Hamilton (0) v. Airdrie (1) - 13/3/04

AIRDRIE UTD

The recast Airdrie side offered a lot less flair than in recent weeks with Mark Roberts reinstated to the front line. That's not to say there was a shortage of chances in the early stages. Owen Coyle threatened first by redirecting a Willie Wilson cross towards goal. David McEwan saved well. Brian McPhee also had an early chance that Mark McGeown dealt comforably with. There were other missed chances for Airdrie with Dunn, McLaren and Coyle again testing the Accies goalie.

Airdrie took a the lead after twenty minutes though. David Dunn collected the ball from McLaren, wide on the left edge of the box, before taking the ball for a walk all the way along the edge of the box, holding off various challenges, before playing in Owen Coyle with a neat reverse pass. Coyle turned to make space before firing left footed past the helpless Accies keeper. A deserved lead on chances made, but till that point it was a rather insipid game of cat and mouse. Airdrie were struggling to reach second gear whilst Accies tried in vain to use McPhee's pace to 'turn' the Airdrie defence. As was the case in recent weeks, McManus, McGowan and Lovering are proving to be a very mean, well drilled, tight-knit, defensive unit. Each defender is proving to be individually unbeatable whilst operating as a team. Willie Wilson on the right of those three had a surprisingly good first half as most of the play raged down Hamilton's right flank. When called into action Wilson was virtually flawless. Up front though, there was a rather muted display by recent heroes McLaren and Vareille. The kid was starved of service and, like a few others, was struggling to keep his footing. Varielle was a good outlet at times, holding the ball up well, but looks one paced. Neither is he making those back post runs that was providing him goals. Then again, there would have been little point as the service had been drying up. Coyle was his usual self chasing every ball and generally working his butt off, but the least said of his strike partner the better. Practically every Accies move was a direct result of you know who losing possession. Dunn put in another wholehearted shift in midfield but Docherty continued the Jeckyll and Hyde routine with one of his more forgettable days, though his effort cannot be faulted. The comfortable half time lead was almost destroyed by a powerful Brian McPhee shot that rattled the crossbar right on half time. We'd been wakend from our slumber.

Airdrie approached the second half in a professional manner thanks to McPhee's warning before the break, but goalmouth action was at a premium for long spells. Main talking point centred around Accies sub Jim Sherry. The midfielder was on the field only seconds before he left a boot in on David Dunn as our player made a clearance. Ref Rowbotham was extremely lenient by not booking Sherry, as Dunn lay on the turf in agony. Minutes later Dunn was clearly elbowed in the face by the same player. Again, Rowbotham took a lenient stance by not sending the player off. Sandy Stewart complained and was sent to the stand. How a player can strike an opponent and stay on the pitch with only a caution is beyond me. Will Rowbotham report Stewart, and if so will his report state why the Airdrie manager was so irate? Airdrie replace the nerve gratingly awful Mark Roberts by Stevie McKeown with about 25 minutes to go. The substituion sparked a better spell of football. A cushioned header by the sub made space for Coyle to square to Vareille on the edge of the box, but Varielle timidly shot at goal whilst off balance when he had team-mates unmarked beside him. Glancy replaced the tired looking Vareille and was in the thick of things when he appeared to be chopped down in the box then impeded as he tried to get back up. Again, Rowbotham infuriated the Airdrie support by missing it.

A great result that sees Airdrie leapfrog the Accies into second place. A trip to Berwick now beckons on Tuesday, and the chance to move further ahead of Hamilton. Kevin Christie should be available again to put pressure on Willie Wilson. Mark Roberts display was awful and the chances of seeing him start another game must now be rated extremely unlikely. Vareille and McLaren looked a bit goosed by the heavy schedule and Docherty was really out of sorts. Could starts be on the cards for Marvyn Wilson, Martin Glancy and Steven McKeown?