he took himself. The wind must have helped confuse the Clyde defence as Potter was helpless as the ball bounced off him for Owen Coyle to poke the ball past Halliwell. Airdrie held on and looked like they could have increased the lead as a wave of confidence washed over them, the Clyde fans exiting a good five minutes from the end, their unbeaten run in tatters.