Match Report - By Grant Hood

Airdrieonians 1-0 Brechin City

DIAMONDS DENY CITY CHANCE TO REGAIN LEAGUE ONE TOP SPOT

A hotly disputed penalty, supremely well converted by former City frontman Iain Russell, was enough to secure all 3 points for The Diamonds in an evenly fought game at The Excelsior Stadium.

To have the game decided on such a hugely contentious refereeing decision was harsh on a City side who contributed well on a day which was further blighted by skipper Paul McLean receiving a red card, and City's former Airdrie player Alan Trouten leaving the field through injury.

With defender Gareth Rodger retaining his place ahead of the injured Darren McCormack, the only other change to the starting XI from the team which won well at Peterhead last weekend saw the return of Club Captain Paul McLean in place of another injury victim Finn Graham. This in turn saw Lewis Spence slotting back into his more accustomed midfield role.

City started the game very much on the front foot, creating 3 chances in the first 3 minutes. Last weekend’s hat-trick hero Ross Caldwell headed over from a Willie Dyer cross within 20 seconds, before James Dale shot wide and Caldwell pinged a shot straight at the home keeper from outside the penalty box.

Airdrieonians had their first sight of goal when Adam Brown shot over after Gareth Rodger had conceded a free kick. This was to be a recurring theme of the first half, with any free-kicks conceded by City in the final third being delivered in a menacing style with both low trajectory and pace into dangerous areas – repeatedly putting keeper Graeme Smith and his defenders under severe pressure.

Darren Dods’ men continued to carry a goal threat of their own, with shots from Ally Love and Lewis Spence failing to produce a save before Love again, this time from an imaginative free-kick routine, saw his effort blocked.

The quality of home set piece deliveries continued to trouble the City rearguard with ‘Buzz’ again in the limelight on numerous occasions keeping the hosts at bay.

The game’s pivotal moment arrived shortly after the break. City’s Alan Trouten pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury and was replaced by Aron Lynas. The game re-started with a home throw-in in Airdrie’s offensive third, which resulted in the ball being lobbed into the box and headed onto the arm of Dougie Hill at near touching distance by an Airdrie striker. The interpretation of this by the referee as a deliberate hand-ball – a decision acknowledged post-match by Diamonds Manager Mark Wilson as “a bit of luck” – incensed the City players who could only look on as IAIN RUSSELL struck the penalty low past Smith for what would be the game’s only goal.

Understandably, this gave the home side a boost, leaving City to try and force the game in search of an equaliser. Lewis Spence was a driving force in midfield, creating a shooting opportunity from 25 yards – but was unable to re-create his spectacular long-range scoring effort at the same venue last season.

The game degenerated somewhat, with the referee seeing fit to issue a flurry of cautions – including yellow cards to City’s Ally Love and home skipper Marc Fitzpatrick involved in a heated contretemps as tempers flared. As City sought an equaliser, the altogether more menacing goal threat came at the other end with ‘Buzz’ producing a flurry of fine saves from Ryan Conroy, former City loanee Andy Ryan and the dangerous Adam Brown.

City’s sense of injustice was further exacerbated when claims for penalty for what looked like a very similar incident to that which caused the initial controversy were waived away by the referee.

With 11 minutes remaining, the all-but predictable ordering off arrived with City skipper Paul McLean receiving a straight red card for a lunge on Jack Leitch following a surprisingly poor first touch. This was Pabs’ fifth red card in over 260 appearances during what is now his eighth season with The Club.

Despite the clear willingness from the Glebe Park side to try to force a leveller, the home side held out comfortably to secure a victory and consolidate their place in League One’s top four.

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