Airdrie 0 Vs 1 Motherwell (Match report)

By Chris Mac
January 7 2007

The Tennents Scottish Cup always brings highs and lows, yesterday was a combination of both. We were defeated by Motherwell but it was a display we can be proud of.

Kenny Black was forced to make a change to our starting line up Gary Tierney replaced the suspended Paul Lovering at left back.
Motherwell came out of the blocks quickly and put us under early pressure Richie Foran came close but the Airdrie United defence stood strong.
Slowly, we turned the tide, Stephen McDougall skipped by two players; his cross found Gary Twigg but his shot was cleared by the Motherwell defence.
It took 31 minutes for Motherwell to make the break through; Referee Kenny Clarke gave Motherwell a very soft free kick, it was poorly defended by the Airdrie defence and Rickie Forlan rose above Neil McGowan to header home the only goal of the match.
Stephen McKenna could have equalised 5 minutes later, a 25 yard shot flew over Graeme Smith in the Motherwell goal only to crash against the cross bar and go safely out of play.
On the stroke of half time Stephen McKeown forced smith to pull of a decent save, Airdrie United had a free kick just outside the penalty box, as it broke to McKeown he did well get the shot on target.
Referee Clarke blew for half time with Airdrie United on the ascendancy.

The second half started as a battle in midfield, both sides trying to probe for an opening that just wasn't there.
Motherwell looked like they were content just to sit on the lead and Airdrie United were forced to battle and break them down.
Stephen McKeown came close with another long range shot that was just a little too high, Gary Twigg found some space but hit a weak shot that was easy for Smith to gather up.
This match was there for the taking and Kenny Black was determined to do just that, three substitutions in 10 minutes saw Airdrie United switched from playing with one up front to having four attackers on the park. Should Kenny have made the decision 10 minutes earlier?
Aimee Koudou made his presence felt almost instantly, with the ball at his feet he put the Motherwell defence under pressure, his runs to the by line and in to the box were a joy.
Motherwell could have widened the gap; as Stephen McKenna was about to play a pass the ball bobbled and instead of a controlled pass he slid the ball slowly to Neil McGowan all he could do was nudge it forward, McDonald for Motherwell latched on to the ball and charged forward in a quick break away, fortunately the Airdrie defence stood strong and broke up the play.
We deserved a goal, shots from McKeown and McKenna on another day would have seen us drawing and then taking the lead and Brian Prunty would have made contact with a diving header at the near post.
But it just wasn't to be.
It may be an awful feeling to be beaten by Motherwell but at least it gives us hope that this season is not over.