Welcome to the programme for today's league fixture against East Fife. It goes without saying they this season has been alarmingly disappointing so far. Two defeats in four games to League 2 opposition says it all. We hope that fans get the answers they deserve from the powers that be soon. Let's also hope for our first league win of the season today, though I wouldn't bet on it. Save that money for signing an entire midfield. Nevertheless, as always, 'Mon the Diamonds!

Last Time Out

Airdrieonians Vs Stirling Albion

The Diamonds would’ve hoped to defeat their second League Two opponent in Stirling Albion on Tuesday in the KDM, but we decided to be tactically inept and completely embarrass ourselves instead.

It started well, admittedly. Liam McLeish fired home from the edge of the area after the ball broke to the striker from Mahon’s driving run. Duffy got a hand but couldn’t keep the strike out.

But we couldn’t capitalise, and not long after a gilt edged chance was saved by Duffy in goal, Harry Wright would equalise for the visitors. Breaking up the pitch, Lucas Fyfe crossed for Wright who put the ball past a despairing Melrose.

The second goal was comical from an Airdrie perspective, Jordan Allan of course scoring against us. What’s his position again... Striker? Never heard of it. He broke through the dismal Diamonds defence and thumped past Melrose emphatically.

Danny Dobbie would seal the result for Stirling just before the 90th minute, curling past Melrose who had no chance, after we gifted the visitors possession from a throw in.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

A result that’s genuinely pathetic and a performance to boot from a frankly embarrassing set of players bar about three.

East Fife Vs St Mirren B

The Fifers on the other hand would also lose at home, this time to St Mirren B after their emphatic start against nine-man Clyde.

Unfortunately, I can’t find footage of the East Fife goals, so I’m working with what I got. However, it was the hosts who opened the scoring, with Tyrell Skeen-Hamilton firing into the corner to give the hosts the lead.

St Mirren B would level the tie after Josh Farquhar was brought down by Matty Rollo, with the former tucking beyond Rollo to level it.

St Mirren B would go ahead through Lewis Hodgkiss, the young Buddies breaking up the pitch and after Hogarth had his shot saved, Hodgkiss followed up to fire beyond Rollo.

The Fifers wouldn’t settle so easily, as just after the break, Cameron Ballantyne equalised. Firing into the bottom left corner from Fairley’s assist.

Hodgkiss would double his tally, after being played through on goal by Carrick McEvoy and dispatching past Rollo to restore the B team’s lead.

Saints would all but seal it in the 77th minute, as Ben Stoddart poked the ball into the net after Hogarth played a dangerous ball across the face.

The rout would be completed by Struan Thompson, the son of former St Mirren & Scotland striker Steven Thompson, as he recreated Scott McTominay’s disallowed goal against Spain, curling a free-kick on the left side of the box past Rollo.

A big win for Saints B... Who do they play next in the cup? Oh right, Us.

By David Jarvie

East Fife preview

After our dismal performance and utter embarrassment on Tuesday night, we’re playing one final home game in the home triple header, this time at home to Dick Campbell’s East Fife. Oh joy.

The Fifers have won a game in the league in contrast to Airdrie. Remember what winning a league game felt like? No, me neither. Their victory came against Cove Rangers at home, Connor Dow and Jayden Fairley with the goals for the Fifers.

The Fifers narrowly missed out on qualification to the second round of the League Cup, being defeated on penalties by Caley Thistle after a 1-1 draw, they then defeated Greenock Morton & Linlithgow Rose, before taking St Johnstone down on penalties.

The Fifers have within their ranks former Airdrie man Kieran Miller, who’s now in his second stint at Bayview after rejoining them in 2021. They also have some strikers - and good ones too! Including East Fife stalwart Nathan Austin whose already bagged three goals this season.

Maybe having competent strikers is a way to do quite well, but that’ll never catch on with us.

By David Jarvie

Airdrieonians’ Greatest Season

Part 4

Harry Cleasby’s ascension to the first team at inside-left for the Brockville victory was short-lived. Jimmy Howieson - previously missing due to suspension - was reinstated to the first team at inside-left as the starting XI began to take a more familiar shape.

29th August 1923: Airdrieonians 3-0 Albion Rovers (Lanarkshire Cup Round 1)

For the third game in a row, the Diamonds put three goals past their opposition. In a break from league duty, Airdrie faced their Monklands rivals Albion Rovers, whose opposition and gate receipts the club missed after the Rovers’ relegation from the top flight in 1922/23. Airdrie made two changes to the side that had beaten Falkirk: the aforementioned Howieson in for Cleasby and Tom Preston for Jackie McDougall. The team lined up as:

Ewart; Dick, McQueen; Neil, Preston, Bennie; Reid, Russell; Gallacher; Howieson, Somerville.

Jimmy Howieson justified Willie Orr’s decision to bring him back into the fold, scoring a double (Hughie Gallacher the other scorer) to dispatch Rovers from the cup and secure a semi-final against Hamilton Academical.

Since the start of the season, the Diamonds were now 4 games unbeaten, with three wins and a draw under their belt, a run that would last another 6 games.

With great thanks to John Henderson and his fantastic book ‘Airdrieonians FC: The Glory Years, 1920/21 to 1929/30’.

By Sean Smith

Top flight Diamonds and Fifers’

May 1993 was the last time Airdrie played a top-flight Scottish League match. I would think that even the most optimistic among us wouldn’t expect us to be back amongst the big boys by August 2028 so our absence may soon be closing on 40 years. If that seems like a long time then spare a thought for fans of today’s opponents. East Fife notched up half-a-century out of the top division in May 2024.

The club was promoted to Division 1 at the end of season 1970/71. There were but two national divisions in those days, of 18 and 19 clubs respectively, and the Fifers finished second in Division 2, five points behind champions Partick Thistle but five ahead of third-placed Arbroath. Second place brought automatic promotion back then and that achievement saw the Methil men back with the big boys for the first time since 1958.

Immediate survival in the upper echelon was always going to be a challenge, but the record books make it clear that the Fifers set out to keep things tight. They took part in 15 drawn matches during 1971/72, more than any other side in Scotland that season, but the points accumulated assisted in securing that top-berth spot. For the record, they finished one point ahead of Clyde who were relegated along with Dunfermline Athletic, who ended bottom of the pile, a further point adrift. Diamonds fans of a certain vintage may recall that we finished one point ahead of East Fife but had gone to Shawfield on the final Saturday with relegation still a possibility. A nail-biting 0-0 draw successfully staved it off, but only just.

The clubs would experience contrasting fortunes in 1972/73. For the Diamonds another relegation battle ensued, but this time there would be no happy ending. While a home success over Celtic was secured, it was the only highlight of a dismal season. A mere four wins from 34 matches sealed our fate and we finished rock-bottom, six points behind Kilmarnock. For their part, and by contrast, the Bayview boys had an excellent season with a ninth-place finish representing their best return since 1953/54. The eleven wins included a 3-0 home win over the Diamonds during what was, for us, a dank winless December.

Our relegation meant we were members of the bottom division, the last time, to date, that we have plied our trade in the basement. Our stay was, of course, as short as possible and we romped through Division 2 scoring 102 goals and losing a mere 6 at home. Indeed, only Kilmarnock and near-neighbours, Albion Rovers, left Broomfield with a point, our other 16 home matches all ending in success. While we were marching to the title, East Fife were struggling at the wrong end of the top division. As in 1971/72, the relegation battle was tight, but when the dust had settled at the end of April it was the Fifers who found themselves in second-bottom spot. While they had tied with Dunfermline Athletic on 24 points their county neighbours had a superior goal difference, being saved by what was a slender three goal margin. The Levenmouth club can however look back on a 1-0 success at Ibrox as more than a crumb of comfort.

While, in normal circumstances, East Fife might have been expected to bounce back, 1974/75 was, of course, the last season before the most radical overhaul Scottish League football has encountered. The rearrangement of league football into three divisions for 1975/76, in order to accommodate a new ten club ‘premier’ division, meant that, for the Fifers, an immediate return to top league football league was not possible. The Methil club were placed in the middle division for 1975/76 but went on to find the new, smaller, more competitive, league format more difficult. So much so that, by the end of 1977/78, they found themselves preparing for life in the bottom tier once again. The record books show that a fourth-place finish in the 1986/87 First Division, two places and five points below the automatic promotion spot, is the closest they have come to returning to the top flight.

The Diamonds just missed out on a place in the inaugural Premier Division, having finished in eleventh spot at the end of 1974/75. We had joined the elite by 1980 but have enjoyed a mere four seasons in the top flight since. Our fourth-place finish in the 2023/24 second tier was the nearest the new version of our club has come.

By Peter Smith

Acceptable in the 90s

Newspaper cuttings from 1991/92

‘Huntly make a stylish exit from the big stage’ by William Hunter, 15/01/92

‘Huntly left the central stage of the Scottish Cup, but not humbly. They made a stylish exit, although the 3-1 defeat by Airdrieonians that the grudging jade of history will show in its records chips some of the glitter off their performance. It is a score that more than a little flatters the Diamonds. Huntly played at least their share of the football.

Their mistake was to take a happy half-minute out of the game. When Huntly’s goal levelled the reckoning, the players were still bowing to the groundlings at crammed Christie Park, while Airdrie hit back with the middle of the three good goals by Andy Smith.

At least, they all looked good. Engagingly, the player insisted that the shot from the narrowest of angles in injury time that completed his hat-trick had been meant as a cross.

From the start (what a blessing is hindsight!) the Smith of Smiths had looked the main menace. His gangling height going for headers and his close dribbling were a treat.

Without sweeper Jimmy Sandison and the eternally youthful Walter Kidd, Airdrie were depleted Diamonds. Any gaps, however, were particularly well filled by the confident generalship of Kenny Black. Keeper John Martin was indestructible as ever…

At the start Airdrie were the worse of jitters. They looked as if they feared that Alex MacDonald, their manager, had travelled too far north on the anniversary week of the massacre of Glencoe.

For their part, Huntly revelled in the unaccustomed amount of attention they have received. Sometimes the serenity with which they played the ball out of defence was hair-raising. Their £10-a-week heroes were an exciting mixture of young players seeking to make a name for themselves and veterans enjoying the game of their lives…

Steve Paterson, the Huntly manager, reckoned that three or four of his squad had played below par. Marco De Barros (his father is Portuguese), who knew he was being watched at the game by Liverpool, was particularly out of sorts.

Because Steve Paterson was a schoolboy star at Manchester United and is known as Pele, he is not likely to be disagreed with…

As it is, Huntly have made thousands of new friends and around £50,000. How the little (population 4000) Aberdeenshire market town added its own cup ingredients included a butcher who created kebabs in the team’s colours of black and gold and a legal firm who became so excited about the tie that they burst into verse in their advert in the Huntly Express.

The brightly ambitious Alan Dunsire scored Huntly’s goal, but that is second hand information because the view from the press bench three yards from the touchline was frequently blocked by the amiable ambling giants of Grampian constabulary.

To the calls to bring Highland League clubs more into the body of the kirk of the national game it has to be added that Andy Smith did part of his apprenticeship with Peterhead. Also, that the easy efficiency of Mr McVicar, the referee, kept a smile on the face of a smashing afternoon.’

Thank you to Colin Campbell for the newspaper clippings.

By Sean Smith

Andy’s Top 20

We all have our favourite Diamonds matches that stick in our memories for life. It is of course a very personal thing, where we will have our own and different favourites and not always the obvious choices.

Throughout this season, I would like to share my top 20, ranking them from number 20 all the way up to my number 1, revealed as the season draws to a close. You may not agree with my choices, but hopefully it will be of interest, a wee bit of fun and lead you to give it a try!

Number 16 - Airdrieonians 1 V 0 Hearts of Midlothian Tennents Scottish Cup Semi Final – Hampden Park, Saturday 8th April 1995.

1995: 1% of the UK Population had discovered the internet and mad cow disease was creating havoc, while Blur and Oasis fought out the Britpop chart war with ‘Country House’ beating ‘Roll with It’ for top spot in August.

On the football front: Blackburn Rovers, led by Manager Kenny Dalglish, ended their 81-year wait to win the English League title; while in Scotland, Raith Rovers shocked Celtic and lifted the League Cup. Meanwhile, Brian Laudrup joined Rangers for £2.3 million, and sadly, we lost the legend Davie Cooper in March, aged only 39.

Also in 1995, minds of an Airdrie persuasion turned to the Scottish Cup final and our narrow loss to a poor Celtic team. Frustration at an opportunity missed.

We shouldn’t overlook, however, our significant achievement in getting to the final and, in particular, our outstanding win against the might of the Heart of Midlothian at a packed Hampden Park in the semi-final. No one gave us a chance before the game, sitting as we did in Division One facing the Jam Tarts from the Premier League. Hearts had a team packed with quality: Craig Levein, John Colquhoun, Jim Bett, John Robertson and Airdrie manager to be Gary Mackay.

Airdrie, however, had players to be proud of. Ex-Tynecastle stars: Sandy Stewart, Jimmy Sandison and Kenny Black along with Andy Smith, Alan Lawerence and Marvyn Wilson. Names that would become legends, at least to the Airdrie diehards. All led by the formidable ex-Jambo, Alex MacDonald. Players of great calibre who, if not fully appreciated at the time, are certainly looked on with envy by the current Airdrie supporters. Then of course, there was the star of the show on what was a glorious sunny day at the National Stadium, the Englishman we took to our hearts: the Super Stevie Cooper!

Stevie, aged 30, had arrived at Airdrie in October 1994 – a £60,000 transfer from York City, Airdrie were his 11th senior club after starting at his home town team Birmingham City. At 5ft 11in, Stevie played upfront alongside Andy Smith, posing an aerial threat developed from his school days as a champion gymnast and high jumper.

On the day, “Shock Squad Airdrie” blew this sunshine semi-final wide open in the 28th minute when Super Coop struck. Iain King of the Daily Record wrote:

“Harvey’s trickery on the right had Hearts in trouble, and when the ball broke to Andy Smith he provided the perfect ammo. His swirling cross to the back post was superbly judged, and there was Englishman Cooper soaring high to nod home a simple opener from six yards.” The Airdrie support packed out in the ‘Celtic end’ went wild. Airdrie went on to hold their lead against a subdued Hearts, whose frustration showed with numerous fouls culminating in the infamous referee Hugh Dallas showing Jambo John Robertson the red card five minutes from time. The Diamonds celebrated at the final whistle, as yet again they would be returning to Hampden for a Scottish Cup final. Angry Jambo fans booed and jeered their team as they tried, aided by the police, to return to their team bus, while dejected Hearts manager Tommy McLean had the good grace to say:

”I don’t want to take anything away from Airdrie. They were excellent.”

Despite our nomadic existence hauled up at Broadwood in our temporary home, the 1994/95 season, was sensational; not only reaching the final of the Scottish Cup for the third time in 20 years, but reaching the League Cup semi-final narrowly going out 5-4 on penalties to Raith Rovers, and of course, once again lifting the Challenge Cup beating Dundee 3-2 at St Johnstone’s McDiarmid Park. We may have been playing in Division One, but we were a team to be feared in any cup competition.

Glory Days. For those who can, hang onto those memories just now!

By Andy Locke

Check out the latest Airdrie analysis - Here

Welcome

Hello,

Welcome to tonight’s programme for our Challenge Cup league phase tie v Stirling Albion. The team at the Broomfield Bulletin have made the decision for this programme to represent all of our home Challenge Cup games. This is partly to suit personal circumstances but also because, out of principle, we do not wish to put out issues of the Bulletin for games against ‘B teams’ or take part in activities that legitimises any such games or teams. We hope that you find this course of action agreeable and enjoy this Challenge Cup issue. Thank you to all of our regular contributors for their articles and, thank you to Jim Thomson - Stirling Albion fan and editor of Programme Monthly - for his contribution to this issue. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

Last Time Out

Airdrieonians Vs Ross County

A dismal afternoon for Airdrie, despite some good spells, culminated in a depressing 3-1 defeat to pace-setters Ross County at the Tattiehad.

Adam Emslie opened the scoring after being slipped in by Luke McCarvel, drilling beyond a despairing Jamie Sneddon.

The second goal was comical. A great save from Sneddon with no-one following up meant Jamie Lindsay could just pass the ball into the net as the backline stood and watched.

We did respond instantly into the second half, Lewis Gibson curling a beautiful shot past Brad Foster to halve the deficit, and we should’ve been level as he fired past the post instantly after the restart.

We would rue that chance, as Akil Wright, like he did last season in the 2-2 draw, was unmarked in the box from a corner and headed into the net.

Hopefully, we can pick-up a bit of form with the next few games.

Stirling Albion Vs Stranraer

Stirling hosted Stranraer in a game they’d hope to win at home and get back to winning ways, but the visitors decided that wasn’t happening.

It’d be the Blues to open the scoring. The ball somehow fell into the path of Lewis Dobbie, who drilled past Andy McNeil to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

Five minutes later, it’d be 2-0. Evan Dunne firing the ball (and himself) into the net following a corner fired beautifully into the area.

Stirling instantly pulled one back after the break like the Diamonds did, Jordan Allan the man to fire beyond former Airdrie teammate Max Currie after Josh Mullins blocked shot fell to him.

Stirling Albion would do what Airdrie failed to, and get back on level terms, and it was a stunner from Danny Dobbie, the midfielder volleying home after a header only cleared the ball straight to the substitute.

An entertaining affair for both sides, which sets up KDM business perfectly.

By David Jarvie

Last Time

4th April 2015

Stirling Albion 0-2 Airdrieonians (League 1)

The Diamonds and Binos last met over 11 years ago, in league business near the end of the 2014/15 season. Albion were rooted to the bottom of the table while Gary Bollan’s Diamonds were in the hunt for a promotion play-off spot. The teams lined up:

Albion: Reidford; McGeachie, McKinlay, Robertson, Cummins; Forsyth, Hamilton, Beith; Smith, Stirling, Cunningham and a subs bench of: Davidson, Johnston, Sinclair, McAllister, Binnie, Paton, Smith.

Airdrie: McNeil; Bain, P Boyle, Gasparotto, Lindsay; Gray, Fitzpatrick, Fraser, Morton; McHugh; Prunty and a subs bench of: J Boyle, Blockley, O’Neil, Watt, Ferguson, Stewart, Wilson.

Bob McHugh had just signed for the club and was straight into the starting XI in place of the suspended Ross Docherty.

Stirling were in desperate need of the points and came out of the traps firing, Stirling only just failing to get on the end of McKinlay’s cross. Hamilton was keeping Airdrie’s full-backs busy with several runs and crosses into the box, but to no avail. McHugh flicked a Boyle cross over the bar after 15 minutes, but otherwise the first-half pressure was almost all Albion, with Smith and Stirling having further chances for the hosts.

Airdrie came into the game more as the half went on. Jordan Morton was played in by Paddy Boyle and he passed to Scot Fraser on the edge of the box, but his effort was tame and easily gathered by Reidford. McHugh put another chance over the bar - this time a rebound from a Jamie Bain shot - but the Binos had the last chance of the half, again through Stirling, which Andy McNeil saved well.

Nathan Blockley replaced Morton at half-time and the Diamonds started the second half stronger. Scott Gray and Bryan Prunty flicked on a Bain cross and Marc Fitzpatrick only just missed connecting with his head.

However, Airdrie soon took the lead. McHugh met Gray’s cross in the box and he was pulled down by Cummins. Prunty stepped up and, though Reidford got a hand to the effort, he was unable to prevent the shot from reaching the top right corner.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

Canadian Luca Gasparotto’s header soon hit the bar, but the home team were not completely out of things. McKinlay’s cross was brought down by Stirling and played into Smith, but his shot was too high.

An Airdrie corner was met by Liam Lindsay. His shot was saved by Reidford at close range, but the ball came back out to Fraser who was brought down by Forsyth in the box. After some afters by Fitzpatrick and McKinlay, which saw both players booked, Prunty again stepped up. His shot hit Reidford again - this time on the leg. But our current first-team coach had again done enough for the ball to go in and score his 14th goal of the season.

In the end, Airdrie just missed out on the play-offs, finishing 5th on 58 points and one point behind Brechin City in 4th. Albion were comfortably bottom, finishing on 20 points, 9 points behind Stenhousemuir in 9th and 14 points behind Ayr United in 8th.

14th August 2018

Berwick Rangers 0-3 Airdrieonians (League Cup group stages)

The last time the Diamonds played Berwick was also in the Challenge Cup. Airdrie visited Shielfield Park for the second time in three weeks - and won 3-0 for the second time. Before those three weeks, the teams had not played each other for over ten years. Stevie Findlay’s team came into the tie after a league defeat to Montrose.

The teams lined up:

Berwick:

Brennan; Wilson, Todd, Fleming; Phillips, Cook, Murphy, Healy, Ogilvie, Neil, Brown; Murrell and a subs bench of: O’Kane, Lavery, Chapman, Rose and Allan.

Airdrie:

Hutton; Robertson, MacDonald, Page, Crighton; Cairns, Stewart, Conroy, Victoria; L McIntosh, Carrick and a subs bench of: Duffy, Wilkie, Gallagher, Russell, McKenzie, Edwards and S McIntosh.

Joao Victoria was one of 4 changes to Findlay’s team from the last game, and he immediately threatened from the kick-off. The Diamonds continued in this vein and took the lead after only 2 minutes. A low ball into Berwick’s penalty area found Ryan Conroy 20 yards from goal, and he fired home a powerful strike which left keeper Brennan with no chance.

From the kick-off, Berwick managed to fashion some pressure, but Airdrie soon regained possession, and Dale Carrick’s shot from Victoria’s cutback was cleared off the line.

Victoria had a chance of his own before Carrick doubled Airdrie’s lead after 19 minutes. From a tight angle, the former Hearts man fired the ball across Brennan and into the net.

The Diamonds continued to pressure Berwick’s goal. This told when a rash challenge on Scott Stewart in the box led to an Airdrie penalty. Brennan got a hand to Leighton McIntosh’s penalty and touched it against the post, but the ball still managed to spin over the line.

Despite being 3-0 down, Berwick had a spell of pressure before half-time. Murrell was brought down in the box, but David Hutton saved it.

Big full-back Scott Robertson nearly got in on the act but fired over the bar after playing three one-twos with his teammates.

The comfortable scoreline and substitutions made by Airdrie meant the second half was largely played out quietly and in the middle of the park. Brennan, however, did make good saves from Carrick and Kieran MacDonald from 30 yards, while Dean Cairns and Cammy Russell missed further chances.

Airdrie’s goal blitz in the first half secured a second 3-0 win at Shielfield Park in 3 weeks, and saw the Diamonds comfortably through to the second round of the Challenge Cup.

By Sean Smith

Airdrieonians Vs Stirling Albion Preview

A bit different for my segment today, as we will also be looking at our other three home opponents for our KDM Evolution Trophy home games.

Stirling Albion, in slight contrast to Airdrie, have won a game in the league! They began their campaign with a victory over Airdrie’s first KDM match against Dumbarton, winning 2-0, with Jordan Allan scoring a brace. They have since lost to Kelty Hearts & Forfar Athletic (3-2 & 3-0 respectively) either side of a 4-2 scalp of Cove Rangers in the KDM.

Their League Cup form was the same as the Diamonds, winning one and losing three. They defeated fellow League Two side The Spartans, after losing to Dundee United agonisingly in the last minute, before suffering losses to Montrose and Arbroath.

Stirling have a couple former Diamonds in their ranks, including the aforementioned Jordan Allan as well as goalkeeper Andy McNeil also within their team. They’re a heavy mix of experience and youth; their Starting XI from their last game had an average age of 25.6 (according to FotMob). A contrast to the Diamonds whose average age was 23.9, helped by Jamie Sneddon and Declan Gallagher.

Our other opponents

St Mirren B

The Diamonds will also face two B teams unfortunately, one of whom is St Mirren’s.

In the first KDM group stage, St Mirren (as did seven other B teams) failed to make it out of the group stage, as they garnered a measly four points; losing to Dumbarton (4-2), Hamilton (3-1), Kelty Hearts (2-1) & Stranraer (2-0). They did defeat Alloa Athletic (3-2) and had a 2-2 draw with Annan Athletic.

They started their campaign with a 4-1 win over Clyde. Not sure how we can assess that given Clyde were down to nine men fifteen minutes in.

Berwick Rangers

An actual team! The Diamonds haven’t faced Berwick Rangers since 2018, also in the Challenge Cup. A brutal 20 minute salvo in the first half saw Ryan Conroy, Dale Carrick and Leighton McIntosh (from the spot) give Airdrie a 3-0 win at Shielfield Park.

