Dumfermline 1 vs 1 Airdrie

Airdrie took another point away from home on Saturday against a Dumferline side who are sitting 2nd in the Irn Bru first division in a match that was dominated by good attacking football from the Diamonds, about time if you ask me and well done to Kenny for choosing to go 4-4-2 away from home.

I will say here and now that if that was the way Airdrie are going to play thier football then every week would be a joy. If we had lost yesterdays match it would have been a travesty but you would still have walked away thinking that every single player on the park had put in 100% effort and gave us a performance that ranks up their as the best of the season.

We heard that Stephen Robertson had hurt his back in the pre-match warm up and Lee Hollis would be in goals for what we all knew would be a tough game, as we left the East End Inn (Ater enjoying stovies and home made soup) and got on the bus to the ground there was mixed reaction, everyone agreed that Lee has sat in the side lines for long enough and today might be the game he challenged for the number 1 shirt.

It was obvious Kenny intended to attack from the team line up, Matt Hazely kept his place in the squad and both Paul Di-Giacomo and Steven Lynch started up front. 99% of fans would have predicted a four-five-one formation.

We all know Dumferline are a descent team and in the opening minutes of the fixture they looked second to none in the division, bear that in mind when I say that soon after Airdrie began to dominate the match and took the game to the Fifers.

For forty five minutes we pummelled them and our only rewards was a goal from Lynch  after 15 minutes, Joe Cardle fired in a corner that Simon Lynch struck on the volley in to the back of the net. A great goal or so I'm told, i chose to go to the toilet just in time to miss it.

Minutes later Stephen McDougall had the chance to make it two, but his final touch to take it by Dumfemlines last man was a little to strong and Gallacher in the Dunfemline goals raced out to grab the ball. 

On the half hour mark referee David Somers bottled it, as McDougall skipped by Phin for the umpteenth time, Phinn decided it was time for a little retribution, unable to catch McDougall Phinn lunged at the youngster from behind and brought him crashing to the ground. The game had been all about the football so far but this one tackle could have totally changed things, it should have been a stright red and whether it was the first real tackle of the match or not it was still from behind with no intention of winning the ball. All Credit to McDougall he could have rolled around on the ground feigning injury and made things worse but he was striaght back up and ready to wrip the Piss some more.

I could go on about how good the first half was but I have a life and a second half to cover.

Kenny has mentioned in the past that a lot of the goals against us come from mistakes and are self inflicted, today we saw one mistake and that mistake cost us three points. That sounds a little harsh and it's not meant too, yesterday was a great performance by the team from start to finish it's just unfortunate that the mistake left on loan Rangers player Loy in plenty of space to pick his spot and score the equaliser, there was very little Lee Hollis could have done left one on one. A few minutes later Hollis was called on to pull off a double save and save a point, that was the last of the real chances of the half but both teams went for it and played football, Mr Somers in the middle had only one decision to make and fluffed it but other than that is due some credit for allowing the game to flow.

The game ended 1 - 1 and the Airdrie fans left impressed.