Berwick have only one of their opening five league fixtures in the Lowland League East, that being a 3-2 home victory over Stirling University. They suffered defeats to Bonnyrigg Rose (whom Airdrie will also face away from home in the KDM), Brechin City & Hill of Beath Hawthorn. They began their campaign with a 1-1 draw away to Lochee United.

Their first game came against Airdrie’s final group stage opponents, Heart of Midlothian B. An entertaining affair, a hat-trick of penalties from Greg Binnie saw Berwick come from 1-0 down to lead 3-1, but Hearts came back to win 4-3.

An interesting game against opponents we haven’t faced for eight years awaits.

Heart of Midlothian B

Another B team. Fabulous.

Hearts B are our final opponents, and they opened their campaign with the victory against Berwick I just mentioned. No need to go over it again.

Hearts B were one of only two B teams to make it out the group last season (the other being Celtic) but lost at the first knockout hurdle to Championship winners St Johnstone, going down 1-0.

They defeated both Queen of The South & Kelty Hearts last season in the group stage (3-2 & 1-0 respectively) but lost to East Kilbride (3-2), Edinburgh City (4-2), Dumbarton (1-0) & East Fife (4-1).

Hopefully, we dispatch them with ease.

By David Jarvie

Airdrieonians’ Greatest Season

Part 3

Following Airdrie’s victory over their Lanarkshire counterparts Hamilton Accies, inside-left Frank Doyle was sold to Fulham. Doyle debuted for Fulham that month against South Shields in the Second Division. He scored a reasonable 9 goals in 26 appearances that season but struggled for games thereafter and was eventually released in 1926, when he signed for Celtic.

Doyle’s departure created an opening at inside-left. Perhaps surprisingly, Harry Cleasby - recently signed from Port Glasgow Juniors - was given the nod ahead of Jimmy Howieson.

25th August 1923: Falkirk 0-3 Airdrieonians (Division 1)

Thus, the team that went to Brockville exactly 103 years ago lined up as:

Ewart; Dick, McQueen; Neil, McDougall, Bennie; Reid, Russell; Gallacher; Cleasby, Somerville.

The Diamonds looked set for a difficult game in Falkirk. The Bairns finished 4th the previous season, only 5 points behind Airdrie in 2nd, while Falkirk were undefeated at home since December 1921.

However, streaks are made to be broken, and the Diamonds smashed it and then some. For the second week in a row, Willie Russell scored two of his team’s three goals - Jimmy Somerville the other - as this time Airdrie ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

By Sean Smith

A PIECE OF HISTORY

I have always been interested in how clubs can play a significant part in another club’s history, but the episode goes relatively unnoticed by supporters.

For instance, how many Diamonds fans here today know that Airdrie were the first official opponents of Stirling Albion just over eighty years ago?

Well, it’s true. On Saturday 11th August 1945, an estimated 5000 curious spectators attended the new Annfield Football Park in Stirling to watch ‘The Albion’s’ first public match and lining up in opposition were Airdrieonians. Cost of admission was 1/- with boys and members of the forces (in uniform) half price.

Two days before the match, in the Stirling Journal newspaper, it was reported that Albion founder and manager, Tam Fergusson, was hopeful of signing Airdrie fringe player, Peter McKenzie, who had trialled for the Stirling club in bounce matches; however, any deal was unlikely to happen before the match, and McKenzie ran out in Airdrie colours on the day.

The teams that took the field are listed as:

The new boys on the block were keen to impress and for the first ten to fifteen minutes of the game, lay siege to the Airdrie goal, much to the delight of the new home support. Airdrie keeper Burt was kept busy, pulling off three or four fine saves in that short period.

It was perhaps no surprise that Albion eventually broke the deadlock after eighteen minutes through a penalty converted by half-back Sanders, although there was a suspicion that the ball had gone over the line in the build-up play.

Regardless, Albion appeared worthy of their lead as Airdrie struggled to get a foothold in the match. That is not to say the Diamonds had no opportunities; they just found Stirling’s Harrison in fine form, winning every header and breaking up any promising attack, and if they did get past him, Albion keeper Pidgeon was equal to any shot fired at him.

On 35 minutes, Stirling doubled their lead after Campbell rifled home from 10 yards out.

Half Time – 2-0

In the second half, Airdrie looked much more the experienced side and began pressurising the Albion defence. As the match wore on, spectators sensed it was only a matter of time before the visitors got one back and half an hour into the second half, they did. Stirling lad and Albion target, Peter McKenzie, waltzed through the home defence before crossing to the trialist to score.

Shortly after that, with Stirling reduced to ten men due to injury, Airdrie scored an equaliser. But, on this occasion, the ball was deemed to have gone out of play in the build-up, and the goal was disallowed.

To rub salt in the wounds, Albion scored a third almost straight after when McKeown ran onto a Campbell ball and drilled it home with twelve minutes remaining.

It knocked the wind out of Airdrie, who then conceded a fourth, but that was disallowed for an infringement.

Full Time 3-1

After the game, Albion recruited Airdrie’s Muir and Elms as trialists but reported that the Peter McKenzie deal was off as it looked like he was about to break into the Diamonds first team.

As it turned out, Peter McKenzie signed for Albion in 1948, but his time as a player would not be what he is best known for with Stirling.

Forced to retire due to injuries, Peter became a prominent businessman in Stirling and a keen follower of his hometown club. In 1985, he was invited onto the board of Directors before becoming Chairman in 1990, a position he retained for twenty years before passing ownership of the club to the fans in 2010, making Stirling Albion Scotland’s first fan-owned club.

Peter after the 2006/07 play-off final win

Peter passed away in 2018 but is still fondly remembered by Albion fans who appreciate that without his stewardship and personal financial input during some very difficult times, there may be no Stirling Albion today.

By Jim Thomson

Evolution of the Challenge Cup

The match against Stirling Albion provides Airdrie’s first home game in the Challenge Cup’s league phase. The format was introduced last season but our Championship status at that time meant that we bypassed the new configuration and went straight into the ‘Round of 32’. Relegation means that we join 39 other clubs in a bid to be one of the 22 to join with the 10 second-tier clubs for the beginning of the knockout stage in November.

Every club plays six games during the league phase. The 30 clubs were separated into four pots based on the divisions in which they compete, the half dozen fixtures against clubs from the different pots. As the ‘biggest’ club in our pool and with four of our six games at home, we should have a chance of avoiding being one of the 18 clubs eliminated. The design has similarities to the ‘Swiss-system’ first used in chess and plagiarises the restructuring of the Champions League in 2024/25.

If that clarifies the ‘what’ and the ‘how’, the ‘who’ and the ‘why’ remains opaque. The SPFL website tells us that 10 of the 40 clubs are ‘guest’ entrants from the Highland and Lowland Leagues respectively but doesn’t explain the selection process. The four Highland League entrants finished in positions three to six in last season’s table, so champions, Brora Rangers, and second-placed Brechin City are the conspicuous absentees (the latter’s switch to the new Lowland League East notwithstanding). If that seems unsatisfactory, two of the six Lowland League clubs (why the disparity?) finished as low as eleventh and twelfth (of eighteen) in that division last season. Were all clubs invited but the higher-ups declined? Berwick Rangers, who visit the Excelsior on 26th September, finished eighth.

That brings us to the 10 Premiership B Teams that are taking part, of which two, St Mirren and Hearts (sixteenth in last season’s Lowland League), provide the opposition in our other two home matches. The SPFL website informs us that their inclusion is to ‘enhance youth development and provide opportunities for Under-21 players’. Why the Premiership clubs can’t set up a reserve league isn’t explained but it strikes me that that provide for both those requirements quite adequately. God forbid that the authorities are trying to normalise B-team participation in senior competitions so that Celtic reserves can join League 2. Never, I hear you say.

The preponderance of ‘B Teams’ indicates that Premiership clubs’ needs are a priority for the SPFL, but the competitive imbalance only serves to devalue the competition. I’m not aware of any consultation with clubs out-with the top division, or fans, as to whether they were in favour of the changed format but I’ve haven’t met anyone who is agreeable. If the League Cup’s sectional format is added then what we now have is an early season logjam of unwanted fixtures that stretch thin squads and increase injury risks. Then there’s all the travel and expenses incurred in the additional stadium-running costs. Maybe moneybags Celtic could compensate us all for that. I won’t hold my breath.

If the Challenge Cup needs a revamp, then how about a 64 team straight knockout tournament from October to May? There are 51 clubs across the Highland and Lowland Leagues East and West. If Celtic’s ‘B’ team (the only reserve side involved) and the bottom 16 across those three divisions were excluded (the former on principle the rest on merit) the other 34 could join the 30 SPFL clubs below the top division in an open draw. Any takers?

By Peter Smith

Andy’s Top 20

We all have our favourite Diamonds matches that stick in our memories for life. It is of course a very personal thing, where we will have our own and different favourites and not always the obvious choices.

Throughout this season, I would like to share my top 20, ranking them from number 20 all the way up to my number 1, revealed as the season draws to a close. You may not agree with my choices, but hopefully it will be of interest, a wee bit of fun and lead to you to give it a try!

Number 17 The Bell’s Challenge Cup Final Livingston V Airdrieonians Sunday 19th November 2000.

The year 2000 and the Millennium - entering the 21st Century was a time for change. Time to look back at what we left, and look to the future at what could unfold.

A time of uncertainty. The genuine fear in 1999 that the Millennium Bug would cause global chaos at the stroke of midnight on 1 January 2000, when computers reset their dates, never happened. The fuel crisis certainly did happen; as did the opening of the Millennium Dome, only for it to close again. The world was introduced to Coldplay, and the charts were awash with boy band ballads and high-energy disco. Never mind, we had Big Brother and England fell apart at the Euros, so not all bad!

Uncertainty was also at New Broomfield. Financial troubles hit our club hard and our very existence was at risk. Worrying times. And the arrival of Steve Archibald.

November 2000. Airdrie reached the final of the Bell’s Challenge Cup against Livingston at Broadwood. What an amazing achievement that was. Getting to a final is an achievement in itself but, when you consider the context at the time off the park: serious financial problems threatening the very existence of the club; and on the park, the drafting in of the Spanish Armada, unfamiliar with Scottish football and unsure of a wage packet at the end of the week. And yet we still won!

The very comprehensive match programme spoke of Steve Archibald’s arrival at Airdrie just four months before, where the Diamonds, in their first game away to Inverness, comprised just two Scottish players - Eddie Forrest and Joe McAlpine - the rest of the team made up of seven Spaniards, one Argentinian and a Frenchman who had played for Cameroon! Airdrie lost that one, 2-0, and their league form was not great going into the final. Nor were the insecurities behind the scenes. The Diamond supporters, however, were blown away by their adopted Spanish imports and, donning their sombreros, were there for the ride. For the club and the fans, this final was a bit of deserved respite from the more serious matters off the park.

To reach the final, the Diamonds saw off Queen of the South 2-1 aet, Hamilton 1-0 aet, Clydebank 1-1 and 4-3 on penalties after aet and Stranraer 4-2 aet. The Diamonds played an additional half hour in every round of the competition, including the final, which must surely be some kind of record!

Prize money ranged from £3,000 for first-round knockout to £16,000 for overall winner.

Looking forward to the final, Livi Chief Executive Jim Leishman gave these kind words to Airdrie:

“I’m almost as delighted that they’re (Airdrie) here as much as for my club, as no one wants a club to shut down….”

Meanwhile, Airdrie Manager Steve Archibald revealed:

“I understand Spanish television is interested in showing some highlights. They’ve been following our progress all season because of my connection with Barcelona and the number of Spanish players who have joined the club.”

Airdrie returned to Broadwood - their previous unloved temporary home - for the cup final just 8 days after they had faced Livi in the league; coming back from 2-0 down to gain a much-needed point to take them off the foot of the league. Livi, however, were the clear favourites going into the final.

A crowd of 5,623 turned up on the day with the multi-national Diamonds starting line-up including five Scots, 3 Spaniards, 1 Irishman, 1 Argentine and 1 Frenchman. The team was:

Broto, Armstrong, McCann, Brady, Forrest, Ireland, Elliot, Moreau, Prest, Calderon and Fernandez.

Oh, how we would love some of that talent now. Crabbe for Livi scored first in 28 minutes, only for Argentine Prest to pull it back to 1-1 in 28 minutes. The score remained so until Livi pulled ahead again, with Anderson scoring in 50 minutes. Not to be put down, the Diamonds fought back again, with McGuire bringing us level at 2-2 after 78 minutes. That determined spirit took us into penalties where our always spectacular goalkeeper Broto pulled off three amazing penalty saves to bring the cup home. Against all the pre-match odds, the Diamonds lifted the trophy after a spectacular performance of skill and fight, finishing with a 3-2 win on penalties. When you consider the context of the time this was a tremendous achievement and one fixed in my memory.

Archibald wrote in the following match programme:

“Let me state here and now that I would have been just as proud of the players even if they had lost in extra time. I really mean that. They had battled all the way for the cause and I couldn’t have asked for more effort from them. I am just glad they got their reward in the end, because they worked so hard to achieve it.”

We had won the trophy, but joy was short lived as off the park problems continued to haunt us. Mounting debts led to Steve Archibald’s preferred bidder status removal by liquidators

KPMG in February 2001 and eventual liquidation of the club at the end of the following season in May 2002. Overall, a very sad time, however winning a cup final and lifting a trophy shone a bit of light during dark times, and was all the more memorable for it. The name Archibald can lead to many reactions, often conflicting for the Airdrie die hard, but all will agree that the brilliance of our foreign contingent was a joy to behold.

By Andy Locke

Check it out here > Programme Monthly

Welcome

Hello,

Welcome to today’s programme for the game v Ross County. The revamped unofficial Broomfield Bulletin launched in season 2024/25, after our opening day win against Rovers in August 2024. Including that game, we have won 15 of our last 75 league games and scored 70 goals. Good enough? No. Worth £23? No. Same problems persisting regardless of who is in the dugout? Yes. To be a successful football club you need luck, but you also need the right people in decision making positions in the boardroom, recruitment department and dugout. Do we have them? It is looking less like we do every game.

Last Time Out

Hamilton Accies Vs Airdrieonians

Oh, do we have to cover this one? I’ll make it quick so we can forget it.

John Rankin named eight changes to the side that bested Dumbarton 3-1 in the KDM; MacDonald, Gibson and Mahon were the only ones to keep their place from Tuesday evening.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

Hamilton opened the scoring 12 minutes in as Kyle MacDonald put them in front. Accies attacked down the right and the ball was cut back to MacDonald whose deflected shot beat Sneddon.

MacDonald doubled his tally on the 50th minute as he dinked the ball over Sneddon on the 18-yard line.

Smutek buried the tie on the 80th minute as he headed home from a corner for three.

Boateng then fouled Bradley in the box and MacDonald buried the penalty for the hat-trick.

One to forget, let’s move on.

Dunfermline Athletic 1-2 Ross County

County were on League Cup duty, as they travelled to East End Park to take on Championship outfit Dunfermline Athletic.

Jamie Lindsay opened the scoring for the visitors just before the hour mark, on the 57th minute. Turner clipped a ball back into the box and Jamie Lindsay was there to power home past Oxborough in the Pars net.

The Pars got themselves back on level terms on the 76th, as Allan Oyirwoth tapped home after Amade completely took out the Ross County backline with a beautiful ball across the face.

However, it’d be Malaysian forward Richard Chin with an outstanding strike to seal the deal for the Staggies, Brian Graham sending Chin through and he hammered the ball past Oxborough to finish it off.

An entertaining game and County get the reward of David Gray’s Hibees coming to Dingwall.

By David Jarvie

League One Round-Up

Alloa Athletic Vs Montrose

The Wasps took on Montrose in one of two 3-0 wins in League One on Saturday, and it only took eight minutes for the hosts to open the scoring.

A superb ball into the area was headed back across goal by a Gable Endies man, and highly rated Rangers forward Kyle Glasgow headed home.

Luke Rankin made it two, tapping home from Scott Taggart’s good touch to control the ball after Alloa attacked down the right again.

Owen Foster sealed the victory for the hosts on the 75th minute as a corner that wasn’t fully cleared came to Foster who drilled past Gill to make it 3-0.

A superb victory for the Wasps in Matchday 3.

East Kilbride Vs Cove Rangers

The Diamonds first two opponents of the League campaign faced off at K-Park, and the scoring wasn’t opened until the 58th minute.

Rhys Armstrong was brought down in the area, and Cammy Elliot dispatched the spot-kick.

Kilbie were awarded a second penalty when Balde was chopped down in the area, Elliot once more beating Robbie Mutch from the spot.

Arron Darge was sent for an early bath on the 87th minute after he scythed down Zaid in the centre of the park and was shown a second yellow.

The scoring was finished on the 90th minute, as Elliot added to his two goals with an assist, as he played a corner short to Alexander Smith who fired home for three.

A convincing win for the League Two champions.

Peterhead Vs East Fife

Up in Aberdeenshire three goals in the last 12 minutes were scored, with the Blue Toon having to come from behind to secure victory.

Jack Healy passed beyond Jack Newman to open the scoring after the ball broke to him on the right side of the area to send the travelling Fifers into delight.

Fraser Mackie brought the hosts level as he fired home to make it 1-1 on the left side. Gaston got a hand to it but couldn’t keep the ball out.

Peterhead were awarded a contentious penalty in the 90th minute as Jack Searle was brought down in the box and Aberdeen loanee Zack To took it. The penalty was saved by Gaston but To buried it on the rebound.

A comeback win for the Blue Toon to seal their second victory in the league campaign.

By David Jarvie

Airdrieonians Vs Ross County Preview

The Diamonds are back at the Tattiehad for the first of a home triple-header, with league favourites Ross County coming down the motorway.

The two sides could not have more contrasting form; County have won all eight of their competitive fixtures so far, one of which was on penalties against Dundee. Their form also includes a convincing 3-0 victory over the Diamonds at the Tattiehad in July as County cleared the group and have advanced to the Quarter-Final of the Premier Sports Cup, where they will take on Hibernian in Dingwall.

Compare this to Airdrie who got grouped from the League Cup and are yet to win a league match, with our only win in five attempts coming in the KDM Evolution Trophy against Dumbarton. It all points towards an Airdrie victory... Right?

County have recruited two former Diamonds in the summer, most notably Lewis Strapp who most Airdrie fans would’ve begged us to keep and make captain (sorry Cole) for the season ahead, but money talks sadly. They have also recruited former striker Lewis Jamieson from Newport County. Jamieson is most fondly remembered for his hat-trick against Montrose in the promotion season in a 4-0 victory. Craig Watson got the other goal in that well-remembered match.

By David Jarvie

Airdrieonians’ Greatest Season

Part 2

15th August 1923: Clyde 1-1 Airdrieonians (Division 1)

Airdrie opened their 1923/24 season on 15th August with a midweek trip to Shawfield to play Clyde. The Diamonds lined up:

Ewart; Dick, McQueen; Neil, McDougall, Bennie; Reid, Russell; Gallacher; Doyle, Somerville.

The only changes to the team that finished the previous season strongly were Jock Ewart - his return to the club detailed in the last Bulletin - replaced Jimmy Dempster in goals (who himself had replaced the maligned Joe Shortt at the end of the 22/23 season) and Frank Doyle came in for the suspended Jimmy Howieson at inside-left. This was not Howieson’s first suspension as an Airdrieonian. When Jimmy signed for the club in the winter of 1921 from Rutherglen Glencairn, he arrived while serving a suspension issued in the Junior grade. Early in 1922/23, he was sent off against Hearts at Broomfield for: ‘a short arm jab that laid out Henderson’ who was said to have been: ‘felled like an ox’. Not content with getting sent off in first team games, Howieson was ordered off in a reserve fixture at the end of the ‘23 campaign.

As the first team finished 2nd in the top division for the first time, Airdrie’s reserves went one better and won the Alliance championship and a league and cup double. Willie Reid’s ‘lads’ as the reserves were known lost only 5 of 31 fixtures in season 22/23, one of them being the aforementioned fixture on 14th April, against Kilmarnock, in which Howieson received his marching orders.

Howieson missing, Airdrie arrived at Shawfield having lost their last fixture there, despite finishing 14 places and 17 points ahead of Clyde last campaign. Airdrie again were unable to beat the Bully Wee but did leave Rutherglen with a point, thanks to Jackie McDougall’s goal.

18th August 1923: Airdrieonians 3-2 Hamilton Academical (Division 1)

Airdrieonians won their first home fixture of the season. The same starting XI that took to the pitch at Shawfield kicked things off in this Lanarkshire derby. Willie Russell’s double and Hughie Gallacher’s goal saw the Diamonds victorious by the odd goal in five.

With great thank you to John Henderson and his fantastic book ‘Airdrieonians FC: The Glory Years, 1920/21 to 1929/30’.

By Sean Smith

Lewis Gibson and Callum Burnside

I think if you had offered me these signings 2 months ago, I would have bitten your hand off for them. Burnside was one of my dream signings from the leagues below us, along with Louden and Stowe. I’m very happy with these 2 signings, but I fear they don’t solve the problems this squad has, namely the central midfield and the mythical position of striker, long since forgotten at Broomfield.

I have no doubt they will create chances for us and hopefully score goals. Burnside in particular scored 6 goals and 3 assists in the league in the few months he was with Alloa last season. Gibson also managed to pitch in some goals and assists for Montrose last year on loan from Raith.

So, my hope, and maybe the hope of Rankin, is that having 2 proven wingers will supply the ammunition for… and that’s the gap. I’ve no doubt they will create more but it’s what we do with those chances that still worry me. Yates has looked miles off it and, although I’ve been pushing for him to be moved to a deeper role he is currently struggling to assert his presence on a game, often being caught on the ball or losing control of it entirely. There is McLeish, who shows lots of endeavour but is not a proven scorer and, to be fair, you could copy and paste that for Mebude and Iserhienrhien as well.

I’m going to use a new tool created by Bill Orr, someone who has helped me in the world of football to show where Gibson and Burnside compare to other similar players.

Firstly, let’s look at Lewis Gibson:

And Burnside:

In terms of impacts so far it’s been a mixed bag for Gibson; a good goal on his debut but defensively he looked weak on Saturday, which is surprising considering how high he scored in his defensive metrics. Burnside looked a standout when we he came on, on Saturday, and his 30 min cameo resulted in just under a 3rd of our entire xG either through assisted shots or his own shot that was well saved by Lyness.

Playing them both is going to be interesting. Both favour the LW position but, in fairness, Gibson can and has played RW before. So it could be that we drop Mahon for Gibson and play Burnside on the left.

So, I’m very happy to have these two clearly talented players onboard for the season, but do we think they will offset the other deficiencies in our squad? I really hope so because for a 3rd season in a row we seem to have built a squad of randomness rather than a planned team built to fit a philosophy, which, considering we are on our 4th manager is a worry.

By Ross Mitchell

Sweet Sixteen

This season is the ‘new’ version of Airdrieonians twenty-fifth, a milestone that was marred by relegation at the end of last term. If that wasn’t bad enough it’s sobering to think that this term will be the current club’s sixteenth in ‘division three’ so this is the level where its spent most of it’s life. Worse still, that figure should actually make for more depressing reading. If it wasn’t for other clubs’ ills, it would probably sit at a big fat 20.

We finished in the runners-up spot in the third tier at the end of 2007/08 only to lose both legs of the play-off final to Clyde. That should have meant we stayed put but Gretna’s demise resulted in ‘promotion’ after the divisions had to be reorganised. We should have been relegated at the end of 2008/09 after another play-off final defeat, this time to Ayr United, but we were saved by restructuring once again, Livingston forcibly demoted to the basement for a breach of insolvency rules. We then lost both legs of the 2011/12 play-off final to Dumbarton so should have stayed in the third tier but, once again, we were upwardly mobile, this time because Rangers folded. We could also consider ourselves fortunate in 2024/25. It’s likely we’d have ended up in bottom spot but for Hamilton’s whopping points deduction. That means we’ve had four more seasons in the second flight than we’ve merited.

Promotion to the second flight was achieved by what we did on the pitch on only two occasions. The first was by winning the 2003/04 divisional title, the second by success in the play-off final at the end of 2022/23. Our first stint at the higher level ended in 2006/07, the Gretna and Livingston-assisted spells ended in 2009/10. The promotion at Rangers’ expense resulted in the disastrous 2012/13 term when we won only one home game all season long. It took a decade to recover.

If those figures indicate the ‘new’ club is now back in its ‘natural’ place, that fact rankles amongst most of us but especially those of the vintage that can recall the old club’s exploits in the 1970’s and 1990’s (don’t get me started!). That means last season’s demotion was nothing less than a huge disappointment. All the more so in that what Rhys McCabe had achieved in 2023/24 was squandered by a failure to invest in a squad of sufficient standard. The fact we attained fourth place in the Championship so recently shows just what can be achieved and that we shouldn’t settle for mediocrity. Today’s opponents are the Scottish exemplar of what a small club can do and they have ably demonstrated a return to a higher level shouldn’t be out of reach. That is, of course, if those at the helm can combine acumen and ambition. Those qualities have looked sadly lacking since the summer of 2024.

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t think the club has gone backwards? If the clear message from last week’s heavy defeat at Hamilton was that a return to the Championship could be some way off, it was all the louder for the fact it came on the anniversary of McCabe’s departure. Back where we started before his predecessor, Ian Murray, arrived and in such a short time too.

By Peter Smith

Acceptable in the 90s

Newspaper cuttings from 1991/92

‘Airdrie’s strikers have points to prove’ by Douglas Campbell

‘If points were awarded for honest endeavour allied to defensive commitment, Airdrie manager Alex MacDonald’s fears of slipping into a very uncomfortable position in the premier division would have eased a little following his club’s match against Falkirk at Broomfield.

The manager’s concern was expressed in his programme notes before Saturday’s 0-0 draw, where he warned that if the side’s poor home form did not buck up, the club would find itself “hopelessly adrift” of the outfits immediately above them in the table.

The Bairns came to town with a skip in their step after an impressive recent record against Old Firm opposition, and they had the personnel to make life particularly harrowing for the home defence. However, not for the first time this season, Walter Kidd proved that when the going gets tough, he gets going, and at the end of proceedings Falkirk’s Simon Stainrod must have been sick of the sight of the big defender.

Time and again when Brockville’s finest endeavoured to create something through the gifted Englishman, Kidd would be there, harassing his opponent into errors and giving him no peace whatever. This, of course, was bad news for the… travelling support, because Falkirk’s most expensive purchase, Kevin McAllister, was causing little in the way of distress to Sandy Stewart. The young Airdrie player succeeded where many other celebrated defenders have failed, in preventing Falkirk’s winger from strutting his stuff and engendering fear in opponents. The problem for Airdrie was that their strike force performed in a particularly inept fashion.

… the red-and-white attackers did little to cause panic in Falkirk hearts, except for a drive from Sammy Conn which Ian Westwater leapt to divert from the danger zone…

The normally dangerous Alan Lawrence was a big disappointment, cavorting around with much urgency but little in the way of idea.

The lack of ability to convert scoring opportunities into goals was a subject touched on by John McVeigh…

“We have to finish our chances,” he said. “Until we do that, we are not going to pull away from near the bottom of the league”. The official was of the opinion that his men had outplayed the opposition and fully deserved the two points…

Airdrie’s display had come as no surprise to the Falkirk people. Brian Whittaker, who had been a member of Hearts sides managed by MacDonald, said that the visitors had expected a battle and they had come prepared, while Whittaker’s manager, Jim Jeffries, was a little more forthcoming.

“It was an absolutely great point for us”, he claimed. “We knew we would have to fight for anything we got here…”. When Falkirk were presented with the opportunity to display the finer side of their game they did, the manager went on, and they, too, had scoring openings, but those came to precious little and John Martin, the Airdrie ‘keeper, confirmed that he had spent much of the afternoon as a spectator…

November, it would appear, may prove an anxious period for the good folk of Airdrie. They must visit Hibs, Rangers and Hearts while Celtic and their improving Lanarkshire rivals, Motherwell, will come calling at Broomfield in that month. However, with a little help from Lady Luck - and their own strikers - it may still prove to be an uplifting time for Airdrie.’

Thank you to Colin Campbell for the newspaper clippings.

By Sean Smith

Andy’s Top 20

We all have our favourite Diamonds matches that stick in our memories for life. It is of course a very personal thing, where we will have our own and different favourites and not always the obvious choices.

Throughout this season, I would like to share my top 20, ranking them from number 20 all the way up to my number 1, revealed as the season draws to a close. You may not agree with my choices, but hopefully it will be of interest, a wee bit of fun and lead to you to give it a try!

Number 18 - Spring Cup Final May 3, 1976 Firhill Stadium Airdrie 4 v 2 Clydebank after extra time.

The year is 1976 – best remembered in the UK for its record-breaking heatwave of 32C for 15 consecutive days and serious drought. On 21 January, the first commercial flight of Concorde took off from London to Bahrain; on 19 February Iceland broke off diplomatic relations with the UK over the Cod War; Carry On star Sid James died on stage at the Sunderland Empire at the age of 62 and Harold Wilson resigned as Prime Minister. Inflation stood at 16.5%.

On the music scene, punk band the Buzzcocks played their first gig in Bolton, the Sex Pistols released Anarchy in the UK and swore on Bill Grundy’s ITV Show and London punk band The Clash hit the scene. More mainstream, the UK won Eurovision for the third time with Brotherhood of Man and ‘Save All Your Kisses for Me!’

Football-wise, in the Second Division, Southampton won their first major trophy in 91 years when Bobby Stokes scored the only goal against Manchester United in the FA Cup final and Liverpool clinched the league title for the 9th time.

The 1970s were a great decade for the Diamonds, reaching the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1971 and 1975, and the Scottish League Cup semi-final again in 1975, all against Celtic. There was the small matter of reaching the Texaco Cup final, going out to Derby County in 1972 and promotion to the Premier Division in 1979/80 under the guidance of Bobby Watson.

Understandably, Airdrie’s lifting of the ‘Spring Cup’ in 1976 got less attention - But I loved it!

So what was the Spring Cup?

The competition, held only once (yes - we are the only champions!) was a tournament devised for all league clubs not in the newly formed Premier Division. The competition, created by the Scottish Football League, was to provide extra matches after the league had been restructured into three divisions of 26 games in the lower leagues. The competition was a one-off event at the end of the 1975-76 season. It featured 28 teams from Divisions One and Two divided into seven groups of four. It was called the Spring Cup for two reasons. They couldn’t find a sponsor – and yes, you’ve guessed it, it was held in the Spring!

Frustratingly for me, although football programmes were commonplace in those days, the organisers couldn’t even put together a programme for the final!

However, for me and the healthy Diamonds support in the 8,000 crowd at a packed Firhill, Airdrie’s 4-2 victory over Clydebank after extra time was magical. Lifting silverware is not a frequent occurrence for our Diamonds, and it was one to remember!

To get to the final, we qualified from our group of Brechin City, East Fife and Stranraer, gaining nine points by winning four matches, drawing one and losing one. In Round Two we saw off Dunfermline 5-4 on aggregate over two games, beat Hamilton in the quarter-finals 9-0 over two legs, and finally Morton 3-1 in the semi-final. 11 matches to get to the final.

On the night, the Diamonds, led by Captain Derek Whiteford, entered the pitch resplendent in their all-red tops. Confidence was high – why not, with players such as Paul Jonquin, Willie McCulloch, John McVeigh, Billy Wilson and Tommy Walker in your side? As for Clydebank, there was a familiar face in goal - none other than ex-Diamond and Texaco Cup hero Roddy McKenzie. And the Bankies were no mugs, with Mike Larnoch and a certain Davie Cooper, later of Rangers and Scotland, in the team. Airdrie’s manager was Ian McMillan’s successor, Jackie Stewart, while Clydebank were led by manager Bill Munro, who incidentally transferred to manage Airdrie in 1982.

In a nail-biting affair, Airdrie came from behind to score and take the game into extra time, only to go behind again, before pulling back a second time. We scored three times in 10 minutes to run out convincing 4-2 winners, and lift the trophy. Goal scorers were Willie McCulloch (74th min) &(106 min), John McVeigh (105 min) and Tommy Walker (115 min). Mike Larnach (2min) & (100 min) scored for the Bankies and Davie Cooper was credited with assists for both goals.

It wasn’t all tears for the Bankies that season as they gained promotion to Division One, winning 17 of their 26 league games and losing just 3.

Finally, to conclude …it was a night to remember and let’s just say - that’s the happiest I’ve left Firhill!

By Andy Locke

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to today’s game v East Kilbride, our first home league game and programme of the season. Airdrie’s defence and goalkeeper were impressive and solid in last week’s 0-0 draw up at Cove. Will we have found a scoring touch by today’s game? I hope so. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

League Cup round-up

Airdrie’s League Cup campaign was slightly disappointing. Despite a positive 4-2 loss to Dundee, we slumped to a 1-0 loss to Clyde, a 3-0 victory against Annan gave us some positives despite a turgid first half and it all ended with a 3-0 loss to Ross County.

Our first game to face Dundee unfortunately didn’t take the shape it did last season. And whilst Rhys McCabe’s ball to Chris Mochrie was sumptuous last season, Sam Fisher’s free-kick from the halfway line which caught out Harrison Sharp (who already had an OG to his name) was ten times better and more beautiful to watch. However, Charlie Reilly, Ethan Hamilton, Joe Bevan and Ash Hay all scored for The Dee to see the Diamonds off after two scares which saw Dundee go behind twice.

A depressing 1-0 loss to Clyde followed. After a goalless first half Kyle Connell scored in the 65th minute to put the Bully Wee ahead. Airdrie had no response and we went down 1-0, practically dumping us out the Cup on matchday two.

There were some positives, however. Goals from Kian Taylor, AJ Bridge & Henry James gave us a 3-0 victory over Annan Athletic, and the slightest bit of hope of qualification to the next phase if results went our way. Despite a poor first-half, the Diamonds ramped their performance up in the second and never really gave the Galabankies a chance.

However, it all came crashing down on matchday five as Ross County, through Jamie Lindsay, Jack Turner & Brian Graham defeated the Diamonds as we fell to a fourth-place finish in our group.

Whilst it would’ve always been a tall order as soon as Ross County were pulled out of the hat, it was still a disappointing campaign.

By David Jarvie

Last time out

Cove Rangers Vs Airdrieonians

The Diamond’s first league game saw them travel to Balmoral to take on Cove Rangers, whom they hadn’t gone face to face with since the Championship play-offs, two seasons ago, where Airdrie won 2-1 on aggregate thanks to first leg goals from Dylan MacDonald & Lewis Strapp, either side of a Lewis McGrattan OG.

The game lacked quality, the only notable bit came from Jamie Sneddon, the goalkeeper producing a stunning save to deny Cove a surefire goal. At the other end, Adam Devine should’ve put Airdrie ahead with a gilt-edged chance, somehow firing the ball wide with the goal gaping.

Not a good game... At all for Airdrie, and it instantly puts us on the backfoot with all our other promotion rivals winning, some more emphatically than others.

East Kilbride Vs Queen of The South

The Kilbie started their campaign very emphatically, with a 5-1 demolishing of Queen of The South at K-Park.

It started on eight minutes, a Kilbie corner played short was met by Finlay Gray, the young midfielder was then clipped by Ben Johnstone and the referee pointed to the spot. Craig McGuffie sent Deniz Mehmet the wrong way to open the scoring.

Kilbie made it two on the 24th, Craig McGuffie graciously accepting a ball falling to him on the edge of the area and he thundered past Mehmet to double EK’s advantage.

The Doonhamers’ at this point weren’t out of it yet and, just two minutes later, they halved the deficit. Liam Smith powered past a few EK men and played a ball across the 18 yard line, Cole Coughlin tried to chase it but he left it for Jack Stott to thump beyond Shay Kelly.

The two-goal advantage was however, restored just before the break. Owen Moffat floating in a free-kick that was flicked on by Finlay Gray into the net.

A flowing EK move made it four on the 62nd minute. Moffat charged through the Doonhamers lines before finding McGuffie, the striker flicked into the bath if Gray who drilled beyond Mehmet for four.

On the 75th, the rout was completed. Owen Moffat once again at the heart, running down the left channel before cutting back to Darragh O’Connor, with the Irishman making no mistake, as he stabbed the ball beyond Mehmet.

An emphatic victory for Kilbie on opening day.

By David Jarvie

East Kilbride Preview

The Diamonds first home match of the league is against Lanarkshire rivals East Kilbride, the first of eight “Lanarkshire Derbies” of the season.

The Kilbie, with the help of Mick Kennedy and Si Ferry, got to League One at the first time of asking. After gaining promotion from the Lowland League two seasons ago, they waltzed to the League Two crown ending up five points clear of fellow Pyramid Play-Off winners The Spartans, but still 13 points clear of Clyde.

Kilbie had mixed fortunes in the League Cup group stage, most of their games ended in absolute thrillers. EK began with a stunning 3-0 victory over Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline Athletic side before a 3-2 defeat to fellow League One side Cove Rangers. A 5-3 victory over League Two side Dumbarton followed. In a stunning match, EK man Cammy Elliot scored a hat-trick, with former Diamond Leighton McIntosh scoring a double for the Sons in this thriller. Their last match came against last season’s League Cup winners St Mirren. The Kilbie went 3-0 up against the Buddies before they utterly collapsed, Eseosa Sule, Ryan Carr, Killian Phillips & a very late Malik Djiksteel goal sealed a fantastic comeback for Craig McLeish’s side.

East Kilbride have recruited three former Diamonds into their ranks for this season’s League campaign, the first of which was Rhys Armstrong. The midfielder has been somewhat of a stalwart in the Kilbie side so far. Lewis McGrattan was also signed, but he appears to be injured so far, not in Kilbie’s recent squad. They also signed academy product Ali Spalding, who spent most of last season at Elgin City.

By David Jarvie

Airdrieonians’ Greatest Season

Part 1

The 1920s started with a respectable 7th place finish in 1919/20, the first full season of football post Great War. A 10th place finish followed in 20/21, which was especially disappointing given we had gone unbeaten in our first 14 league games. The following season was another frustrating one seeing us finish 16/22, albeit never in real danger of being relegated.

However, season 1922/23 began a golden period for the club and marked the start of what became the most successful era in the history of Airdrieonians. Credit for that is due to the manager Willie Orr and the directors and custodians of the club, who had a vision, a plan and belief in themselves and the players that they would bring success to Broomfield.

Highlighting the ambitions of the directors, they spent £1500 in September 1922 on the title to Broomfield Park from The North British Railway Company, which meant the club could continue to make improvements or developments to the ground as they saw fit. Such improvements had already been made that summer, with additional standing room having been made at the Gartlea Road end.

Some stalwarts of the cup winning team were already Airdrieonians. George McQueen was made captain in the summer and also in the team were McQueen’s fellow full-back Alex Dick, Jackie McDougall (an ever present since signing in December 1921), Bobby Bennie, Willie Neil, Willie Russell, Jimmy Reid, Jimmy Howieson and Hughie Gallacher. Jimmy Somerville was signed in September.

The foundations of success were there and improvement in performances and results were notable. In our first 11 matches (including 2 Lanarkshire Cup ties) we kept 9 clean sheets, this consistency aided by consistency of selection with centre-half McDougall playing every game and full-backs Dick and McQueen and goalkeeper Joe Shortt being ever present from August-February. At Christmas, we sat in 3rd place on 25 points and only 4 points behind leaders Rangers. Another measure of the custodians of Airdrieonians was that they gave up their own time to give out 500 parcels of provisions to the unemployed and ‘deserving poor’ of the Burgh of Airdrie on New Year’s Day.

Our form in 1923 was even greater (perhaps aided by a party of players getting to spend 10 days at Seamill Hydro in January) and we lost only 3 of our remaining 17 league fixtures; to Morton, Clyde and St Mirren all away from home.

Belief was growing at the club amidst these unprecedented lofty heights in Scotland’s top flight. However, the title still seemed a fair bit away given Rangers had continued to increase their lead at the top of the league since the new year. Rangers were 8 points clear of Airdrie when they visited Broomfield on 10th February. 10,000 spectators saw the Diamonds beat Rangers 1-0 thanks to Alex S. Reid’s goal, while the Sunday Mail’s headline pointed out: ‘Airdrie’s Fine Defence Beats Rangers’. The Ibrox club won the league in the end by 5 points, but the victory emboldened the feeling around Broomfield that we could challenge for – and win – Scottish football’s top prizes.

Season 1922/23 saw us finish in 2nd place in Scotland’s top division for the first time, supplanting our previous best finish of 3rd in 1905/06. We finished on 50 points, 5 points behind Rangers and 4 points ahead of Celtic in 3rd. Optimism in the Broomfield terraces and belief in the team and direction of the club was at its highest ever point. There was confidence in the defence that only lost 38 goals in 38 games and increasing confidence in the forward line of Reid-Russell-Gallacher-Howieson-Somerville.

This confidence was only bolstered by the return of goalkeeper Jock Ewart in the summer, from Bradford City for £300. Ewart had previously played in goals for Airdrie from 1909-12 and had left for Valley Parade for £1200, then a record fee for a goalkeeper.

Dick, McQueen, Bennie and Neil had also received fulsome praise from the press for the duration of the season with ‘Athlete’ of the Coatbridge Express saying of Neil:

‘Willie’s play has to be studied to be understood. He is a believer in making the ball beat the man, does it in such unobtrusive manner that his fine work is easily overlooked.’

To end the 22/23 season, the Diamonds were invited to Old Trafford by our ex-secretary and manager John Chapman, now manager of Manchester United. The occasion of his invitation was a benefit game for the Lord Mayor’s Million Shillings Hospital Fund. The fund saw its coffers boosted by the 15,000 strong crowd who witnessed Airdrie defeat Man United 2-0, thanks to goals from Gallacher and Russell.

The stage was set for season 1923/24 where the hope amongst the fans, players and officials of Airdrieonians was that we would continue our success.

By Sean Smith

With great thank you to John Henderson and his fantastic book ‘Airdrieonians FC: The Glory Years, 1920/21 to 1929/30’.

East Kilbride So Far

This afternoon’s match is a milestone in that it provides Airdrie’s first ever league encounter with East Kilbride. The South Lanarkshire club is in League One because it won last season’s League Two title, finishing a comfortable five points ahead of Spartans. That it is the latest small Scottish club apparently ‘on the up’ is demonstrated by the fact that was its second league flag in-a-row. It won the Lowland League in 2024/25 seven points clear of Celtic’s ‘B’ Team.

It is the Lowland League’s most successful club to date having amassed four championships and three runners-up spots since 2014/15. That’s one more title than Spartans and two more than Edinburgh City or Kelty Hearts. If those three clubs (and Bonnyrigg Rose) all secured promotion to the Scottish League before it that’s because ‘Kilby’ continually came unstuck during the end-of-season play-offs.

Its first attempt to attain league status was at the end of 2016/17 but it lost the final on penalties at Cowdenbeath after two draws. There were also two regulation time draws with Stranraer in the 2023/24 final but the Blues struck twice in extra-time to retain League Two status. That came after a semi-final defeat to Cove Rangers back in 2018/19. Perseverance finally paid off in May 2025. A 0-0 draw in Midlothian was sufficient to the club up after they’d defeated Bonnyrigg 3-1 at the ‘K’ Park.

Last week’s 5-1 success against Queen of the South indicates the new town club is still looking to move onwards and upwards. Quite how far it can go is as yet unclear however given the ‘K’ Park’s obvious limitations. It looks too small and impractical for Championship requirements, it’s long and winding access lane bound to cause problems as bigger crowds vie with Calderglen Country Park visitors. Its sight lines are poor too with barely any elevation anywhere within its tight confines.

The club perhaps also has the issue of having been ‘invented’ so it has no traditional support base to draw on whenever, as is inevitable, the going gets tough. The club’s website claims it has existed in one guise or another since 1871 but the club crest also states 2010. That was when Stewartfield FC and Jackton BC amalgamated to form the current iteration which joined the Lowland League in 2013.

If today’s match provides the first league fixture, the clubs have met twice before but in cup competition. You will recall that East Kilbride visited Excelsior twice during season 2024/25. The first was for a mid-July sectional League Cup tie, the other was a Challenge Cup first round meeting only three months later. Airdrie triumphed 8-0 in the former, a match in which Lewis McGregor and Ben Wilson helped themselves to hat-tricks, the latter on his debut for the club. That the Diamonds lost the Challenge Cup tie on penalties after a 1-1 draw was therefore a very disappointing reversal of fortunes, the more so in that we were cup holders at the time.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

Today’s contest also provides the first of eight Lanarkshire derbies this season, next week’s trip to Hamilton looming large. That means almost a quarter of Airdrie’s league fixtures this season will take place within the historic Lanarkshire boundary.

By Peter Smith

Acceptable in the 90s

Newspaper cuttings from 1991/92

28/12/91

‘Cooper sees no future in Scottish war games’ by Jim Reynolds

‘Davie Cooper, one of the classiest players to grace the Scottish game at this or any other time, still had a shellshocked look about him as he emerged from the away dressing-room at Broomfield on Saturday following Airdrie’s 2-0 win over Motherwell in the Lanarkshire derby.

Cooper, now 35, was the oldest player on the field and he probably also was the least amused by the happenings which ended with Airdrie shooting down their old rivals for the second time this season.

The former Rangers man, who has picked up enough medals and international caps in his time to open his own footballing museum, shook his head and asked: “What about that?”

When asked exactly what about it, the man who at one stage of his career handed out quotes as if they were £100 notes, said: “It wasn’t football – that was war. It was embarrassing to be involved. It was the kind of game that shows why we never do anything at international level. I don’t think I managed to get more than a couple of touches during the whole of the first half, because the ball seemed to be up in the air all the time.”

Certainly, the game was not one for the purist, but derby matches often are like that and Motherwell manager Tommy McLean, himself a class act when he was a player, pointed the finger at the lack of fight from his men as the main factor for the defeat.

He said: “We have no complaints. The better, hungrier side won and that is the second time this season we have played Airdrie and have been outfought, sending a lot of our fans home unhappy. You have to be prepared to battle in a derby and we just didn’t do that.”

Mind you, for all their lack of height, Motherwell still managed to get… Nick Cusack sent off just before half-time…

The sending off, however, was a travesty and although Motherwell connections were being very careful not to fall foul of those archaic SFA rules which prohibit freedom of speech, their feeling is that referee Douglas Hope was swayed by the crowd reaction, by the Airdrie bench, and by one Broomfield player in particular.

Cusack was unlucky to be booked near half-time for a foul on Walter Kidd when, in fact, he himself had been fouled a split second earlier without getting a free-kick. A couple of minutes later he bumped Sandy Stewart over the touchline and Hope produced the red card.

To the football, however, and most of it was played by Airdrie, who won comfortably and could have made it really embarrassing for Motherwell if it had not been for the heroics of goalkeeper Billy Thomson, who pulled off a string of marvellous saves while his defence stumbled around in confusion.

Owen Coyle got his tenth goal of the season just after the interval when Alan Lawrence used his blistering pace to draw Thomson off his line before cutting the ball back, and Lawrence then hit a glorious drive high into the next after 61 minutes to seal the victory.

Airdrie now have a comfortable cushion between themselves and the bottom two in the division and once again they showed such tremendous battling qualities and team spirit to suggest they will again be among the big boys next season. It is no more than you would expect from a team managed by Alex MacDonald.

Said the Airdrie manager:

“We’re learning all the time in this division and my players got a just reward for the hard work they put in. In fact, they could have scored another three goals and that wouldn’t have flattered them.”’

By Sean Smith

Thank you to Colin Campbell for the newspaper clippings

Andy’s Top 20

We all have our favourite matches that stick in our memories for life. It is of course a very personal thing, where we will have our own and different favourites and not always the obvious choices.

Throughout this season, I would like to share my top 20, ranking them from number 20 all the way up to my number 1, revealed as the season draws to a close. You may not agree with my choices, but hopefully it will be of interest, a wee bit of fun and lead to you to give it a try!

Number 19 ‘Season in the Sun’ – The 1973/74 Season.

This week I’m going to cheat and in 19th place in my top 20 is the complete 1973/74 season, rather than a single match.

Why? Well, let’s be honest, everyone loves watching their team horse all opposition across a season, regardless of the opposition’s quality. The Diamonds had been relegated the previous season despite that classic opinion: ‘we’re too good to go down’. Well, we were, but we did! However, from disaster can come something good, and I had great joy during season 1973/74 when, in Division Two, we destroyed all in front of us. Everyone loves a winning team.

It was 1973/74 – a time of industrial unrest in Britain - the Miner’s Strike and the 3-day week leading to the end of the Tory government and Edward Heath. Glam Rock was happening with Slade and Sweet, and at just fifteen, I was proudly showing off my platform shoes and tank top – oh dear!

Perhaps Terry Jacks releasing ‘Seasons in the Sun’ in 1973 was a premonition on better times to come for the Diamonds after the previous season’s relegation to Division Two. Barbara Streisand could see the 73/74 season’s outcome from the start, with her release ‘The Way We Were’, as the Diamonds bounced back into the top division at the first time of asking.

1973/74 season – and what a season that was.

Airdrie smashed it, winning the Second Division title and leaving it to the last game of the season to beat Montrose 2-0 at Broomfield, accumulating a total of 60 points after scoring an impressive 102 goals in 36 games. Kilmarnock gained second place, also gaining promotion with 58 points (remember just 2 points for a win in those days.)

Here’s some more stats that would make you weep with joy!

Won 77% of all league fixtures (81% at home).

Only lost four league games all season; none at home.

Had 22 clean sheets out of 36 league games.

Finished with a goal difference of +77.

Some fine examples:

1/01/74 (L2) Forfar 0 v 7 Airdrie

19/01/74 (L2) Airdrie 8 v 0 Brechin

23/01/74(L2) Stranraer 1 v 6 Airdrie

16/03/74 (L2) Airdrie 6 v 1 St Mirren.

The Airdrie squad led by manager Ian McMillan included many Diamond legends from the 70’s, including: Jonquin, Menzies, Whiteford, Cowan, Wilson and McCulloch.

My personal favourite at the time was striker Ray Franchetti just because I thought his name was so cool! Well, I was only 16!

Ray born in 1952 and hailing from Shettleston started out with Bailieston Juniors signing for Celtic in July 1971 after scoring 10 goals in 4 games. Ray rarely got a chance in the first team at Celtic moving on to the Diamonds in June 1973. Scoring 17 goals for the Diamonds in 45 games, Ray scored his first hat-trick away to Alloa on 15th December 1973 and his claim to fame was to score Airdrie’s 100th league goal, again against Alloa on 20 April 1974. Ray eventually moved on to the Wee Rovers in August 1975, successfully scoring 49 goals in 172 league appearances.

In the opening home game, the following season, Chairman WH Gray wrote of the previous season’s success in the match programme:

“Last season finished in a blaze of glory, with champagne in the dressing room and rejoicing on the terracing and in the stand. The championship was won by the skill and effort of the players, heartened by the surge of enthusiastic support from our supporters.”

The quality in the Airdrie team that led to our winning of the Division Two, gaining an instant return back to the top league, was proven in the following 74/75 season, when we reached the Scottish League Cup semi-final against Celtic, followed eight months later by our appearance in the Scottish Cup Final again against Celtic.

1973/74 season – just seeing your team winning just about every Saturday - It was a good time to be a Diamond!

By Andy Locke

RSM Stats

Check out Ross’s thoughts on the Cove game.

Ross Mitchell

Airdrie Analysis - Curse of Cove

Before we get into the nitty gritty of the numbers and my thoughts on the game I want to clarify why Saturday was cursed, well cursed for me anyway. Having tried to make Cove games in the past only to be stopped by Covid, illness, lockdowns and all manner of family emergencies I wanted to make sure this was a game I made. Train tickets booked I set off …

Read more

a month ago · 3 likes · 3 comments · Ross Mitchell

Subscribe to Ross for more Airdrie Analysis throughout the season - Here

Trivia

Within 90 minutes, Airdrie have not missed a penalty since 25th February 2023. Since then, they have taken and scored 17/17 penalties. This means that we had a 100% penalty conversion rate in seasons 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Can you:

a) Name the player who missed the penalty on 25th February 2023?

b) Name the 6 players who between them scored the 17 penalties?

Thank you to John Henderson for the above information.

Hello, and welcome to the first Broomfield Bulletin of season 2026/27. It has been all change at New Broomfield in the close season as we said goodbye to sixteen of last season’s squad and manager Aaron Taylor Sinclair. Gartlea man John Rankin has replaced ATS in the dugout and we wish him the best of success in leading Airdrieonians back to the Championship.

Like last season, we have decided to put out one large edition of the Broomfield Bulletin that covers the League Cup group stage in its entirety. We hope you will find it informative, engaging and entertaining. Thank you again for your support, old and new readers and all. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

Airdrie's Pre-Season round-up

Airdrieonians Vs Elgin City

The Diamonds kicked off their pre-season with a cagey yet entertaining 1-1 draw against League Two side Elgin City.

Four trialists, alongside Cade Melrose, Sam Fisher, Ewan Simpson (who captained the Diamonds), Gavin Gallagher, Divine Iserhienrhien, Robbie Mahon and Euan Hamilton were the men selected to be John Rankin’s first Airdrie XI, against a much more gelled Elgin side, who’s only trialists were on the bench. Adam Devine, Dylan MacDonald, Dylan Williams & Cole McKinnon all missed out for Airdrie.

It’d be the Black and Whites who opened the scoring. Jack MacIver firing past Melrose, after Airdrie’s academy product sent a clearance straight to Elgin after a defender passed the ball to him when thumping clear would’ve been the better option.

Airdrie would only be behind for 7 minutes. Moments after trialist 15 saw his goal chopped off after Iserhienrhien was caught offside, it’d be Robbie Mahon to poke the ball through the legs of Joe Morrison, where it subsequently trickled into the net to square the game. A goal not dissimilar to Josh O’Connor’s from that night at Tannadice.

Unfortunately, after challenging Euan Hamilton for the ball, Evan Towler would dislocate his shoulder and would have to be stretchered off the pitch. My best wishes go to Evan in his recovery.

Half-time brought about a totally new Diamonds team, including academy product Szymon Walczak, as well as Craig Ross, Dapo Mebude & Matty Yates. The other seven all being trialists. Only one trialist and Cole Williams did not make an appearance.

It was mostly Airdrie in the 2nd 45, but neither team could find a third goal in the contest. The best chance of the half came to trialist 12 for Airdrie, who blasted straight at Morrison after good play from his fellow trialists.

Up the other end, Walczak defended superbly against Russell Dingwall, with he & Craig Ross denying Elgin’s danger man pretty much everything. Trialist 2 was also superb at the back. Extremely physical and strong, exactly what you want in a defender.

A good run out against the League Two outfit, where many trialists played well & Mahon got our first 26/27 goal, as he got our last 25/26 goal.

Ayr United Vs Airdrieonians

Old Championship foes Ayr United were our second open-doors friendly, coming after the draw with Elgin City & closed-door wins against Stirling Albion and Darvel midweek, but the Diamonds went down 2-1 in Ayrshire.

Seven changes were made to the team that drew against Elgin City. It was a slightly more recognisable line-up as only three trialists made the starting XI. Henry James came in for his first start since signing, whilst Craig Ross, Dapo Mebude & Matty Yates also started, with Ross taking the armband.

No goals were scored in the first half, and the deadlock was broken in a stop-start second half by Jamie Hislop, the youngster driving through the Airdrie defence and slotting past the trialist goalkeeper.

It was a quickfire second for the hosts, as Reece Lyon doubled the Honest Men’s advantage, the ball fortunately falling for the former Queen of The South man who scored the easiest goal he ever will.

Airdrie did manage to pull a goal back in the dying embers of the game. A ball played through almost found Iserhienrhien, but the Striker couldn’t get his feet right. It fell to trialist 38 who drilled it beyond Harry Stone.

A good workout for Airdrie, against higher level opposition.

Airdrieonians Vs Falkirk

Our final pre-season test was against top six Premiership side Falkirk.

The Bairns finished last season, their first in the top flight for 15 years, in sixth, some way off Hibernian in fifth, so a very stern challenge awaited, especially as the Bairns fielded a very strong & experienced team, including former Diamond Leon McCann. Craig Sibbald also started after returning to Falkirk from Dundee United and other new man Scott Tanser made the bench.

Airdrie meanwhile started five trialists alongside Mebude, James, Gallagher, Mahon, Simpson, and that night’s captain Sam Fisher. Craig Ross dropped out completely, Matty Yates fell to the bench.

It was Airdrie who opened the scoring against their Premiership rivals. The trialist goalkeeper firing a ball up the park that both Mebude and Mahon chased. The former pressured Liam Henderson into making an error and skewing the header, putting Nicky Hogarth into no-man’s land. Mebude then said, “Thank you very much” and looped his header over Hogarth to make it 1-0.

The second half saw... A load of trialists come on. At least nine on at the one time, according to the boss. And it really showed as the Bairns cranked up the gears to turn the game around, including Alfredo Agyeman hitting the crossbar.

But it’d be Liam Henderson who’d get the equaliser, thumping home a corner kick which Airdrie seemed to switch off at.

It was then an unfortunate one to forget for academy product Szymon Walczak. The youngster dispossessed by Ross MacIver, with the striker emphatically finishing past Cade Melrose to finish the scoring.

A 2-1 loss to top flight opposition isn’t the worst result in the world, but the boys will undoubtedly be kicking themselves at the goals they lost.

By David Jarvie

League Cup Preview

In this article, the Bulletin examines our opponents’ previous campaigns, their summer business and how they hope to fare this term.

Dundee

Airdrie will kick off their season at Dens Park for the second season in a row and play Dundee for the sixth time in cup competition in five seasons. Last season’s opener saw Airdrie come out on top for the only the second time in the previous five encounters, boyhood Dundee United fan Chris Mochrie having put the Dee to the sword. That defeat marked an inauspicious start to Steven Pressley’s reign as Dundee manager. Things went from bad to worse for Elvis with Alloa also defeating Dundee by a goal to nil, which effectively eliminated the only Premiership team from the group with only two games played. Dundee won their final two group games but could not carry any sort of positive momentum into the start of the league season, not winning a game until September when they defeated Livingston three goals to two. Two of the goals were created by Cameron Congreve, the winger on loan from Swansea being a rare bright spark at that point in the season for Dundee fans. Pressure, however, continued to pile on to Pressley after his side followed up their first win with defeats to St Mirren and bottom of the league Aberdeen; who at that point in October were bottom of the league and were yet to score a league goal. In a shock result, after the first international break later that month, Dundee defeated Celtic for the first time since May 2001, and for the first time at Dens Park since September 1988, a game which had been delayed due to protesting Celtic fans throwing tennis balls onto the park.

After 13 league games played, Dundee had not scored in 7 of them, but, despite continuing to struggle, in the last two games of the year they beat Falkirk via a Yan Dhanda penalty, and Kilmarnock to achieve their first consecutive wins in 20 months and finish the year in 9th place.

Dundee fans brought in the New Year in style, first footing their neighbours Dundee United and beating them one nil thanks to an Ashley Hay goal and clean sheet. More inconsistent results followed in the new year but they took points off United again in March, this time in sensational fashion; two goals down in stoppage time, Dee managed to earn a point thanks to an Ashley Hay tap in and an own goal, which saw Pressley’s team unbeaten in five games amidst a general improvement in their fortune.

Come the split, Dundee were in the bottom half of the table and could not continue their good form against their neighbours, with United defeating them three nil in their first post split fixture.

Despite that result Dundee managed to secure their safety in the next two games with wins over St Mirren, thanks to a Joe Westley goal, and Livingston via goals from Congreve, Fin Robertson and Hay. Another win on the last day, this time against Aberdeen, saw Dundee finish the season in 8th place, a far cry from where dark blue fans thought they would finish amidst their nightmare League Cup campaign.

The summer has seen a number of key players leave including: loanees Tony Yogane, Cameron Congreve, Yan Dhanda, Joel Cotterill and Scott Wright; while goalkeepers Jon McCracken and Trevor Carson have left (for Bradford City and Queen of the South respectively) while Ethan Ingram has also left the club. Defenders Billy Koumetio and the highly rated prospect Luke Graham have left Dundee to pursue opportunities down south, the former to Charlton Athletic and the latter to Stoke City, both for undisclosed fees.

In terms of incomings, it has been quiet so far for the Dees, but they have managed to sign defender Idris Odutayo from Bromley, where he achieved two promotions in three seasons, and midfielder Ryan Finnigan from Blackpool for an undisclosed fee.

Clyde

Clyde played once again at New Douglas Park, where they will remain for this season as their hunt for a new and permanent home continues. The Bully Wee began their League Cup group stage in positive fashion, holding Motherwell to a two each draw before losing the bonus penalty shootout. James Hilton opened the scoring for the hosts from 30 yards out but Tawanda Maswanhise’s double put Motherwell in front. Liam Scullion equalised after fifty three minutes but, alas, were unable to go on and get the win. Clyde achieved more positive results against higher league opposition, beating League 1’s Peterhead by two goals to one and drawing two each with Stenhousemuir and winning the shootout. But a three nil defeat in the final game against Morton meant they were unable to earn enough points to go through to the knockout stages.

The Bully Wee began their League 2 campaign failing to win their first five games, including a two goals to one defeat against Dumbarton on the opening day. A six nil win over Annan Athletic followed by wins over Edinburgh City and Stirling Albion saw the Bully Wee in 5th place by the end of September.

Results became consistent but unremarkable as the season came into the autumn, winning one game in five between 4th October and fifteenth November but drawing four of those five games. Such was the nature of last season’s League 2, however, that those results were enough to see Clyde in 3rd place. Indeed, from the 4th October, Clyde were never out of a promotion playoff place and mostly spent that time in 3rd place as also rans behind East Kilbride and Spartans in the title race.

Despite what ostensibly looks like a good season, some Bully Wee supporters were left underwhelmed by their team’s efforts, with Darren Young’s side drawing 14 of their thirty six league games, and results like losing to 9th placed Stirling Albion in December. Also frustrating for Clyde supporters was the fact that Darren Young and his team managed to take only six points out of 24 off of Spartans and East Kilbride, which cost them the opportunity to fully participate in the title race.

Thankfully for the Bully Wee faithful, their fortune against the Spartans changed in the League One playoffs. In the first leg at New Douglas Park, ex Diamond Kyle Connell gave Clyde the lead with curling long range effort and Logan Dunachie’s flick from a Connell long throw meant that Young’s men had a two goal lead to defend in the second leg. Defend it they did with the second leg finishing one each and Clyde through to the final.

In the final there was, of course, the rather odd situation of Clyde being the home team in the first leg at New Douglas Park and Hamilton Accies being the home team at Broadwood.

Nevertheless, both teams made sure the tie was left finely poised after the first leg. Stuart McKinstry’s miscued cross, perhaps fortunately, gave Accies the lead, Aiden McGinlay equalised with another fine curling effort.

The second leg, with a place in League 1 at stake, was another close affair. A Kai Smutek own goal from a Connell corner gave Clyde the lead. Corners, however, proved to Young and his side’s undoing. Within five minutes Accies had the lead after Tony Gallagher headed home from a corner and Kyle MacDonald likewise scored from another corner. But, Accies were not the only ones to make set pieces count; Connell’s freekick equaling things again just before the interval. Another Dunachie goal from a long throw again equaled the tie after MacDonald had scored his second after halftime. But, another familiar goal won the tie for Accies with Gallagher again heading home from a corner to secure safety in League 1 for Accies, and another season in League 2 for Clyde.

Lennon Connolly, Brian Kinnear, Robbie Leitch, Ross Lyon, Shay Nevans, Mouhamed Niang and Liam Scullion have all since left the Bully Wee, while Aiden McGinlay returned to his parent club Queen’s Park.

Goalkeeper Jay Hogarth joined his brother Nicky at Falkirk but has since returned to Clyde on loan for the season, while one of last season’s loanees Nicky Cannon has joined permanently from Forfar Athletic.

Attacking midfielder Jamie Bradley has signed for Clyde on a permanent basis having already been at the club twice on loan from Queen’s Park, having achieved fifteen appearances and 2 assists last season and 2 goals and five assists in 7 appearances the previous year. Airdrie hall of famer Paul Lovering’s son Lewis Lovering (also a leftback) has joined Clyde from Troon, although he has spent most of his adult career at Benburb, a club who are synonymous with the Lovering family. Lewis scored fifteen goals in 38 appearances last season as Troon finished 3rd in the West of Scotland League and got promoted to the new Lowland League West, and also won the West of Scotland Cup.

Winger Timam Scott has signed for Clyde after bizarrely signing for East Kilbride earlier this summer and promptly getting released.

Annan Athletic

After being relegated in the League 1 playoffs the previous year, Annan went into last season with the hope of returning to the third tier at the first time of asking. The season started positively for Wullie Gibson’s men with a three goals to two victory. Myles Gaffney had equalised for the Galabankies after Dylan Gavin put Elgin ahead. A sensational end to the game saw Aidan Smith put Annan ahead after 89’ minutes, but a Keith Watson OG 3 minutes later looked to have levelled the game for good. But Gaffney had the final say after 90+3 minutes to win the game for his team. Annan were top of the league two weeks later after draws with Stirling Albion and Edinburgh City. But that was as good as it got for Gibson and his men; they were still sitting in 4th after 23rd of August despite a four three defeat to Dumbarton, but they lost to Spartans the following week, and ended August outside of the top 4 and never returned. While they perhaps were never truly in danger at any point thanks to Edinburgh City’s points deduction, a 7th place finish would have been disappointing for any Annan fan who harboured hopes of returning to the third tier.

The end of the campaign saw Joel Mumbongo, Paul McGowan, Gio Clarke, Ryan Muir and Max Kilsby leave the club. The most eye-catching departure from Annan is big striker Tommy Goss. Goss served Annan for five seasons and was a pivotal player in their promotion winning season, scoring 23 league goals, and 1 goal in the playoffs, to help the Galabankies to promotion for the first time as a league club. A loan spell to East Fife for the first half of last season, did suggest that perhaps both parties have been keen for a fresh start for a while now.

Gibson has added goalkeeper Sam Murdoch on loan from Morton (who kept a clean sheet and earned an assist in his debut for Morton at New Broomfield), fullback Brannon McDermott, former diamond and League Cup extraordinaire Ally Roy, Corey O’Donnell and Kirk McKnight from Stranraer and defender Daniel Martins from Caledonian Braves.

Ross County

Like this summer, County began last season as title favourites with the bookmakers. Despite their favourite tag, the Staggies did not spend one minute of last season top of the league and were only in the top 4 once, after week 2 when they had only managed a draw with Airdrie (despite being two goals up) and a defeat to St Johnstone. After a 3 all draw with Ayr United on the 8th November saw them drop from 7th to 8th, County never left the bottom three. Five weeks later, things got worse for the Dingwall club, as, following three successive defeats to Airdrie (one of the few highlights of our season), Raith Rovers (six nil which saw Tony Docherty sacked as manager) and Arbroath, County never left the bottom two for the remainder of the season. Following Docherty’s sacking, Stuart Kettlewell was charged with improving County’s fortunes, their third manager of the season after Don Cowie’s removal prior to Docherty’s appointment. Kettlewell did achieve a smattering of wins. Two wins in a row in January over Partick Thistle and at Airdrie made things more interesting for us Diamonds than we would have liked. As did wins in two of their last three games against Ayr United and Morton. Those wins and other results meant all of the bottom three positions were in play for Morton, Airdrie and County come the final day. The teams went into proceedings in 8th, 9th and 10th respectively and they stayed that way at fulltime, County defeated three goals to two by Raith to see them finish bottom and relegated automatically.

Kettlewell has remained in post in Dingwall and it is fair to say that County are aiming for a quick return to the second tier. Ross Laidlaw, Alex Iacovitti, Jordan White, Jay Henderson, captain Declan Gallagher, Uche Ikpeazu, Ben Crompton and Arron Lyall have all left the club while loan players Trevor Carson, Ryan Duncan, Lewis Pitan, Jaydon Carbon, James Scott, Kaedyn Kamara, Sean Mackie and Miller Thomson all returned to their parent clubs.

Lewis Strapp will return to New Broomfield in County colours next season, while Kettlewell has also added Brian Graham, a familiar foe to Airdrie fans to his forward ranks. Lewis McCarvel has signed from Kelty Hearts, Lewis Reid, centre-half, from Stranraer, Chris Hamilton, Jack Turner from Woking, Richard Chin and goalkeeper Bradley Wade from Ballymena United have all been signed by Kettlewell.

By Sean Smith

Annan in the SPFL

Annan Athletic provide the opposition in the first of our two home games in League Cup Section D. The club became members of the Scottish Football League in the summer of 2008. They were elected in preference to Cove Rangers, Edinburgh City, Preston Athletic and Spartans all of whom had also applied to join following Gretna’s resignation at the end of 2007/08. Annan is thus the last club to attain membership by ballot. Edinburgh City joined them in Scottish League Two in 2016/17 but did so by way of the play-off system that was introduced at the end of 2014/15. In date order, Cove Rangers, Kelty Hearts, Bonnyrigg Rose, Spartans and East Kilbride have all gained league places by that method while East Stirlingshire, Berwick Rangers, Brechin City, Cowdenbeath and Albion Rovers have all exited the scene. Bonnyrigg Rose has, so far, been the only club to leave then rejoin the non-league ranks since the play-off format was initiated. Of the ex-league members, only Brechin City have looked like they may return. They went down at the end of 2020/21 but lost to Spartans in the play-off semi-finals in 2022/23.

Annan has spent all but two seasons in the basement. A third-place finish in 2022/23 saw them progress to a League One play-off semi-final against Dumbarton. A 6-0 first-leg success ensured progress and they saw off Clyde in the final, winning both legs by the same 2-1 scoreline. The second-leg at Broadwood took place the night before our visit to New Douglas Park in the Championship play-off final. Our victory on penalties prevented a first-ever league fixture between the clubs and their relegation at the end of 2024/25 means we’re still waiting. We play East Kilbride in early August so Annan is one of only three clubs we’ve still to meet in the league, Elgin City and Spartans being the others (Bonnyrigg’s return to non-league status having removed them from that list).

The clubs have met before however and the match on 18th July will provide Annan’s third visit to Excelsior, the previous two having also been for sectional League Cup ties. The first encounter was in July 2018 when we won 4-1 but the Dumfriesshire club won 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in July 2021. A Covid-related crowd limit of 500 was in place but only 233 attended, the smallest crowd for an Airdrie home match in the New Broomfield era. The Diamonds have visited Galabank but once. We lost a Challenge Cup tie 1-3 in July 2015, victims of a Josh Todd hat-trick.

Ross County are our opponents in the second of this season’s home League Cup ties and, just like Annan, they too were voted into the Scottish League. That was back in 1994/95 but, unlike the southerners, they soon began to progress through the divisions and, indeed, have been in the top flight most of the time since arriving there in 2012. Their relegation at the end of last term means this season is their first in the third tier since 2008. It seems certain they will be one of the challengers for the divisional title.

For the record, the other clubs voted into the league in the period between Meadowbank in 1974 and Annan in 2008 were Inverness Caledonian Thistle (1994) Elgin City and Peterhead (2001) and Gretna (2002). We bought out the ailing Clydebank in 2002 while other clubs decided not to stand against the new version of Rangers in 2012, thus providing them with a free pass.

By Peter Smith

Summer Signings

I think we started with 7 players or ended with 7 players? Either way there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to bring the squad up to League One standard, let alone play-off chasing League One stanfard. But I’m actually not that worried. Am I concerned about the lack of signings so far? Of course, I am very much in the “get business done as early as possible” camp, but I also understand the task at hand is not an easy one. We might not even get it right for 2 or 3 windows and although I’m not exactly buzzing at that prospect, I understand.

What I am buzzing at is there seems to be a shift at the club. Although it’s early days we are seeing more communication from the club, something I’ve been critical of in the past, and we have moved away from the ridiculous setup of letting an agency run our recruitment department and fill the club with players who simply were not good enough. A testament to this is the number of players who have found new clubs in League One, where they ultimately led us to…

So, the rebuild begins, the original 7 or so players were bolstered by players promoted from the u19s. The Williams twins, Devine Iserhienrhien, Mason Chisholm and Euan Hamilton while Szymon Walczak has played in the recent friendlies.

In terms of signings, we have made 5 at the time of writing. I’m not going back and rewriting this so if we make more this week (hopefully) I’ll just tack them on at the end.

Matty Yates

Mins - 14213

Goals - 54

Assists - 40

Solid enough signing and is a proven attacking force at this level. Not the out and out striker we really need but will no doubt share the goal scoring burden with whoever we bring in to lead the line. Are his numbers amazing? Not really, but I do still feel like this is a good signing for the new level we find ourselves in. Random fact of the day is that Yates scores more goals in the second half of games than in the first half.

Sam Fisher

Mins - 9009

Defensive Duel wins - 71%

Aerial Duels Wins - 61.5%

Defence has been a worry for us pretty much since the day Fordyce left. We have moved early to sign Sam Fisher who featured for Kelty last year on loan. Again, it’s another good signing, not spectacular but given he’s only 24 he has a decent number of minutes under his belt and decent defensive stats. Random Fact: 4th most shots block per 90 in league one last year.

Ewan Simpson

Mins - 3747

Pass Accuracy - 82.6%

Goals and Assists - 4/9

This one is a bit of a blind spot for me. Although he turned out for Hamilton last season 25 times I can’t say I know much about him. He does comes from the Aston Villa youth academy and obviously Rankin saw enough of him to bring him into Broomfield. The midfield is going to be interesting with Cole Mckinnon out injured, leaving only some of the under 19s, Gavin Gallgher and Simpson fit. I would imagine this would be an area we see more players brought in… unless I’m missing something. Random fact his only goal for Hamilton as far as I can see was against Peterhead.

Henry James

Mins - 7818 (mostly at youth level)

Defensive Duels Won - 64.5%

Passing Accuracy - 72.2%

Another player that’s a bit of an unknown is our new LB Henry James. It’s too early to tell if he will be a backup or our starter but for a youth player, he does have a lot of minutes for Hearts B and Forrest before that. Random fact he replaced Flynn Duffy in the Peterhead team towards the end of last season.

Dapo Mebude

Mins - 4834

Goals - 10

Assists - 5

I think this season is maybe a bit of a make or break for Mebude. He has moved about a fair bit and is on his 7th or 8th club at just 24 years old. However, in that time he suffered a bad car accident and was comatose for a few days. I’m hoping that he finds his feet at Airdrie and maybe this is a good platform for him to build on and start to live up to the promise he showed as a youngster at Rangers. Random fact, his most minutes on the field come from his time at AFC Wimbledon.

AJ Bridge

Mins - 4312 (most at youth level with 500 on loan to Cork)

Goals - 4

Assists - 5

Again, AJ is a player who will be unknown to most Scottish football fans. He has racked up a fair number of minutes at youth level and was previously on loan at York. He has showed up reasonably well in the pre-season games, but it’s always difficult to judge a player in what are usually glorified kick abouts. Radom fact, all his goals and assists for Cork game in separate games where Cork scored 4 goals.

Jamie Sneddon

Mins - 15,362

Long Pass Accuracy - 62%

Goals Conceded - 135

I’m not putting in a heat map…he’s a goalkeeper use your imagination. I think most people will be happy with this signing. Again, it’s not flashy but he has experience of this league and has looked relatively comfortable in the friendlies he has played. His stats are a little bit of a mixed bag, but his distribution seems fairly solid so will take some of the pressure off the defence having an experienced head in goal. Random fact…scored for Plastic whistle in a 1 each draw away to Cove in the 92nd minute…bullet header.

By Ross Mitchell

Home Sweet Home

This article will look at significant or interesting games that have taken place between Clyde and Airdrie at Clyde’s various home grounds.

On the final day of the 1971/72 season Airdrie travelled to Rutherglen and Clyde’s home of Shawfield. Three days earlier the Diamonds had competed at the Baseball Ground, in the second leg of the Texaco Cup final against Brian Clough’s Derby County. A nothing each draw at Broomfield meant the Diamonds travelled south with hopes of returning with silverware, but a two goals to one defeat meant it was not to be.

Despite their effort three days earlier, this league fixture at Shawfield was another important fixture, as the Diamonds had to pick up at least a point to stay in Division One, then Scotland’s top division. Clyde were also playing with their place in the top flight at stake except they had to win to ensure their safety, which meant both sets of supporters were set up for a compelling afternoon of football. However compelling or otherwise, the spectators in attendance saw Airdrie achieve the point they needed to stay up in fifteenth place on twenty six points. Clyde finished only 2 points behind the Diamonds but were relegated on 24 points in 17th place (alongside Dunfermline in 18th).

In the 1930s financial pressure had led to Clyde selling Shawfield to the Greyhound Racing Association; previously tenants of Clyde’s at Shawfield. The relinquishment of ownership meant that Clyde were powerless to stop them from being given notice to leave by the greyhounds association in 198, owing to their plans for ground redevelopment.

In the early 1990s, Broadwood Stadium was being built and Clyde reached an agreement to move into Broadwood in 1990, an agreement which would make Clyde near neighbours of ourselves in Cumbernauld and, indeed, for a time, cohabitants as both Clyde and Airdrieonians moved into Broadwood in 1994. In the intervening period, Clyde played at Firhill until 1991 and shared Douglas Park with Hamilton Accies from 1991 until they moved into Broadwood.

While both clubs have seen bigger games at Broadwood, the SPL playoff against Hibs for Airdrie and the Scottish Cup victory over Celtic for Clyde for example, the biggest game between the sides at the ground would have to be the 2007/08 First Division playoff final second leg. Airdrie came into the playoff having finished in second place 7 points behind Ross County. The Diamonds finished six points ahead of Raith who finished 3rd, 10 ahead of Alloa in 4th and 11 ahead of Peterhead in fifth so were well worthy of their 2nd place finish, aided by Allan Russell’s 19 league goals for season (Stuart Noble also scored 14 in a fruitful partnership upfront). At that point in time the playoffs were a new concept having only been introduced 2 seasons previously, so Airdrie fans, players and officials may well have been cursing our luck that the 2 up 2 down system was no longer in place. Clyde, on the other hand, would have been ecstatic at having been given a second chance at second tier safety. They were 9th on 37 points but only finished there on goal difference having conceded 1 goal more than Morton in 8th (they also only finished 2 points behind Livingston in 8th).

Both teams won their semifinals: Airdrie defeated Raith Rovers four goals to two on aggregate; but Clyde had it tougher, needing extra time to prevail six goals to five over Alloa.

The Bully Wee took a narrow one nil lead back to Broadwood. In a game with little goalmouth action, Pat Clarke’s finish gave Clyde the edge, one they kept thanks to Jimmy Gibson clearing a stoppage time Paul Lovering header off the line.

Unfortunately, the second leg did not go better for those of us of an Airdrie persuasion. While the Diamonds were denied what looked like a stonewall penalty on Bryan Prunty, Gary McSwegan’s goal from a Marvyn Wilson long ball and Pat Clarke’s header secured First Division safety for the Bully Wee. In the end, Airdrie did happen to join them in the 2008/09 First Division, thanks to Gretna’s liquidation, and actually went on to finish above Clyde that season, albeit we ended up being ‘saved’ again by another team’s financial implosion, it being the turn of Livingston on this occasion.

Since leaving Broadwood in 2022, the Bully Wee have been without a permanent home. While the club search for suitable locations in Glasgow to return the club closer to its roots, Clyde continue to play at New Douglas Park in Hamilton.

One notable game between the sides in Hamilton took place in March 2023. The Bulletin has written before about how our defeat at Palmerston on 4th March that year was a turning point in Rhys McCabe’s diamond’s ultimately winning promotion. It prompted a reset, some changes in personnel and more variety and directness to augment McCabe’s passing principles. The changes in the team were instant and saw us score 18 goals in the 3 games following our defeat at Palmerston. The last of those big wins saw us defeat Clyde five goals to one at New Douglas Park.

Having just come off the back of a seven nil trouncing of Peterhead, Airdrie started the game like they had not finished playing; Gabby McGill taking a brilliant touch through the ‘home’ defence in the box before firing past ex diamond Neil Parry. Clyde played the role of partypoopers, Kyle Doherty turning home a corner with a backheel (which sparked an odd celebration in front of the Airdrie fans) but not for long, as Justin Devenny put Airdrie back in front with a howitzer from our own corner. McGill got his second after ‘37 minutes, turning home Parry’s save from Craig Watson’s shot. Clyde tried to hit back instantly once again but Josh Rae was equal to Ross Cunningham’s volley.

Adam Frizzell scored Airdrie’s 4th, cutting inside and looping a superb finish into the top corner, and Callum Smith got the goal he deserved to round off the scoring after being played through by Ben Stanway.

The Diamonds continued their fine run of form, only losing one of their remaining six league games ahead of the Championship playoffs where, I am sure you will remember Airdrie continued their goalscoring touch.

By Sean Smith

Andy’s Top 20

We all have our favourite Diamonds matches that stick in our memories for life. It is of course a very personal thing, where we will have our own and different favourites and not always the obvious choices.

Throughout this season, I would like to share my top 20, ranking them from number 20 all the way up to my number 1, revealed as the season draws to a close. You may not agree with my choices, but hopefully it will be of interest, a wee bit of fun and lead to you to give it a try!

Number 20 – Raith Rovers 0 v 1 Airdrie B&Q Scottish League – Division One Saturday May 11 1991.

It’s 1991, a year of drama and change throughout the world. The end of the Soviet Union, a ceasefire in Iraq, the death of 138,000 in Bangladesh killed by a tropical cyclone and race riots in the US. The death of Freddy Mercury just one day after the announcement he had AIDS.

On the football front, Manchester United beat Barcelona in the European Cup Winners’ Cup, USA beat Norway in China to win the first Women’s World Cup and, shockingly, an inquiry into the Hillsborough Disaster gives a verdict of ‘accidental death’.

On a brighter note, 1991 was considered one of the greatest years on the music scene. 80’s Glam Rock was over. replaced with Grunge and Nirvana. Meantime in the mainstream, Bryan Adams held the number one spot in the UK for 16 weeks with ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It for You’.

For us Diamonds, 1991 is all good…. and not just cos you could get a pie at the game for 60p!

It’s the final league game of the 90 -91 season, and the Diamonds are away to Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park. But this was no meaningless end of season affair. The Diamonds faithful had turned up in numbers filling the covered terracing behind the goal. Why? Because a result would clinch Airdrie’s promotion to the Premier Division one more time.

The Raith Rovers programme wrote:

‘Airdrie visit Stark’s Park this afternoon knowing that victory will bring Premier League football back to Broomfield for the first time in almost 10 years. Indeed, if Falkirk slip up at home to Meadowbank, Jimmy Bone’s men could be promoted as First Division champions. Having lost out to St Johnstone in the closing weeks of last season when there was only one promotion place available; Airdrie are determined not to be denied this year. After a magnificent start to the season, thanks in no small measure to the scoring exploits of Owen Coyle, Airdrie’s form shaded a little, but they have come good again at just the right time. They approach today’s game in the knowledge that they have not been beaten away from home in 11 matches, stretching back to the beginning of December.’

A win and Airdrie would grab at least the second promotion spot, reducing Dundee to third place, just one point behind.

You could almost feel the tension in the Airdrie end at kick off, transferring into sheer joy when after only 90 seconds our captain for the day, part time firefighter Evan Balfour planted the ball in the Raith net. 1-0 and we only had to hold on for another 88 minutes 30 seconds! Which we did! In a long, long afternoon, the Diamonds built a wall of resistance to keep Raith out, ably assisted by their 12th man – the Airdrie support, who carried them across the line to promotion and the Premier Division.

Let’s not have any misunderstanding, however, we weren’t a bunch of chancers but a quality team including the likes of Owen Coyle, Sandy Stewart, Paul Harvey, Nipper Alan Lawerence and Johnny Martin in goal. Owenie was our top scorer that season with 20 goals to his name. All led by Manager Jimmy Bone who had held the position since 1989.

Following promotion to the Premier, Jimmy left, moving to Africa, to be replaced by Alex ‘Doddie’ MacDonald and Airdrie entered possibly our most successful chapter since the 1920’s.

It’s a match which remains in my memory for the sheer grit to succeed, where the fans and players were united in our determination, to get back into that top league.

By Andy Locke

2025/26 Season Round-up

A season which started oh-so promising last year, including a 1-0 victory away to Dens Park against Steven Pressley’s Dundee, in his first game as manager of The Dee, to some memorable away trips to Stark’s Park, East End Park & Dingwall. A 4-0 thrashing of rivals Hamilton Accies in the Scottish Cup and a comeback victory over Ayr United, sealing our first win against The Honest Men in nine years were some fond memories of last season... Which all came crashing down in a burning hellfire on the 9th of May at 17:00.

Three managers: Rhys McCabe, Danny Lennon and Aaron Taylor-Sinclair all had reign of the Diamonds last season. McCabe stepping down after a 2-0 loss to Dunfermline, citing family issues as the reason. Danny Lennon - a man who didn’t win a single game and drew two of the eight under his command - was sacked after a dismal 4-0 loss to the Pars, which also saw Liam McStravick given his marching orders. Aaron Taylor-Sinclair then took charge. It started well, but then it all shattered in the middle of May.

Relegated at the hands of Alloa Athletic, who themselves would lose the Play-Off final to Stenhousemuir, with the Warriors ransacking our place in the Championship, saw a three year stay in Scotland’s second tier come to a bitter end.

Many of us were under the impression that we had cheated death once again, as Hamilton were sent down to the seaside league when it should’ve, unquestionably, been us that year, however the scythe that was relegation wouldn’t miss twice, and we were sent down alongside Ross County.

A fresh start now awaits the Diamonds in this new yet familiar territory. A tough life awaits us. Last season’s league foes Ross County are one of the favourites to win this league. Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton Accies and East Kilbride have strong squads, although the latter seems to be losing many of its key men. Alloa Athletic, the side who defeated us three out of four times last season will surely be looking to right their wrongs, not to mention former Championship stalwarts Queen of The South also being amidst the mix.

This division will be extremely tough to get out of. Play our cards right and we can absolutely challenge.

The new Gaffer

It’s an Airdrie boy taking charge of the Diamonds as John Rankin takes the reigns at his hometown club.

A relatively experienced manager, John first went into management as Hearts U-18s boss, eventually leaving his post with the Jambos youngsters to join Hamilton Accies as assistant manager under Stuart Taylor.

Rankin was given the reins in 2022, and even though he brought a Challenge Cup trophy to Hamilton, he would ultimately suffer relegation at the hands of Rhys McCabe’s Airdrieonians, as the Diamonds won 6-5 on penalties on that famous day.

However, Rankin did end up getting Hamilton back up to the Championship, sending Inverness Caledonian Thistle down to the third tier, as Accies joined league champions & Invincibles Falkirk in the Championship.

It wasn’t a good season for Accies as a fifteen-point deduction eventually sent them down straight away, sparing Airdrie’s blushes. Rankin stayed with Hamilton through their crisis as long as he could, but a 4-0 derby loss in the Scottish Cup to the Diamonds saw him leave his post.

He would return to management at Ayr United, although only on an interim basis after Scott Brown was sacked. Rankin oversaw Ayr’s survival for the season even with a 2-1 loss to Airdrie.

Eventually, he left The Honest Men as they brought in Gary Naismith after his heroics with Stenhousemuir that same season, and after Aaron Taylor-Sinclair’s sacking, he was brought into get the Diamonds back up to the second tier.

Airdrieonians Vs Elgin City Preview

The first game for John Rankin’s Airdrie will be against foes we haven’t faced since 2019 as Elgin City come to the Tattiehad.

In that 2019 meeting, it was in the Challenge Cup and two extremely late goals from Kane Hester and a Shane Sutherland penalty saw the League Two side progress, after they had already dispatched Hibernian B, Brechin City & Dundee, only to be defeated by eventual finalists Raith Rovers.

Elgin finished 6th in the fourth-tier last season, six points off Forfar Athletic in fourth, but still some way clear of Edinburgh City; 20 points clear, as The Black And Whites finished on 44 points.

Ayr United Vs Airdrieonians Preview

A first away friendly for the Diamonds since a 3-2 loss to Irish side Crusaders sees Airdrie travel to Somerset Park to face Ayr United once again.

As mentioned, Ayr survived their Championship season last year under John Rankin’s guidance, but now their former interim boss will hope to return and haunt his former side in Airdrie’s second of three fixtures.

The last fixture against The Honest Men saw Airdrie turn around a 1-0 goal deficit, a Leon King header from a corner, into a 2-1 victory. Robbie Mahon sweeping home with his first touch after an Airdrie corner wasn’t fully cleared, before Charlie McArthur volleyed into the back of the net to complete the turnaround and secure a first victory against Ayr in almost a decade.

The last time at Somerset saw Airdrie break the curse of constant losses, Cole McKinnon’s late first half goal cancelling out Jamie Murphy’s earlier penalty kick, sealing a point at Somerset for the first time since 2017.

Ayr, as previously said, are under the command of Gary Naismith now, a man who knows how to get sides up to the Championship as he did with Stenhousemuir, but he’ll be looking to get Ayr up the table and into the promotion play-offs for a chance to play in the Premiership.

A tough game awaits, but surely a good one against some old foes.

Airdrieonians Vs Falkirk Preview

Our final friendly sees us take on top six Premiership opposition once more, this time in the form of John McGlynn’s Falkirk.

After last season’s 2-0 friendly loss to St Mirren, this will be the second time in a row (third if you include the 4-1 behind closed doors victory over St Mirren before the 2024/25 season) we have taken on top six opposition.

The Bairns finished their league campaign eight points off Hibernian as they finished with 49 points, with the Hibees finishing on 57. They lost all but one of their post-split fixtures, that sole victory coming at home to Motherwell, where a solitary goal from on-loan Leicester City man Henry Cartwright went unanswered by the Steelmen. They did however lose 3-1 to both Celtic & Hibernian, lost 3-0 to Hearts & had a very entertaining 5-2 loss to Rangers.

Our last meeting with Falkirk came in the 2024/25 Championship season at The Falkirk Stadium. Calvin Miller struck in the 61st minute to give the hosts the lead, before an extremely late Arfield penalty sealed three points for Falkirk. Nicky Hogarth received the Man of The Match award, which tells you that Airdrie more than had their fair share of chances but couldn’t breach the defensive walls of the Bairns.

Three games, all different levels of opposition before the Diamonds attempt to tackle a very tough League Cup group, facing Dundee (obviously), Ross County, Annan Athletic & Clyde.

By David Jarvie

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to the programme for today’s play-off semi-final second leg against Alloa Athletic. What is there to say about Tuesday night? Pitiful stuff. Shame on everyone who has lead us to this position.

Recent Head-To-Head

23rd September 2022

Challenge Cup

Alloa Athletic 1-0 Airdrieonians

15th October 2022

League 1

Alloa Athletic 2-0 Airdrieonians

28th January 2023

League 1

Airdrieonians 4-0 Alloa Athletic

1st April 2023

League 1

Alloa Athletic 0-1 Airdrieonians

26th July 2025

League Cup – Group Stages

Airdrieonians 2-3 Alloa Athletic

9th December 2025

Challenge Cup

Alloa Athletic 2-3 Airdrieonians

5th May 2026

Championship play-offs semi-final first leg

Alloa Athletic 1-0 Airdrieonians

Alloa Athletic - IN THE PLAY-OFFS

Alloa have appeared in the play-offs on 10 previous occasions. They won in their first encounter. This came in the maiden play-off season back in 2005/06, where they completed the “great escape” by defeating Arbroath and Berwick to retain their Division 2 status.

They contested the First Division play-offs in 2007/08 where they were to suffer heartbreak in the semi final. After defeating Clyde 2-1 in the home leg, Alloa then led 3-1 at Broadwood after an hour gone, but a collapse allowed Clyde to take the tie to extra time, where Pat Clarke scored the decisive goal to allow Clyde to progress. After the demise of Gretna that season, reaching the final would have been enough to see Alloa promoted.

2 years later they lost again at the semi final stage in the First Division play-offs, defeated by Cowdenbeath after managing to go the previous 7 games unbeaten against the Blue Brazil that season. The following season saw a real reversal in fortunes. Defeat to Annan, again at the semi final stage, saw them relegated to Division 3 for the first time in their history.

Success finally came in 2013; Dunfermline were beaten 3-1 on aggregate which allowed the club to achieve back-to-back promotions and onto the Championship. In Season 2014/15 “The Wasps” again held on to their Championship status after a memorable 3-0 2nd leg victory in the final after Forfar Athletic had won the 1st leg 3-1. Michael Chopra’s goal just prior to half-time gave the team the belief, Liam Buchanan scored a fantastic 2nd goal and Daryll Meggatt scored with a powerful header six minutes from time to complete a great comeback.

However, in season 2016/17 we were to suffer our first defeat in a play-off final. Having lost 1-0 at Glebe Park in the first leg to Brechin City, a Greig Spence hat-trick saw “The Wasps” win the 2nd Leg 4-3, ending 4-4 on aggregate. Alloa then suffered defeat in the penalty shoot out losing 5-4.

In season 2017/18 we had the chance to get promotion back to the Championship. In the Championship play-off semi-final 1st leg, “The Wasps” recorded a 2-0 victory with goals from Ross Stewart & Iain Flannigan at the Indodrill Stadium. In the 2nd leg at Stark’s Park “The Wasps” recorded at 2-1 victory to win 4-1 on aggregate, inflicting Raith Rovers their only home defeat of the season. In the first leg of the 2017/18 play-off final at The Indodrill Stadium, Dumbarton won 1-0 thanks to a Stuart Carswell goal, but in the second leg at Dumbarton, “The Wasps” never gave in and had the best of the game but had to wait until the dying minutes when Ross Stewart was on hand to grab a deserved equaliser and Jordan Kirkpatrick scored the winner for Jim Goodwin’s side in extra time.

In 2022/23, after winning the 1st leg 1-0 and leading 2-0 in the second leg, Alloa were to go down to 10 men when George Stanger was sent off. Thereafter the team ran out of steam, with too many players unavailable and other playing with injuries, it all caught up with a very brave Alloa side who could never have been faulted for effort, fighting till the very end with players having to play out of position, just to get 10 men on the park. It was just to be a game too far for “The Wasps”.

The last time Alloa Athletic qualified for the play-offs was at the end of season 2023/24 and, as in the previous season, they faced Hamilton Accies. The first leg of the semi-final was at the Recs in a tight match which ended 2-2. In the second leg at Hamilton, Alloa took the lead after only 7m when Quinn Coulson scored. Hamilton came back and scored two goals just prior to half-time, then, in a moment of madness, Alloa went down to 10 men after Morgan Neill received both a yellow and red card at the incident on 45m. So, for the 2nd season in a row Alloa had to play the second half of a play-off semi-final with only 10 men. Alloa never gave in and Conor Sammon equalised for “The Wasps” on 57m 2-2. The winning goal for “The Accies” came when Ahkeem Rose scored on 77m, bundling home the ball from close range. Alloa’s last chance came two minutes later when Taylor Steven’s free-kick struck the post and rolled to safety.

By John Glencross

Previous Play off

Although this is Alloa Athletic’s 11th season in reaching the year end play-off matches, which began back in season 2005-06 when “The Wasps” were victors defeating Arbroath in the Semi finals and then defeating Berwick Rangers in the final, this is only the second time that Alloa Athletic will have faced Airdrieonians in the play-offs. The last time the teams met was back in season 2016-17 also at the semi-final stage.

The 1st leg was played at Airdrie on 10th May 2016, with the home side winning 1 – 0, Andy Ryan heading home from a Ryan Conroy cross.

Airdrie – Rohan Ferguson, Simon Mensing, Joseph Gorman, Sean McIntosh, Ryan Conroy, Kyle Hutton, Kieran MacDonald, Scott Stewart, Andy Ryan, Iain Russell, Adam Brown subs: Jack McKay, Jack Leitch, Murray Louden, Daniel Boatang, Matthew Kerr.

Alloa Athletic – Neil Parry, Scott Taggart, Calum Waters, Frank McKeown, Andy Graham, Graeme Holmes, Kevin Cawley, Iain Flannigan, Greig Spence, Jordan Kirkpatrick, Dylan Mackin subs: Jason Marr, Jon Robertson, Stevie Hetherington, Stefan McCluskey, Jamie Longworth, Adam Martin, Craig McDowall

The 2nd leg was played at Recreation Park, Alloa, on 13th May 2017.

Alloa were the victors, winning 1-0 with a rare Jon Robertson goal after 50 minutes, a rocket shot to draw the game level. In extra time Alloa came closest with Jordan Kirkpatrick coming back off the crossbar with 5 minutes of extra time left. So, to penalties with Scott Taggart, Andy Graham and Jordan Kirkpatrick scoring for “The Wasps” and Neil Parry saving 2 of the Airdrie penalties, before Calum Waters scored the winning penalty.

Alloa Athletic – Neil Parry, Scott Taggart, Calum Waters, Frank McKeown, Andy Graham, Jon Robertson, Kevin Cawley, Iain Flannigan, Greig Spence, Jordan Kirkpatrick, Dylan Mackin subs: Jason Marr, Stevie Hetherington, Jamie Longworth, Stefan McCluskey, Adam Martin, Scott Hynd, Craig McDowall.

Airdrie - Rohan Ferguson, Simon Mensing, Joseph Gorman, Sean McIntosh, Ryan Conroy, Kyle Hutton, Kieran MacDonald, Scott Stewart, Andy Ryan, Iain Russell, Adam Brown subs: Jack McKay, Jack Leitch, Murray Louden, Daniel Boatang, Matthew Kerr.

“Jim Goodwin’s Alloa Athletic side are just two games away from an immediate return to the second tier, thanks to a nail-biting penalty shoot-out win over Airdrieonians. 1-0 down from the first leg, they restored parity through Jon Robertson’s excellent second-half strike and the Wasps eventually headed through 4-3 on penalties. Iain Flannigan has been a mainstay of this Alloa side for four seasons now and he was at his beguiling best again on Saturday, with his midfield performance a big part of their victory.” Special mention also to goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson (Airdrieonians).

“Airdrie failed to make it into the Championship play-off final, but it was by the slenderest of margins, as they were eliminated on penalties by Alloa after the two sides drew 1-1 on aggregate. That Mark Wilson’s side made it that far owed much to the performance of goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson, who made some superb stops as Alloa fought back to overcome a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.”

By John Glencross

Alloa First and Lasts

This afternoon’s match provides our eleventh play-off semi-final second-leg since the format was introduced at the end of 2005/06, but if we include the Premiership quarter-final against Partick Thistle in 2023/24 then this is sixth season in succession that we’ve been involved. Indeed, we haven’t had a mid-table finish since coming fifth in the third tier at the end of 2018/19.

Today’s visitors are one of only two clubs to have defeated us at the semi-final stage. Their win in 2016/17 joined Brechin City’s success in 2009/10 as the only blips in an otherwise perfect record. You may recall that we lost 0-1 at Recreation Park after we’d prevailed by the same scoreline at Excelsior a few days earlier. We lost 3-4 on penalties after an additional half-hour couldn’t separate the sides. We’d finished third in League 1 that season on 52 points, The Wasps had finished second but ten points better off so their success wasn’t a surprise.

If the play-offs are akin to cup-ties a look through the record books finds that the yellow-and-blacks have provided tough opponents in eliminators since the Excelsior era got underway.

Their first trip to our new ground was back in August 1999 just one year after the stadium had opened. That was for a Challenge Cup Second Round tie against ‘old’ Airdrieonians. Wasps’ fans in the 765 crowd went home happy after their team triumphed by 2-1. Former Airdrieonian, Mark Nelson, is credited with having scored the yellow-and-black’s first goal at the ground. Alloa would return to Airdrie three months later for the final of the same competition and they lifted the cup after a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. That spot-kick duel took place after a classic match had ended 4-4. Caley Thistle’s Paul Sheerin joined the very small group of footballers who have scored a hat-trick in a cup final yet ended on the losing side. Jimmy Boyle, who played for and managed The Diamonds, appeared in every round for Alloa and his winners’ medal added to the one he earned with us in 1995.

Alloa have visited three times in the League Cup and have emerged victorious on every occasion. They won a sectional tie 2-0 in 2020/21, and did likewise at the start of this season when a late goal provided a 3-2 success. That earned them a Second Round trip to Ibrox but hastened the end of Rhys McCabe’s reign at Excelsior. Their other win was a 4-3 First Round penalties success back in 2009/10 which came after a 0-0 draw. Their success rate against us from twelve yards will have us hoping today’s match doesn’t end in a shoot-out.

Looking much further back, and taking league fixtures into account, the Clackmannanshire side’s last visit to Broomfield took place on 24th March 1990, exactly seven days before our long-awaited title showdown with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park. If that match against The Wasps was subsumed in the memory by subsequent events, the record books show we won 3-1 but Gary Hayton is credited with scoring the ‘wee county’ side’s historic goal.

Old Airdrieonians’ last visit to Recreation Park took place on March 27th 2001 and the home side inflicted an ignominious six goal thrashing. Diamonds’ fans will however make a plea of mitigation for that lop-sided score. The match came shortly after an enforced six week lay-off due to financial turmoil. Steve Archibald and his imported team had gone on their way and it looked as if Airdrie would be unable to fulfil remaining fixtures. Ian McCall was, however, drafted in amidst the chaos and it was his swiftly assembled side that lost those six goals. Alloa fans may recall that Ross Hamilton helped himself to four of that half-dozen.

The situation in North Lanarkshire was much more conducive by the time of Airdrie United’s first trip to ‘The Recs’ in October 2003. United won 4-1 but would return later that same season to win again. Owen Coyle’s goal earned a 1-0 win and the 2003/04 Second Division championship.

Recreation Park has the distinction of hosting an Airdrie ‘home’ game. That was the Challenge Cup First Round (South-West) tie against Ayr United in July 2010, Alloa’s synthetic pitch being utilised because the one in Airdrie wasn’t ready.

Airdrieonians and Alloa first encountered one another in season 1922/23. Alloa won the inaugural match at Broomfield, while the Diamonds triumphed in the Recreation Park return. Alloa’s victory was a milestone in that the Diamonds wouldn’t lose at home again until December 1925.

By Peter Smith

Played for Both

Willie Irvine

Willie Irvine began his career at Annfield – home of Alloa’s local rivals Stirling Albion. Irvine was a prolific forward for the Binos, scoring 52 goals in 107 appearances. His most famous moment in red and white came in 1984 when Willie scored 5 goals for Albion in their 20-0 Scottish Cup demolition of Selkirk.

Irvine’s exploits upfront for the Binos earned him a move to Leith and Hibernian. The move meant a jump of 2 divisions from the third tier to the Premier Division, and it was, perhaps, one Willie struggled with, scoring 2 goals in 12 appearances. Some success, however, was to be found during Willie’s only season at Hibs. A loan spell at Dunfermline towards the end of the 1986/87 season – where Irvine scored twice in 6 appearances – helped Dunfermline achieve promotion to the Premier League. Again, Willie found limited appearances in the top division but, he challenged himself in a way not many Scottish players do by going abroad and enjoying spells at FK Vidar and Valerenga in Norway.

Willie came to Broomfield in 1989 upon his return to Scotland and scored a respectable 7 times in 21 appearances, as Jimmy Bone’s Airdrie team just missed out on promotion to the Premier League at the hands of St Johnstone (he also had a short loan spell at Albion Rovers).

Longer and more fruitful spells at Meadowbank Thistle and Berwick Rangers (where he scored 48 times in 148 appearances) followed before he joined today’s opponents.

In the black and gold of Alloa, Willie scored 65 goals in 177 games and finished top goal scorer in 3 of the 5 seasons he played at Recreation Park; he hit 19 goals in 96/97, 24 in 97/98 and 12 in 2000/01. Being from the area, Irvine also worked locally as well as play part-time for Alloa. In January 1997, while working in his day job as a prison officer at Glenochil prison, Irvine was taken hostage along with a prison nurse as part of a protest lodged by the prisoners. However the situation was resolved – perhaps it was relayed to the prisoners that 3 points were at stake – in his first game upon his release, Willie scored a headed winner after 87’ minutes against Forfar!

As mentioned earlier in the programme, Alloa were triumphant in the 1999/2000 Challenge Cup. While Irvine did not score against Airdrie in their 2nd round clash, he did score Alloa’s quarter-final winner in extra-time up in Dingwall and their semi-final winner away to local rivals Stirling, as well as the Wasp’s first penalty in the final here at New Broomfield, to cement his hero status at Recreation Park.

Willie ended his career with a season at Stenhousemuir and a spell as player manager of Clackmannanshire’s other club: Sauchie Juniors. Irvine has also managed Bo’ness United, Lillesand in Norway, Pollok and Bo’ness Athletic.

By Sean Smith

Loan Watch

Cole Williams, Dylan Williams, Divine Iserhienrhien (Edinburgh City)

A superb day out for our loan trio last weekend as Edinburgh City put Dumbarton to the sword with a 5-0 victory.

It started well for the Citizens, and for Divine six minutes in. Innes Lawson played a superb, perfectly weighted ball through for the big striker, and he passed the ball beyond Brett Long in the Son’s net to open the scoring.

Lawson won a foul from Kai Kirkpatrick on the 22nd minute, which resulted in the Dumbarton man receiving his marching orders. Lawson would, two minutes later, score a surefire goal of the season contender, weaving past multiple defenders and firing past Long to double the Citizens lead. A Maradona-like goal.

It’d be the twins to get in on the action next. Cole played a superb 1-2 with Dylan, and the former shot past Long to make it three for the hosts.

Dylan would double his assist tally as he helped Divine double his goal tally for the day, playing a ball across the face for his fellow Airdrie-man to tap home to make it four, six minutes before the interval, with Cole quickly joining his fellow loanees in the celebrations.

The last goal wouldn’t involve our guys, but it was a superb goal from Malek Zaid. The former Hibee chopping away from two defenders and firing through the legs of another to score the fifth and final goal for City.

Dylan would try desperately to get his name on the scoresheet, but Long denied him multiple times, one with a great save. An outside the box curler from Dylan forced a great save from Long, making sure the third loanee didn’t get his name alongside his fellows.

A superb result for our trio as they gear up to face Brora Rangers in the Pyramid Play-Off.

Cammy Cooper (Kelty Hearts)

Not much to tell for poor Cammy, as he wasn’t in the squad for Kelty’s 2-0 victory over Peterhead, which was their last League One act for now, as Kelty finished bottom of the pact in the third tier.

By David Jarvie

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Diamonds in the Community Football Memories Group – Friday 1st May 2026 Airdrie Working Men’s Social Club Guest Speaker Iain Harley.

Last Friday I made a return to the monthly Football Memories Group held at the Working Men’s Social Club in Airdrie. I say return as I have been a couple of times before to help out, although I’m not always able to get along.

This is a pity as I really enjoy it and always leave overwhelmed by the commitment by both the helpers and those in attendance to make it work.

For those unfamiliar with Football Memories Groups, they are social events held monthly for those looking for social interaction around football, including those experiencing memory loss. Locally organised groups are held throughout Scotland, all independent of each other, supported by Football Memories Group officers based through the SFA at Hampden Park.

This group is run by ‘Diamonds in the Community’, as just one of their many activities.

Thinking I have arrived early, on entering the function room, I see many a familiar face from the Excelsior and, for some, Broomfield Park. They are already busy, setting up tables and chairs, and from the familiar aroma from the kitchen, preparing the pies and Bovril to enhance the Scottish fitba experience. Folk start arriving, some with carers, others from care homes or some arriving under their own steam. Folk seem to know each other and friendly banter doesn’t take long to start.

So, what happens at the group?

For the first hour or so, folk will gather in small groups around tables throughout the room, and along with a facilitator, have a chat about all things football. The facilitator is provided with football cards, where one side shown to folk, will have a picture of a Scottish footballer from yesteryear. Folk are then asked to guess who the player is, and the facilitator has the luxury of having all the answers on the back of the card. The great thing is, this tends to generate a chat about previous football experiences. It continues to amaze me, how folk with short term memory loss issues can accurately describe a football memory from the past. On this occasion, one of the participants spoke with great enthusiasm about the Jarvie – Busby partnership of the 1970’s leading to a chat about his previous Gartlea home at the back of Broomfield, across from the railway track. All this blether goes on, while tucking into probably a second pie!! I don’t think you can overstate how much folk get out of these sessions just having positive interaction with likeminded folk.

The session will be ended, to allow the invited guest, normally an ex-footballer, to be expertly interviewed by our very own, John O’Brien. I say expertly, as John has clearly studied the guest’s previous career in detail. In the past, Airdrieonians legends such as John Martin have come along to be grilled by John. And there’s always the opportunity for folk present to ask any questions they have – and they do!

Today, John has invited ex footballer Ian Harley to come along. Ian may not have played for Airdrie, but he was brought up in Airdrie, is an Airdrie supporter and always wanted to play for Airdrie! He did, however, have an illustrious football career from 1971 to 1986 for many Scottish clubs, the most significant being his time as a striker for Falkirk from 1971-75. Ian gave many stories, one of which was of his time playing alongside co striker Alex Ferguson. Ian described Fergie as normally a good laugh, however, he did recall when Fergie took on the role of Shop Steward, he was a force to be reckoned with. Ian described how manager Willie Cunningham had fined the players their wages after a particularly poor performance. Shortly after Fergie’s intervention, Willie Cunningham was a manager no more!

Ian also spoke of his biggest regret of his football career – turning down a transfer to Clydebank. Not only did he miss the opportunity to play with Davie Cooper, but shortly after Davie left, the Bankies went on to join the Premier League!

The session finished with questions and once again folk left feeling much better about the world than when they arrived two hours earlier. Big thanks go to Stephen Eaton and John O’Brien along with all the helpers for all their work in making this happen.

By Andy Locke

Thank you to Stephen Eaton for his consent to allow this article.

For more information on Football Memories e mail DIAMONDSITC@HOTMAIL.COM

Thank You

Thank you to all our readers, subscribers, columnists and guest writers over season 2025/26. Your support, feedback, contributions mean a lot to us and help make the Broomfield Bulletin what it is. Football fans deserve honest, critical, analytical, thoughtful, historiographic and impassioned media. Airdrie fans deserve honest, critical, analytical, thoughtful, historiographic and impassioned media and this is what we strive to give you every home game. Thank you. Whether it be in the Championship or in League 1, we will be back better and bigger than ever next season. All that is left to say is – ‘mon the Diamonds!

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to the final Broomfield Bulletin of our league campaign. Will we be back for the play-offs? That is up to Taylor-Sinclair and the players. 8th place is also still up for grabs so there is a lot at stake heading into this penultimate fixture of the season. In any case, finally beating Ayr would be nice. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

Recent Head-To-Head

7th October 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-2 Ayr United

16th December 2023

Scottish Championship

Ayr United 1-0 Airdrieonians

17th February 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-3 Ayr United

29th March 2024

Scottish Championship

Ayr United 2-1 Airdrieonians

9th August 2024

Scottish Championship

Ayr United 5-0 Airdrieonians

26th October 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-1 Ayr United

1st March 2025

Scottish Championship

Ayr United 4-1 Airdrieonians

2nd May 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-1 Ayr United

27th September 2025

Scottish Championship

Ayr United 4-2 Airdrieonians

22nd November 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-1 Ayr United

10th January 2026

Scottish Championship

Ayr United 1-1 Airdrieonians

Championship Round-up

Arbroath Vs Raith Rovers

As Arbroath look to try and cement third place, they hosted Raith Rovers who themselves are looking to confirm survival.

The opening goal came on half-time. Oscar MacIntyre drilling a low, hard finish past Josh Rae in the Raith goal.

Josh Rae wouldn’t endear himself much for the second goal, fluffing a back-pass leaving Findlay Marshall with almost no option but to double the lead of the Lichties.

Raith got a consolation through Kai Montagu. Richard Chin burst through on goal and there was Montagu to tap home after a square pass.

A huge result in the hope for Premiership football for the Red Lichties.

Greenock Morton Vs Queen’s Park

A goalless draw served up at Cappielow, highlighting the host’s inability to score.

The only noteworthy thing to happen was Scott Martin being sent off for a second bookable offence after fouling Cameron Blues.

Almost half an hour Morton had against ten men but, as we saw against ten-man Ayr earlier in the season, they couldn’t find the breakthrough.

Dunfermline Athletic Vs St Johnstone

With the Pars sealing a Scottish Cup final against Celtic next month, they hosted St Johnstone in Fife. A win for the visitors and the league title was theirs.

It was the Saints to strike first through Reece McAlear. His heavily deflected strike put the Saints away end into absolute raptures.

Saints would seal the deal on the 73rd minute. An inch perfect ball into the area from Liam Smith was met by Ruari Paton, who planted home a superb header to make it two.

As the whistle went, the celebrations began. St Johnstone sealing a return to the top flight at the first time of asking.

By David Jarvie

Ayr Preview

The final of our triple set of home games is our penultimate game of the season, against Ayr United.

As has practically been tradition, with this season being no different, Ayr have had the better of us. Beating us twice, yet the Diamonds finally got something against them at Somerset Park after Cole McKinnon cancelled out Jamie Murphy’s penalty kick to end the game 1-1.

Form hasn’t gone the way of either Ayr or Airdrie this season; The Honest Men have only won one of their last six, that being a 1-0 victory over Arbroath at Somerset.

That contrasts with the Diamonds who have avoided defeat in two of their last six, albeit three of those games were draws and we should’ve at least won two of them.

This could be the status quo and condemn us to almost certain relegation with Ross County facing Morton on Saturday, a game we need Morton to drop points in should we have any hope of surviving automatically.

Last Time Out

Airdrieonians Vs Partick Thistle

With St Johnstone being on the verge of securing their place in the Premiership on Saturday, the Jags needed to down the Diamonds to have any hope of keeping their Championship title hopes alive.

It started very poorly for them. Chris Mochrie opened the scoring with a deflected stunner which took Josh Clarke completely out the game in the Thistle goal.

An eight-minute aneurysm from Airdrie saw Thistle turn the game on its head. A comedic own goal from Chris Mochrie saw Thistle level after only five minutes passing in the second half, before Aidan Fitzpatrick put the visitors ahead.

Thistle would be dealt a massive blow to their title hopes, only worsened by Tuesday’s result. Lewis McGrattan tapped into the back of the net from close range after Aaron Reid had sent Ethan Ingram to the shops and played the ball across the face of goal to level the tie.

Two points dropped in that game; we should’ve had the tie killed off.

Ross County Vs Ayr United

With the Diamonds picking up a point against their fierce rivals, a loss for County would’ve almost certainly condemned them to relegation.

But it started absolutely abhorrently for the visiting Ayr. Ryan Duncan put the hosts ahead, firing into the corner after a corner kick.

Ayr did level the scoring on the verge of half-time. Anton Dowds putting the Staggies’ defence to the sword with a calm finish.

With 20 minutes left to play, County would get the finishing blow. Alex Iacovitti would power home a header to seal three priceless points for County.

A poor result for the Diamonds. Huge for the Highlanders.

By David Jarvie

Ayr United First and Lasts

The Diamonds’ recent history is fragmented by the fact that the club has played home games at three different grounds over the past thirty-odd years and, of course, by the transition from Airdrieonians to Airdrie United that occurred in the summer of 2002.

These epochal events have of course provided a variety of ‘firsts’ and ‘lasts’ to look back on and today’s opponents, Ayr United, have a very prominent place in those regards. Diamonds’ fans require no reminding that The Honest Men served as the opposition in ‘old’ Airdrieonians last ever match. That game took place at Somerset Park on 27th April 2002. The following Airdrie line-up has its place in history:

Ferguson, McDonald and Smith; McManus, Docherty and Stewart; Vareille, Henry, Coyle, McPherson & Roberts (Armstrong, Ronald, Taylor & Bennett were listed as the substitutes but were unused).

Ayr’s Stewart Kean added his name to the milestone statistics with the game’s only goal, but most people will recall the game because of its unusual end, when a goal-frame was damaged during a pitch incursion. A mere 21 minutes had elapsed. I still have my ticket for the replay that never was.

The old club also lost its last-ever home game against Ayr United, a 1-2 reverse at Excelsior being recorded on February 9th that same year. Airdrieonians won the two other league games that season One was by 2-1 in North Lanarkshire, the other by 3-1 in South Ayrshire. Stuart Taylor’s goal in the latter was featured on the opening credits of ‘Scotsport First’, STV’s early Sunday morning programme that showcased the second tier.

In terms of ‘firsts’, the new club’s inaugural clash with the black-and-whites took place in Airdrie and was the 0-0 draw that unfolded on 6th October 2007. The teams would clash another three times in the league during season 2007/08 and Airdrie Utd did not taste success until the last of those meetings, a 2-1 win at Somerset on the last day of the league campaign. That was also the venue for what were possibly the new club’s two stand-out victories against The Honest Men to date. The first of those was the 4-1 win in 2009/10 that staved off relegation, the second the 3-1 play-off success in 2011/12. On the other hand, Ayr United came back from 0-2 down in the play-off final in 2008/09 to inflict what was probably the most painful defeat.

Ayr United also have the quirky claim as our first opponents on Excelsior’s synthetic surface. That was back in August 2010 but, a few weeks before, Airdrie United’s ‘home’ Challenge Cup tie against Ayr was played at Recreation Park in Alloa - the first time we’d hosted a match outside the ‘ML6’ post code since the old club left Broadwood in the spring of 1998.

Our tenure at Broadwood came about after the loss of Broomfield, our spiritual home, back in 1994. Ayr provided the Diamonds third visitors to Cumbernauld and the sides drew 0-0 on 10th September that year. The ‘home’ side was victorious by 2-0 on Ayr’s final visit on 10th February 1998.

The last clash beside the pavilion had taken place on February 12th 1994 with another 0-0 result being recorded. You have to go back as far as March 26th 1985 to find Ayr’s last win which means that 13 years elapsed before they recorded their next victory in the town. This was also a ‘first’ as it came at Excelsior in season 1998/99, during the new ground’s very first season. Airdrie’s last win against Ayr at Broomfield came on September 22nd 1991 and its recall evokes happy memories because Owen Coyle scored a hat-trick. That triple came just nineteen months after his debut for the Diamonds. That took place on February 10th 1990. Ayr United provided the opposition that day too and, yes, Owen also scored three goals on that occasion.

Looking much further back, Ayr United’s first league visit to Broomfield occurred just before the First World War with a 1-1 draw being played-out on 7th March 1914. Airdrie had won the first league clash between the sides at Beresford Park in Ayr on 6th December the previous year by 2-0. An identical score-line was recorded on Airdrie’s first trip to play Ayr Utd but this had come in the Scottish Cup on 8th February the same year.

Ayr United had of course been formed by the amalgamation of Ayr FC and Ayr Parkhouse and Airdrie’s first ever Scottish League visit saw a clash with the former way back on 22nd January 1898. The record books note that the home side won 4-1. The club’s had previously contested Alliance League matches in season 1891/92 while they had also met informally in the 1880’s.

By Peter Smith

Last win vs Ayr

Last week we mentioned that Firhill was a bogey ground for the Diamonds. If we have a bogey team, that team is Ayr United. Airdrie have gone 13 games without beating the Honest Men and, indeed, the 1-1 draw in our last encounter is the only somewhat positive result out of all those encounters.

So, when did we last beat Ayr? We must travel back to 23rd December 2017. The 2017/18 season was not a vintage one for Airdrieonians Football Club: a 7th place finish in League One being a historical nadir in terms of league placings, not to mention being knocked out of the Scottish Cup by then Highland League Cove Rangers (as documented in a previous issue of the Broomfield Bulletin). But an unexpected home win against top-of-the-league Ayr brought some rare respite and festive cheer to all those of a Diamond persuasion. Airdrie lined up:

Ferguson; Stewart, Brownlie, McGregor, MacDonald, Edwards; Cairns; Watt, Hastie, Furtado; Russell.

While the Honest Men went:

Hart; Ferguson, Higgins, Rose, Boyle; Forrest, Gilmour, Geggan, Moffatt; Moore and Shankland.

At that point, Ayr were on a long winning run having not dropped points in the league since Airdrie held them to a 2-2 draw in October. Given the respective form and league positions, a comfortable Ayr win (as we have sadly gotten used to these past 3 years) was to be expected.

But the Diamonds, as they often do when you least expect it, had other ideas.

With only 4 minutes of the game gone, future Honest Man (and future second-time Diamond) Jake Hastie was tackled as he attempted to carry the ball into the box. Not to matter, the ball broke to Cammy Russell who managed to find himself some space and drill the ball home to give Airdrie the lead.

Photo credits John Steven

Now chasing the game, Ayr began to exert some pressure onto Rohan Ferguson’s goal. Lawrence Shankland (what a year 2026 may turn out to be for him) fired a couple of chances off target, as did Michael Rose, while Ferguson in the Airdrie goal made a fine save from Craig Moore’s shot.

Amidst all their defending, the Diamonds made a break up the park. A couple of corners and a high ball into the box later and the home side were two to the good; David Brownlie’s header having been deemed to have crossed the line by the linesman.

A 2-goal lead at half-time, the rest of the game largely played out as it had in the first half; Ayr throwing everything at it but the Diamonds’ defence and Rohan Ferguson remained resolute. In particular, Ferguson made a couple of great saves; firstly, from Shankland’s feet and then an excellent save from a Michael Moffat effort.

Airdrie managed to see out what in the end would be a great victory against the eventual champions. While a 7th place finish in League 1 is a nadir in terms of league placings, better days would soon be ahead. Except for games against Ayr United. Will that change today?

By Sean Smith

Loan Watch

Cole Williams, Dylan Williams and Divine Iserhienrhien (Edinburgh City)

Another crap day for our Edinburgh trio, as they fell to a 4-0 loss against East Kilbride which sealed their place in the Pyramid Playoff, where they will face Highland League champions Brora Rangers.

Cammy Cooper (Kelty Hearts)

Cammy finally started a game for his loan side after his double last week. Yet he nor anyone else could find a way through Inverness’s defences as the Maroon Machine went down 1-0 in the Highlands.

By David Jarvie

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

‘Nutmeg’ The Scottish Football Quarterly -The World Cup Issue – Issue 39.

As the season draws to a close our fate still awaits us. However, what we do know is, this has been a long, hard and, let’s be honest, frequently miserable season for a Diamond.

Time then to give ourselves a break and escape to thoughts of the summer ahead, and the World Cup just round the corner. Certainly, a rare moment of joy this season must be Scotland’s dramatic and ultimately stunning victory over Denmark. Not just in gaining qualification to the World Cup Finals for the first time in 28 years, but the spectacular way we did it. In an otherwise flat domestic season for us of an Airdrie persuasion, it is fair to say my house was rocking, as Kenny Mclean lobbed Schmeichel in the final minutes to confirm our place in America.

Shortly afterwards, my dug was disturbed from his slumbers as the hefty tomb of Nutmeg: The Scottish Football Quarterly, Issue 39 landed on my door mat. Quick examination concluded all 194 pages of this treasure trove of all things Scottish fitba had this time been dedicated exclusively to Scotland and the World Cup.

As I flicked through the many pages, my excitement grew on the beckoning festival of football, putting to one side all the negatives of rip off ticket prices and the like, to indulge in the emotions of following Scotland on the global stage. Like the Diamonds, supporting Scotland is never easy but the ride is sure to be full of excitement and drama.

Nutmeg Issue 39 gets you in the mood.

It covers the serious and less than serious stories from previous World Cup forays including the people and places encountered en route; the view from the fans and the analysis of our chances this time, along with the lighter consideration of our strips through the ages and World Cup pop songs both good and bad!

Here’s just a wee taster of some of the stories:

Author Harry Pearson wrote of Scotland in the 1954 World Cup when even Tommy Docherty ‘the Doc’ was so stunned, he could not come up with a one liner other than: ‘It was a shambles’; to summarise our performance in our first World Cup. You knew it was bad! Scotland, who had refused to attend the first World Cup in 1950 because we had just lost to England and, therefore, were not the top British Nation, had only thought it necessary to bring a playing squad of 13 to everyone else’s 22 in 1954. Dramatically underestimated the opposition or overestimated our own ability. In a Swiss heatwave the Scotland team bedecked in thick shirts, thick shorts and heavy ankle covering boots slumbered to a 7-0 defeat, taught a lesson by the delights of Uruguay. Our goalie Martin was spotted meantime wearing a knitted woollen polo neck suited to a February night in Arbroath! Rather than addressing our complete lack of preparation in reviewing our demise, Robert Kelly, President of the Scottish League, ranted the world cup had been a ‘wash out’ with chaotic organisation, poor refereeing and appalling behaviour from foreign players!

In 1990, Veteran BBC Commentator Archie MacPherson relives the torture of Scotland’s defeat to the then minnows of Costa Rica in Genoa, Italy in our first game in the World Cup Finals. A game that still haunts us old enough to remember, especially as we were still recovering from our demise against Peru some years earlier! I was there and yes, it was humiliating! These experiences scarred us for life, with flashbacks likely as we kick off this time against the ‘minnows’ of Haiti. The only joy to be taken out of Archie’s article is his disclosure that during his commentary, his BBC bosses back home lambasted Archie for his negativity, demanding he cheered up, which was no easy task given the disaster that unfolded that day! I always thought Archie was a miserable bugger!

Costa Rica beat us 1-0 by the way, the only joy I can take out of it was our revenge in slaughtering Sweden 2-1 in the same stadium five days later. Pride was restored.

John Collins in Nutmeg re lives his memories of France 1998 and, of course, the excitement of meeting Brazil in Paris in the opening match. You really don’t get any better than that, other than scoring to bring the teams level in the full gaze of the world! Collins wrote:

“You have nothing to lose really when you play against the big boys. The pressure’s all on them. The only risk of a heavy defeat but, in fairness, we had a good group. Good legs, good energy, a work ethic, and nobody got an easy game against us. So, it turned out that day.”

Collins tells the story of manager Craig Brown immediately before the teams came out:

“Craig was always one for a wee one-liner and, sure enough, as we’re getting ready to head out, he’s seen the Brazilians in the tunnel, holding hands as they always did, and he comes back into the dressing room to tell us: “They’re all holding hands, they must be shitting themselves!” Aye Right!!

Scotland went on to lose by the odd goal 2-1, however, gained plenty of respect in the process.

…..and then there was our World Cup Pop Songs – described in Nutmeg as “on the same continuum as our football heyday – a blend of glorious failure and often simple failure”. Not great! It started with a whole album for Germany 1974, followed by ‘Ole Ola’ in Argentina 1978, upstaged by the unofficial Ally’s Tartan Army, which reached No 6 in the charts. Uplifting, but we know how that finished! My personal favourite, from the World Cup 1982 ‘We had a Dream’ which reached No 5 in the charts. My favourite, cos you needed a few pints to understand it, and it kind of summed us all up! Not sure if we have a song this time round.

So, to this World Cup and Scotland’s chances. Well, Nutmeg includes a chapter where a statistical model based on Sporting Intelligence Data when applied to our group concludes, Morocco might top the section, with Brazil and Scotland also going through. Clearly Morocco and Brazil have the best players, but beating Haiti might be enough for Scotland to get through the group. You heard it here first – please no calls I’m not at home!

The only certainty is, there will be a story and Scotland will be centre stage!

By Andy Locke

Thanks to Nutmeg Scottish Football Quarterly Magazine for consent to print. www.nutmegmagazine.co.ukhttps://www.nutmegmagazine.co.uk/subscriptions/

Hello, and welcome to today's game against Partick Thistle. I am sure all Airdrie fans will agree we owe them one after our last contest at New Broomfield. Will we do it? After Tuesday, I am not convinced... Nevertheless, nothing would be sweeter than beating Thistle AND potentially costing them the title. 'Mon the Diamonds!

Recent Head-To-Head

12th August 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-1 Partick Thistle

2nd December 2023

Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle 2-1 Airdrieonians

27th January 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-1 Partick Thistle

20th April 2024

Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle 4-0 Airdrieonians

7th May 2024

Scottish Premiership play-off quarter-final first-leg

Airdrieonians 2-2 Partick Thistle

10th May 2024

Scottish Premiership play-off quarter-final second-leg

Partick Thistle 2-1 Airdrieonians

19th October 2024

Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle 2-1 Airdrieonians

21st December 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-2 Partick Thistle

22nd February 2025

Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle 1-1 Airdrieonians

5th April 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-1 Partick Thistle

12th September 2025

Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle 2-1 Airdrieonians

7^th November 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-1 Partick Thistle

21^st February 2026

Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle 1-0 Airdrieonians

Partick Preview

Our second of three home games in succession will see Premiership hopefuls Partick Thistle return to Airdrie since their last-gasp equaliser in November.

Thistle in the league are on a ridiculous run of form. Unbeaten since a 2-0 away loss to Ross County back on the 9th of January, a 10-minute Jay Henderson double separating the sides.

They’re unbeaten in six games, their last loss coming at the SMISA Stadium in a 2-1 Scottish Cup loss to St Mirren. Dan Nlundulu & Jake Young put the Buddies ahead before Ben Stanway’s soon-to-be consolation pulled one back for the Jags.

The Jags have had the better of Airdrie this season, unsurprisingly. Defeating us in both our visits to Firhill and securing a draw at the last minute of the home match after a howler of an error from Cade Melrose.

With three games remaining, victory is a must for Airdrie.

Last Time Out

Airdrieonians 2-2 Dunfermline Athletic

In a game the Diamonds should’ve won, we decided it’d be better to balls everything up as per usual.

A Dom Thomas screamer opened the scoring, curling past Billy Terrell from the edge of the box.

Chris Mochrie doubled the advantage three minutes into the second half, receiving a Thomas pass and finding the bottom corner with a brilliant finish.

Josh Cooper pulled one back for the Pars only five minutes later, finishing from close range despite the best efforts from Stone and the Airdrie backline to keep it out.

The Diamonds would be denied the three points six minutes from time, Dunfermline hit Airdrie on the counter with a four on three and Lucas Fyfe had the simplest job, to pass the ball beyond Stone.

A shambolic result that’s nothing short of pathetic from Airdrie, leaving us in a situation that most fans see no way out of.

By David Jarvie

Championship Round-up

Only one game to cover for this edition, as Raith Rovers took the trip to Glasgow to face Queen’s Park.

39 minutes in, it’d be the Rovers to open the scoring. Lewis Vaughan stepped up to fire home a penalty kick for the Rovers after he was fouled in the area by Magnus MacKenzie.

Ricki Lamie would be shown a red card for what looked to be an innocuous challenge that left Jack Hamilton in a crumpled heap on the ground, though I suspect it may have been a combination of that and dissent.

Lewis Vaughan doubled his tally in spectacular fashion; a ball bobbled around the area and the Rovers legend fired home on the volley to make it two.

Three points wrapped for the Rovers in Glasgow. Let us pray for three points on Saturday too.

By David Jarvie

Thistle at New Broomfield

This afternoon’s match provides Partick Thistle’s 23rd visit to Excelsior Stadium since they first came calling back in November 2001. The four league fixtures the clubs contested that season possibly saw the last rites in a fierce rivalry that had stretched back to the 1980’s. Thistle’s second visit that season pulled in a crowd of 5746, still the largest for a league fixture at the ground if Rangers (2012) visits during 2013/14 are discounted. Airdrieonians folded at the end of 2001/02 and the aversion seemed to die with it. Somehow, the new reduced version of our club hasn’t generated the same level of antipathy with the yellow-and-reds.

Of the other 21 games at New Broomfield, the first-leg of the Premiership play-off quarter-final at the end of 2023/24 is probably the only one that provided an atmosphere that felt like the old days. If most of the other meetings were relatively mundane there was nevertheless a second-tier joust back in April 2010 that still stands-out.

The new club was still in its Airdrie United guise when 2009/10 got underway. If an opening day defeat at Dingwall marked a poor start it was but the beginning of a terrible run that didn’t include a single victory across the first round of fixtures. Indeed, we didn’t record a win before the clocks went back, the first success not until a 3-1 home victory over Ayr United on Halloween. We suffered five straight defeats before that match and another four after it, the last of those a 2-5 reverse against Thistle at Excelsior just before Christmas.

You won’t be surprised to hear that we hit bottom spot in November and were still there when Partick returned on Easter Saturday. But for a surprise victory at Dens Park just after New Year the winless run continued until late March but it was at that point that a revival started. Another success against the Dark Blues, this time to the tune of 3-0, was followed up the next Saturday with the same scoreline against Morton. That set up the fixture against Thistle and the following sides lined-up at Excelsior on 3rd April:

Airdrie United: Robertson, Storey and Lovering; Smyth, Donnelly and McLaughlin; Trouten, McCann, O’Carroll, Gemmill and Waddell (Baird, Keegan and Watt all made substitute appearances).

Partick Thistle: Tuffey, Paton and Boyle; McKeown, Robertson and Maxwell; Erskine, Rowson, Buchanan, Donnelly and Corcoran (Grehan, Cairney and Burns all made substitute appearances).

If the 1142 in attendance was testament to Airdrie’s poor form that season it was possibly further illustration of how the Diamonds-Thistle fixture had lost its lustre. Those who did turn up witnessed a goalless first half, but found the second period provide a tale of two penalties. Thistle were first to try their luck from twelve yards after 53 minutes after Liam Buchanan was fouled. He sent Stephen Robertson the wrong way but this shot went past the post. Paul Lovering would have no such problem and he tucked away the first goal of the afternoon after Scott Gemmill had been brought down by John Robertson. The Diamonds made it three wins from three consecutive home games two minutes later. Alan Trouten cut inside and although Jonny Tuffey saved Scott McLaughlin gathered the rebound at the edge of the box and shot into the corner of the net.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

Airdrie recorded a fourth home win on the bounce eleven days later against Raith Rovers which meant ninth place was a possibility, amazing given what had preceded it. The Diamonds duly secured second-last spot with a win at Kirkcaldy in the penultimate fixture but it was a 4-1 win in a rearranged match against fellow strugglers Ayr United that was the key to what appeared to be remarkable feat of escapology. The season would however end in disappointment, relegation confirmed when we lost at home to Brechin City in the play-off semi-finals, the last match at Excelsior to be played on grass. That our luck had run out was underlined when the match officials failed to see that a Scott McLaughlin free-kick had crossed the line. They then missed the volleyball spike from Stevie Canning that prevented Scott Gemmill from levelling the tie.

By Peter Smith

Thistle A-F

While we at the Broomfield Bulletin do not condone football violence, a bit of aggro, needle or passionate rivalry really adds something to a game. Knowing your team is playing a team you do not like puts extra zest in your step in the days leading up to the game, makes you feel that wee bit more excited about what might otherwise feel like a run of the mill league fixture, provides further motivation to passionately get behind your team and makes the occasions you do beat your rivals all the sweeter. Thistle are like that for me. Are like that for us. All the more reason to fight for and earn Championship safety and avoid League 1, where the opposition is decidedly more dull.

I have heard of bogey teams. But can you get bogey grounds? If so, Airdrie’s has to be Firhill. Twelve league games and fifteen competitive games there without a win (not including fixtures against Queen’s Park who we also never beat at Firhill!). Our last win there? Came on 2nd May 2009 courtesy of a Simon Lynch winner in the 89th minute. Sadly, we have not even laid a glove on them for the most part in those fifteen games. While 8 of them have been 1 goal defeats and one game a 1 each draw, we have only scored six times in those fifteen games and been cuffed 4 nil and 7 nil.

Say their name to a Thistle fan and it will send a shiver down their spine. Who? Owen Coyle of course! Coyle scored 23 goals in 20 games against Thistle across his career, not including 2 in the final of the Tennent’s Sixes! Incredibly, Thistle lost 10 of those games and won 2. Fancy a game today Owen?

Last season, in need of a striker, Airdrie signed Ricco Diack on loan from Thistle. Ricco scored a header in a two each draw at Cappielow, but his finest hour in an Airdrie jersey came at the national stadium. With around 20 minutes of the first half to play, Diack fired home a twenty five yard freekick to put the Diamonds in front and set the wheels in motion for an enjoyable evening. Diack’s second, off the back of a tremendous Chris Mochrie break, made it 4 nothing to the Diamonds before a fifth was added to round off the scoring. Unfortunately, Ricco also has a decent record of scoring against Airdrie. In his first start for Thistle, in December 2023 (with Brian Graham and Tomi Adeloye out suspended and injured) Ricco scored his first goal after only six and a half minutes to help Thistle to a two goals to one victory. He also scored in Thistle’s 4-nothing win against us at Firhill that season.

Another Thistle loanee to sign for Airdrie was centre half Ben Richards Everton at the beginning of the 2014 season. He made 18 appearances in a diamond but did not make much of an impression at Firhill, appearing only twice albeit keeping 2 clean sheets; in a one nil win against Inverness and a nil nil draw with Motherwell.

A player to feature more prominently at both clubs was John Flood. John spent almost the entire 1980s at Broomfield, and made over two hundred and fifty appearances for the club. John is a member of Airdrie’s Hall of Fame. John also went on to have success at Thistle, who he signed for from Airdrie. In 101 appearances, he scored twenty five goals and was part of the Thistle team who got promoted to the Premier League in second place in 1992. Unfortunately for John, a broken leg at Easter Road in the Scottish Cup in January meant he missed the remainder of that season and had to ultimately retire from football, having not long recovered from a previous broken leg. John was a popular player at both clubs, perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Thistle fanzine ‘The Johnny Flood Experience’ was named so in his honour.

(To be continued in a future issue…)

By Sean Smith

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

An Evening of Tribute to ‘The 1995 Scottish Cup Finalists Airdrieonians’ – Produced by Airdrie United Supporters Trust 9th February 2008.

After the last few weeks and our current struggles, wouldn’t it be good to cast our minds back, at least briefly, to better times?

Some of you may remember I produced a wee article earlier this season reviewing the programme issued to all those that attended the dinner organised by the club to commemorate the 100th anniversary of our 1924 cup final win.

Well, while raking through my Diamonds memorabilia I came across a programme of a similar vein, produced by Airdrie United Supporters’ Trust. The Trust had organised an ‘Evening of Tribute to the 1995 Scottish Cup Finalists’, held in the Stadium on Saturday 9th February 2008, and produced an impressive programme to all who attended on the night.

As many of you will recall, the Trust arranged many social events over the years and as stated in the welcoming notes, this night was the Trust’s second event of the 2007/08 season.

The notes outlined the context of the Diamond’s considerable list of achievements in the early 1990’s and the significance, therefore, of this night.

The programme stated: “The ’95 Cup run was, in effect, the culmination of a period of outstanding achievement by a side led brilliantly by the incomparable Alex MacDonald. Arriving at Broomfield in the summer of 1991, MacDonald assumed control of Jimmy Bone’s newly promoted charges and set off on a mazy run of incredible success that included two highly respectable years in the Premier League, two Scottish Cup final appearances, four League Cup semi-final appearances (two of which happened after the ’95 final), victory in the B&Q Cup final and, perhaps most impressive of all, involvement in European competition for the first and only time in the club’s history. And all with a supposed squad of hammer – throwing journeymen more often decried in the media than praised.”

The programme gave a description of the ‘Road to Hampden’ in 1995, providing match reports on our victories against Stirling Albion 2-1, Dunfermline 2-0, Raith Rovers 4-1 and defeating Hearts in the semi-final at Hampden 1-0, culminating in reaching the final to face Celtic.

A fine achievement, however, the programme notes were honest when they wrote: “It’s widely accepted that the final itself proved to be something of an anti-climax for everyone concerned at the club. Never in the history of Scottish Cup finals, involving either Rangers or Celtic had those sides opponents gone into a match so strongly fancied. It’s fair to say Celtic were at something of a low ebb at the time and if the Diamonds didn’t quite figure as favourites with the bookies, then they certainly did with many of their fans. Sadly though, they (Airdrie) just failed to raise their game on the day…”

Frustrating, as Celtic were poor that day, however, still a great achievement for us to reach the final. Even more so when you consider we were in the second tier of Scottish football (Division One) at the time.

And what a team it was! In defence: Sandy Stewart, Paul Jack, Graham Hay, Jimmy Sandison and Jimmy Boyle. Midfield: Kenny Black, Paul Harvey and Marvyn Wilson. While in attack: Alan Lawerence, Andy Smith and Stevie Cooper. What would we give for some of that right now!

No wonder the Trust chose to honour that team some 13 years later. The programme detailed the plans for the night. A meetup with the squad of ’95, a guest speaker – the man in black referee Willie Young - however, the highlight of the night – the induction to the Hall of Fame.

Who would it be? My memory says team captain Jimmy Sandison!

The programme could not of course be complete without some reference to our Johnny Martin and the now infamous kiss to HRH The Duchess of Kent – highlighted by the amusing cartoon found on the final page.

Great days right enough!

By Andy Locke

Welcome

Hello and welcome to tonight’s game v Dunfermline Athletic. It has been exactly a month since the last Broomfield Bulletin, for our nothing each draw with Arbroath, and safe to say results since then have been mixed. A dreadfully disappointing defeat at Stark’s Park and Saturday’s humbling at McDiarmid. But, sandwiched in between those two was our resounding win in Dingwall, illustrating what this team can be capable of. Time for the team to rise to the occasion and secure our Championship safety. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

Recent Head-To-Head

August 5th 2023

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline Athletic 2-1 Airdrieonians

December 9th 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-2 Dunfermline Athletic

March 5th 2024

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline Athletic 0-2 Airdrieonians

April 13th 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-1 Dunfermline Athletic

October 5th 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-1 Dunfermline Athletic

November 16th 2024

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline Athletic 1-0 Airdrieonians

January 25th 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 3-0 Dunfermline Athletic

April 26th 2025

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline Athletic 0-0 Airdrieonians

August 9th 2025

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline Athletic 2-0 Airdrieonians

October 21^st 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-4 Dunfermline Athletic

January 31^st 2026

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline Athletic 0-2 Airdrieonians

Dunfermline Preview

For the first time since the 14th of March, the Diamonds will be back on home turf on the 14th of April, and it’s Scottish Cup semi-finalists Dunfermline Athletic who will come a-knocking.

The Pars are coming into this match in very good form, only losing one of their last nine, which was their last game against Partick Thistle.

Cup fortunes have very much benefitted Fifers this season: Raith Rovers thrashing Caley Thistle 4-1 to win the inaugural KDM Evolution Trophy, and as previously mentioned, the Pars are into the last four of the Scottish Cup against bitter rivals Falkirk.

Their league exploits tell practically zero difference. The Pars currently sit fourth, 10 points clear of their fifth placed rivals Raith Rovers. Sixteen ahead of ninth placed Airdrie. Safe to say they are in no danger of the ‘Seaside League’.

The Diamonds did manage to lift themselves off the bottom of the table after a 4-0 thrashing of Ross County, but that scoreline was soon reversed...

Last Time Out

St Johnstone Vs Airdrieonians

The Diamonds went to McDiarmid Park on the hope that we could get at least a point, and put more daylight between us and County. What happened was the complete opposite.

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair made one change from the match against The Staggies, Dom Thomas dropping out for Sean McGinty in what was to be a change of formation, going to a five at the back.

It did not help. At all. As the Diamonds found themselves 3-0 down at the interval through Ruari Paton’s double and Morgan Boyes.

Knowing we needed the next goal to have any sort of hope to get back into the game, we didn’t bring on any offensive players until the 66th minute. By which time the game was done. Saints did make it four after Stanton was fouled in the area, with Josh McPake dispatching the penalty kick.

A horrendous result for the Diamonds, but we will do our best to keep going.

Dunfermline Athletic Vs Partick Thistle

With the Scottish Cup semi-final on the horizon for the Pars, a weakened team took to the pitch against Partick Thistle.

A four-minute double from Alex Samuel was all it took for the Jags to secure the three points, as he scored in the 18th and 22nd minute to take the points back to Firhill.

The Jags are almost certainly finishing runners-up in the league, but they’re pushing St Johnstone all the way.

By David Jarvie

Championship Round-up

Queen’s Park 1-0 Ross County

The rejuvenated Queen’s Park took on the pitiful Ross County, and the Spiders sent them packing back to the Highlands with nothing.

Only one goal was scored, and it was a header by Aidan Connolly, the smallest player on the park, interestingly. County’s defence was in chaos as a cross came in, and there was Connolly to fire home.

This result almost certainly condemns County to relegation, as the Spiders try their hardest to get to the play-offs.

Ayr United 1-0 Arbroath

Similar to the above match, a side in danger of relegation took on a side looking for playoffs, with Ayr hosting Arbroath.

Once more there was only one goal in the game, and it was the veteran Jamie Murphy to score the only goal of the game. Firing into the top corner in the 77th minute.

Ayr go up to 6th on 39 points; Arbroath remain on 47 in 3rd.

Raith Rovers 3-2 Greenock Morton

The highest scoring game of the Championship matchday came at Stark’s Park (thankfully), as the Rovers and Ton battled out a five-goal thriller.

Morton initially took the lead on the verge of half-time through Cameron Blues but Paul Nsio and Innes Cameron turned the game around for the hosts.

On the 74th, it was 2-2. Nathan Shaw equalising for Morton before Dylan Easton saw his penalty kick saved by Murray Johnson.

Raith would win it however, with full-back to full-back help. Jordan Doherty scoring from a Lewis Stevenson assist secured three vital points for the Rovers.

By David Jarvie

Famous Comebacks

Previous editions of the programme saw us take a look back at memorable matches against tonight’s visitors. Those included the infamous League Cup semi-final at Tynecastle in 1991 and the last match at Broomfield back in May 1994. This evening we recall two more recent encounters, both of which saw the visiting side battle back to win against the odds.

Season 2005/06 was Airdrie United’s fourth since coming into existence in the summer of 2002 and, like today, the club was in the second tier having won the third level championship in 2004. Sandy Stewart had guided us to a creditable fifth place finish at the end of 2004/05 but we were seventh when the draw for the third round of the Scottish Cup was made. We were sent to East End Park to face a Dunfermline side who, at that point, were an established top division club. Season 2005/06 was their sixth in the top flight since promotion at the end of 1999/2000. They’d finished as high as fourth at the end of 2003/04 but were in second-bottom spot when the teams came out of the hat in December 2005.

The following sides lined-up in west Fife on 7th January 2006:

Dunfermline Athletic: McGregor, Shields and McCunnie; Thomson, Tod and Darren Young; Labonte, Mason, Makel, Derek Young and Hunt (Campbell replaced Thomson and Tarachulski replaced Hunt).

Airdrie United: Robertson, McKenna and Lovering; McGowan, McManus and Hardie; Docherty, McKeown, Prunty, McPhee and McLaren (McDougall replaced McGowan).

The gap between the first and second flights looked all too apparent after Gary Mason and Noel Hunt notched a perfunctory goal apiece to have the home side 2-0 ahead after only 20 minutes, but Steven Docherty started the fightback when he rose to head home a Stephen McKeown free kick at the town-end goal. Martin Hardie capitalised on some dithering in the home defence to grab an opportunistic equaliser shortly after half-time only for Derek Young to put the Pars back in front. If he’d appeared to foul Diamonds’ ‘keeper Stephen Robertson in the build-up there was less doubt about Jamie McCunnie’s handball with two minutes to go. Stephen McKeown scored with the penalty but just when a replay looked to be on the cards, Steven Docherty headed in a Willie McLaren corner to complete a fairytale finish.

We drew at home with Dundee in the next round but lost the Dens Park replay. The Dark Blues got as far as the last-four but were beaten by Gretna. The Borderers lost-out to Hearts in the final but only in a penalty shoot-out. The club folded only two years later.

Season 2022/23 was ‘Airdrieonians’ (we reverted to the old club’s name in June 2013) tenth successive term in the third tier but Dunfermline joined us for it after being relegated following defeat in the Championship play-off semi-final at the end of 2021/22. Their conquerors, Queen’s Park, would, of course, beat us in the final, their second-leg success their only victory over us that season in eight attempts.

The Fifers first fixture at Excelsior that season didn’t take place until 11th February 2023, but the teams took the field as follows:

Airdrieonians: Rae, Ballantyne and Fordyce; Taylor-Sinclair, Euan Devenney and Frizzell; McCabe, Telfer, McGill, Gallagher and Smith (Justin Devenny, McGregor and Byrd all made substitute appearances).

Dunfermline Athletic: Mehmet, Comrie and Benedictus; Breen, MacDonald and Hamilton; Chalmers, Edwards, McCann, Wighton and Todd (Otoo, Mahon, Mochrie, O’Hara and Todorov all made substitute appearances).

The home side dominated and when Robbie Mahon’s own goal after 50 minutes put the Diamonds 3-0 up there didn’t appear to be any way back for the black-and-whites. The game would however turn on a controversial red card. Callum Smith was ordered-off for handling in the box but as he’d been lying with his back to the ball his actions appeared inadvertent. Kyle Benedictus made no mistake from the spot and, suddenly, the game’s momentum completely changed. Matty Todd scored five minutes later then equalised with eight minutes to go, his long-range effort taking a deflection on its way. Such good fortune made an away win look inevitable. Nikolay Todorov duly obliged, completing an amazing turnaround with four minutes left to play.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

We finished third in the table at the end of the season but promotion was finally achieved via the play-offs and that unforgettable day at Hamilton. For their part, the Pars stay in the third tier was of the shortest possible duration. They finished as champions, 21 points ahead of us and 14 ahead of second-place Falkirk. Our home win against the Bairns in the play-off semi-finals brought one of Excelsior Stadium’s greatest nights.

By Peter Smith

Played for Both

Kyle Turner

The son of former Thistle, Morton, St Johnstone and St Mirren midfielder Tommy Turner, Kyle took his first steps in football locally, starting out in St Mirren’s academy as a youngster and at St Peter’s Boys Club in Paisley. A short spell in U17 and 20s football with Partick Thistle followed before he returned to local grassroots football with Glentayn Thistle in Kilbarchan.

Photo credits Stranraer.com

It was at Stranraer where Turner got his opportunity in 2015/16. Kyle made his debut for the Blues in and, despite being bottom of the table at Christmas, he helped the Blues finish 4th and qualify for the Championship playoffs for the third season in a row. In a remarkable tie, Stranraer and Livingston drew six all after the end of the second leg, with the Blues winning by eight goals to six after extra time. In the final, the Blues only lost out on penalties to Ayr United. Turner remained virtually an ever-present for Stranraer over 4 seasons. After 139 appearances and six goals for the Blues, Turner went full-time and signed for Dunfermline Athletic in May 2019. Kyle’s time at the Pars was disrupted by Covid. The league ended with Dunfermline in sixth place. Turner began the following season at East End Park but, after turning down a new contract with the club in January, an alleged falling out saw Turner sign for Airdrie for the remainder of the lockeddown season. After 2 months of waiting, Kyle’s Airdrie career got off to an inauspicious but enjoyable start, Turner sent off for a high challenge on Peterhead’s ex Airdrie man Ryan Conroy (the Diamonds went on to lose the game one nil). It took 2 games and the return of Kyle Turner before Airdrie overturned their 3 game losing streak, the return of Turner helping to secure a one nil win at Dumbarton to help Airdrie earn a place in the top half of the table. From there, the Diamonds only lost once in their last 8 games, Turner’s influence very much at the fore, as Airdrie finished 2nd and only 2 points behind champions Partick Thistle. Second place was secured with a victory over Falkirk. Turner and Craig Thomson were the goalscorers and the win condemned Falkirk to a finish outside the playoffs and another season in League 1.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

Alas, this was also the fate in store for the Diamonds. But not for the want of trying from Turner who, at times, looked like he might be able to take us up to the Championship single handedly.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

At the end of that season, Kyle followed in the footsteps of his father and signed for Partick Thistle. In his second year at Firhill, Turner and Thistle reached the final of the Premiership playoffs. Thistle blew it in spectacular fashion, losing on penalties after being three nil up with 20 minutes ago.

Turner then joined their playoff vanquishers Ross County, giving him the chance to have a go at the Premier League. However, a fairly unremarkable time there saw him return to the Championship. Firstly with Raith Rovers on loan from January 2024. Rovers finished 2nd to Dundee United and again, Turner and his team would miss out to Ross County in the Premiership playoff final (albeit Turner was unable to play against his parent club). That summer, Turner returned to Firhill and he has remained a mainstay of Thistle’s first team squad since.

By Sean Smith

Loan watch

Cole Williams, Dylan Williams and Divine Iserhienrhien (Edinburgh City)

Not a good day for our Co-op trio. Despite them all playing a full 90, Clyde defeated Edinburgh City 2-0 to confirm the latter’s place in the pyramid playoffs.

Cammy Cooper (Kelty Hearts)

Cammy Cooper however had different fortunes, scoring a double off the bench as Kelty Hearts defeated Montrose 3-1 to keep their League One survival hopes alive.

Coops was named man of the match for the Maroon Machine. A fantastic day’s work for him.

By David Jarvie

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Football Cards and Stickers.

For many of us, football collectibles started in our childhood and, if we can admit it, quietly continued into adulthood!

Whether it did for you or not, it is more than likely that many of us look back with dewy eyed nostalgia over the serious business of swapping our treasured football cards or stickers in the school playground.

Football fans will be familiar with the name Panini, the giant Italian football card company based in Modena who produced cards, along with books and comics from 1961. Panini entered into a highly successful partnership with FIFA in 1970 in advance of the World Cup. They were a great success, so much so that by 2018, it was estimated they sold average of 8-10 million card packages every day during the World Cup held in Spain.

Those school kids were right to be serious about their football card swaps in the playground. In 2017, a 1970 world cup sticker annual sold for a record £10,450. It was signed by Pele, however!

In Scotland, Panini published the first collection covering the Scottish League in 1978, including it in the same album as the English League. It continued like this until 1991 but from 1992 to 2012, the Scottish Premier League had started its own dedicated album.

Highlighting the importance of football cards and stickers, the National Scottish Football Museum at Hampden, includes in its sticker displays the full Airdrieonians squad from 1978.

Manager at the time was Bobby Watson, included in the display along with famous names such as Tommy Walker, John McVeigh, Jim Rodger, Sandy Clark and Willie McGuire. Ernie McGarr was listed as our keeper. The display described our change colours as yellow shirts with red trim, red shorts and red stockings with white trim. I’m not disbelieving them because, as a 21-year-old at the time I had taken a ‘sabbatical’ from football, temporarily diverted by other ‘interests’ at the time, however does anyone out there remember this strip?

The following year, Airdrie celebrated their centenary as a football club in the best way possible. Bobby Watson leading the Diamonds to promotion to the Premier Division in 1979/80.

So, check out those boxes collecting dust in the house for old football cards from your younger days. You never know you might strike gold, or at least re-live a fitba memory, and while you’re there bring out the Subbuteo and Blow Football for one final game!

By Andy Locke

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to the Broomfield Bulletin for today’s game against Arbroath. 8 games left and 8 cup finals to retain our Championship status. 'Mon the Diamonds!

Recent Head-To-Head

September 16th 2023

Scottish Championship

Arbroath 4-0 Airdrieonians

November 11th 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-0 Arbroath

March 16th 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 5-2 Arbroath

April 2nd 2024

Scottish Championship

Arbroath 1-2 Airdrieonians

August 30th 2025

Scottish Championship

Arbroath 2-0 Airdrieonians

October 24th 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Arbroath

December 27th 2025

Scottish Championship

Arbroath 1-1 Airdrieonians

January 17th 2026

Scottish Cup

Airdrieonians 3-3 Arbroath (AET) (4-2 pens)

February 3rd 2026

Challenge Cup

Arbroath 2-2 Airdrieonians ( 3-5 pens)

Arbroath Preview

It feels like three things come true in life. Death. Taxes. And me writing about Airdrie and Arbroath playing each other. This feels like an omen.

The Diamonds welcome Arbroath to the Tattiehad for the third and final time this season. Home comforts have been Airdrie’s joy against Arbroath this season, snatching a 1-0 win in what was our first victory of the league season through a Euan Henderson penalty, then progressing in the Scottish Cup on penalties against them.

Since our last meeting with the Red Lichties just over a month ago, they’ve had one win and three consecutive draws. Those draws came against Partick Thistle (A, 0-0) Ayr United (H, 1-1) & Ross County (H, 0-0). The victory was a 4-2 win over Dunfermline Athletic.

Airdrie have had six games since that last meeting compared to their four, losing all (one on penalties) but one, the one outlier being the 3-1 win over nine-man Morton.

Head-to-head this season has been even. One victory each & three draws, albeit two of the draws ended in Airdrie penalty-shootout wins.

A game that is a must-win if we are to have any hope of staying in the Championship and avoiding the seaside league.

By David Jarvie

Last time out

Queen’s Park Vs Airdrieonians

In what was the biggest game of the Diamonds’ season in their hope for survival, it was the hosts who would come out on top.

In what was a frankly shambolic showing from Airdrie, there was only one goal in this game, and it came on the half-hour mark.

After Dom Thomas had been dispossessed in midfield, Queen’s hit Airdrie quickly and decisively. Michael Ruth tapped home from mere inches out from Henry Fieldson’s ball into the area.

Airdrie were unable to find a response to the Spiders’ opener, and now sit at the foot of the table due to the result from...

Arbroath Vs Ross County

A game where there were no goals but eleven cards, it seemed an entertaining game for a goalless draw.

A game that we as Airdrie supporters would’ve hoped see us gain an advantage over the Staggies... But it saw them gain an advantage over us.

One of the main two talking points came on the 22nd minute. Harry Cochrane passed to Craig Watson in the centre of the park, and although “Janny” clearly got to the ball first, a lunging two footed tackle from Kaedyn Kamara left Calum Scott with no option but to show him the red card.

Four minutes from time, County, like Morton last week, were reduced to nine men. An awful challenge from Ross Docherty saw a quite big fight break out between both sets of players. After things had cooled down, Calum Scott sent the County man down the tunnel.

A goalless draw in a violent game, but County go one point ahead of us.

Championship round-up

Only one other game in the Championship to cover from the last matchday, so let’s get into it.

Greenock Morton Vs St Johnstone

The only match which had a result that went our way happened at Cappielow... Although it meant zilch in the end.

Morton hosted high-flying Saints, who are clearly a shoe-in for a return to the top-flight of Scottish football after Saturday.

It only took 79 minutes for the opener to arrive! Reece McAlear firing in a beautiful free-kick, past the wall and beyond a despairing Murray Johnson to give the league leaders the advantage.

The points were safely heading back to Perth two minutes from time. Cheick Diabate rode multiple challenges, skipping past Morton players like they weren’t there, fed Liam Smith, who finished beautifully passed Johnson.

A big win for the Saints, and the league title is that much closer.

Team News

A new injury to report for Airdrie, as during an U19s 3-1 loss to Queen’s Park on Tuesday, Robbie Mahon had to go off injured for the Diamonds, ultimately making us finish the match with 10 men. Cade Melrose played the full 90, Rhys Armstrong, who captained the side, got 45 minutes. The 19s also played on Wednesday, in a 6-2 defeat to St Johnstone, but I have no idea of players who were in that match for the Diamonds.

Alex King, Aaron Reid and Aidan Wilson are all making good progress in their recoveries, and we hope to see them within the next couple of weeks.

Dean McMaster missed out on Saturday with a hamstring injury and he may be out for some time. But we hope not.

C’mon the Diamonds!

By David Jarvie

Played for Both

Tommy Yule

Tommy signed for Bert Henderson’s Arbroath from Beith Juniors in 1973. His first two seasons at Gayfield saw the Red Lichties in the Premier League, and he made his first competitive appearances in the League Cup. In that League Cup campaign, Tommy scored his first goal for the club – in a 3-1 defeat to Celtic at Gayfield. The other goalscorers that day were Kenny Dalglish, Bobby Lennox and Paul Wilson so Tommy began his senior career comfortable in such illustrious company.

It was in another national cup competition where Tommy enjoyed the highlight of his Arbroath career. In 1976/77, the Red Lichties reached the quarterfinals of the Scottish Cup. Yule helped Arbroath get to this stage by scoring in their 1-1 draw with Hibernian in the last 16 and then scoring the equaliser and setting up the winner in the replay at Easter Road. Tommy was again on the scoresheet in the quarterfinals as Arbroath went down 3-1 to nearby Dundee.

Known as a tricky winger with an eye for goal, Tommy became a fan favourite within the Lichties support. His eye for goal is illustrated by the fact that he finished top goalscorer – from the wing – 2 seasons in a row: in 1978/79 (9 goals) and 79/80 (10 goals).

Tommy made 312 appearances for Arbroath, scored 73 goals and was inducted into Arbroath’s Hall of Fame.

At the end of 1981/82, Tommy made a transfer request, wanting to play for a club closer to where he lived in the west of Scotland. Airdrieonians signed Yule for £10,000 in 1983.

Yule spent a couple of seasons at Broomfield, playing under Ally MacLeod. His most memorable moment in an Airdrie jersey came in a League Cup second round tie in 1984. Tommy scored in Airdrie’s 3-1 win over Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen, a night many Airdrie fans have recounted as their favourite game.

After leaving Broomfield, Yule ended his career where it started, back on the slope of Beith Juniors’ Bellsdale Park.

By Sean Smith

Arbroath in Airdrie

Today’s visitors, Arbroath, have enjoyed an excellent season and look set to secure their place in the Premiership play-offs, the second time they will have competed in that mini-league since 2021/22. Indeed, if they’d held on for a point in the penultimate match at Rugby Park that season, they may well have gone up as champions. As it was, they lost in the play-offs to Inverness but the fact that they’ve recovered from that setback and got themselves back in contention for promotion to the top flight says so much for what can be achieved when ambition combines with good stewardship. On that score, I’m sure I’m not the only one casting quizzical glances towards our directors’ box and envious ones at the north-east coast.

That Arbroath are a club of relatively modest means is perhaps illustrated by the fact that they have won in Airdrie on only three occasions ever. The first of those was in 1978/79 League Cup and provided their sole success at Broomfield. The League Cup’s sectional format, which had been in place since 1946/47, was scrapped the season before and replaced with two-legged ties. Airdrie and Arbroath entered at the 2nd Round stage where the Lichties beat East Fife home and away while we did likewise against Dunfermline. That set-up an early October meeting at Gayfield where 960 people saw Kevin McCann put us ahead just before the interval only for Billy Gavine to equalise on the hour. There was double that crowd at Broomfield a week later but Sandy Clark’s late goal was a mere consolation, Alan McKenzie and future Diamond, Tommy Yule, having scored within two minutes of one another around the half-hour mark to secure the historic first win. If that marked a milestone, the match also sticks in the memory because a less than 100% fit looking Willie Henderson came on as a second-half substitute.

The win took Arbroath through to the quarter-finals and a meeting with Rangers where only a late second-leg goal by Bobby Russell ensured the Light Blues’ progress to the last four. Rangers had, incidentally, played at Cliftonhill in the 1st Round. What chance of that today?

A quarter of a century elapsed before Arbroath recorded another win in this part of North Lanarkshire. Things had changed utterly in the interim, ‘old’ Airdrieonians having folded while Broomfield was no more than a receding memory. The 2003/04 season was the new club’s second term and the new stadium’s sixth but Kevin McMullan scored for the visitors when Arbroath visited in January 2004. It was the game’s only goal and it was witnessed by 1267 souls.

Almost fifteen years passed before Arbroath won at Excelsior again but Ricky Little ensured another single goal success when they visited just before Christmas 2018. The crowd numbered just 611, the apparent disinterest possibly due to the fact that season was our sixth in succession in the third-tier doldrums. Stevie Findlay (remember him?) was manager when that season got underway but left by mutual consent after a home defeat to Brechin in October. His assistant, Marc Fitzpatrick, oversaw the fixture at Links Park two weeks later but Ian Murray was appointed the night before so was in the dug-out when the Lichties recorded that victory. He would, of course, go on to lay the foundations for our return to the Championship in 2023.

There were similar positive changes in fortunes after those earlier home losses to Arbroath. Bobby Watson was at the helm in 1978/79 and he took us up to the top division at the end of the following season. Better still, we didn’t lose any of the following 18 league fixtures after that defeat to the Lichties in 2003/04. In so doing we took the third-tier championship, our first flag since the early 1970’s.

Does this all mean that, if Arbroath win today, better times may not be too far away?

By Peter Smith

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Scotland’s Hall of Fame, Scotland’s National Football Museum, Hampden Park, Glasgow.

With the World Cup round the corner, now seemed a good time to revisit Scotland’s National Football Museum at Hampden Park. Advertised as the first of its type in Europe!

I was particularly interested in Scotland’s Hall of Fame, and how much our Diamonds might feature.

It was heartening to see Hughie Gallacher, Bob McPhail and Ian McMillan, great ambassadors of our club, all included.

Hughie Gallacher (1903-1957) Inducted 2004

Hughie was remembered as a ‘Wembley Wizard’ starring in 1928. This of course refers to Scotland’s famous defeat of the ‘Auld Enemy’, England, 5-1 in the British Home Championship. Hughie, who had transferred from the Diamonds to Newcastle United by this time, was one of a number of smaller players for Scotland (Hughie was 5’5”) who went on to humiliate their opposition. Although Hughie did not score in this match, his international scoring rate was beyond complaint, scoring 24 goals in 20 games for his national side. An unmatched scoring ratio of 1.2 goals per game.

Incidently, it is worth reminding ourselves, Hughie scored 91 goals in 111 games for the Diamonds, and 463 goals from 624 matches in his entire career.

Bob McPhail (1905-2000) Inducted 2012

Bob is described in the Hall of Fame as a: “prolific goal scoring inside forward.” Bob started his senior career at the Diamonds at the age of 18 years old, forming a lethal partnership with Hughie Gallacher, both playing in the famous 1924 Cup final win. The Glasgow Herald wrote of 18-year-old Bob in that final as: “McPhail closed the finest individual run of the match with a very fast shot that brought a brilliant save from Harper.” Bob went on to Rangers in 1927, remaining until 1940. He was second only to Ally McCoist, with a tally of 230 goals. Internationally, he played for his country 17 times between 1927 and 1937 scoring 7 goals.

Ian McMillan (1931 – 2024) Inducted 2018

The Wee Prime Minister had a career spanning 18 years as a player, 10 of which were with Airdrie from 1948 to 1958, before his reluctant transfer to Rangers and eventual return to his beloved Diamonds in 1964 for a final two years. Ian scored 119 times for Airdrie in 301 league appearances while gaining four league titles, four Scottish Cups, three Scottish League Cups and was European Cup semi-finalists in 1960 and European Cup Winners’ Cup finalists in 1961 with Rangers.

Ian won six caps for Scotland scoring twice, all achieved on a part-time basis as he continued with his employment as a quantity surveyor.

…. And then of course. There was those in the Hall of Fame that came to us as managers.

Ally MacLeod (1931 – 2004) Inducted 2015

Ally, of course, featured in the Hall of Fame because of holding the Scotland manager’s post, most notably during the 1978 World Cup Campaign to Argentina. The much-maligned Ally, famous for building us up to believe the Cup was ours before even taking off from Prestwick, only to return head in hands, in truth had much more to him.

What should be remembered, is Ally led Scotland to beat England at Wembley in 1977 to go on and win the British International Championship and should not be forgotten for leading Scotland to that 3-2 winning performance against the Netherlands including Archie Gemmill’s great goal.

Ally was both a player with Third Lanark (twice), St Mirren, Blackburn Rovers (playing in the FA Cup Final 1960), Hibernian and Ayr United - before management with Ayr United on three occasions - as well as Aberdeen. Ally returned to club management following his leadership of Scotland, managing Ayr and Motherwell before Airdrie (1984-85), then returning to Ayr before finishing his career with Queen of the South in 1992.

Ally may have only briefly been in the Airdrie hot seat and, grudgingly, I must admit Ayr was probably his main love, but I always liked him.

Brian Bollen in his book Airdrieonians Football Club wrote: “Ally McLeod might have become something of a joke figure in Scotland after the Argentina debacle, but he still had a trick or two up his sleeve, as well as a point or two to prove…. Airdrie side dumped Aberdeen out of the 1984/85 League Cup in August 1984, winning 3-1 with goals from MacCabe, John Flood and Tommy Yule. To put this achievement in perspective, Aberdeen, managed by a certain Alex Ferguson, were the reigning Scottish League champions and holders of the Scottish Cup.” Nuff said!

Gordon McQueen (1952 - 2023) Inducted in 2012

Gordon was most widely known for his club career with Leeds United and Manchester United and for his 30 appearances for Scotland at international level, scoring five goals, including his goal against England winning 2-1 at Wembley in 1977.

Less widely remembered, was Gordon’s period as manager at Airdrie after his retirement as a player. Gordon joined the Diamonds from 1987-89, and it was during this time Airdrie transformed to full-time football, bankrolled by local businessman, John (Jake) Dalziel. I always remember Gordon, for bringing in goalie Gary Walsh on loan from Manchester United for 3 matches in 1988. I was most impressed, despite Gary letting in a howler in his final game for us!

Gordon eventually moved on, to coach with St Mirren followed by Middlesbrough.

And finally…

Steve Archibald (1956-) Inducted 2009

Steve was a prolific striker gaining 27 caps for Scotland and playing in both 1982 and 1986 World Cups. At club level, Steve was a top scorer in 1980 with an Alex Ferguson led Aberdeen, before winning two FA cups and a UEFA cup with Tottenham, before going overseas to Barcelona where he won the La Liga title and Copa del Rey.

For us Diamonds, however, he will always be remembered for bringing the Spanish Armada to our Lanarkshire town during the crisis ridden period of 2000. We may have many opinions over Archibald’s brief period at our club, but there will be no dissent over the grace and beauty he brought to our football during his tenure. Remarkably, given the off the park issues, under Archibald our foreign legion lifted the Scottish Challenge Cup defeating Livingston on penalties.

By Andy Locke

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of the Broomfield Bulletin

Recent Head-To-Head

30th September 2023

Scottish Championship

Greenock Morton 0-1 Airdrieonians

18th November 2023

Scottish Challenge Cup Quarter-Final

Greenock Morton 0-0 Airdrieonians (Airdrie win 6-5 on penalties)

23rd December 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-0 Greenock Morton

24th February 2024

Scottish Championship

Greenock Morton 2-1 Airdrieonians

6th April 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 3-1 Greenock Morton

21st September 2024

Scottish Championship

Greenock Morton 2-0 Airdrieonians

14th December 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-2 Greenock Morton

15th February 2025

Scottish Championship

Greenock Morton 2-2 Airdrieonians

19th April 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-1 Greenock Morton

4th October 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-2 Greenock Morton

13th December 2025

Scottish Championship

Greenock Morton 0-1 Airdrieonians

Morton Preview

The second home game in four days for the Diamonds is upon us, and this time, the Ton are coming to the Tattiehad.

Morton have had mixed fortunes since the arrival of former Airdrie boss Ian Murray. The Ton exited the Scottish Cup in a very shocking and just as heavy 4-0 loss away to Stenhousemuir, however they also drew victory from Ross County & Dunfermline Athletic at home.

Away form is where the Ton have suffered as of late, losing four of their last five in all comps, including that demolition job against The Warriors. This also included a 5-0 thumping off of St Johnstone, and 3-2 losses to Partick Thistle and Queen’s Park.

I’ve droned on about our home form in most editions of the Bulletin this season, and it’s getting quite tiresome, yet it still doesn’t improve, after going out on penalties to Raith Rovers, after Lewis McGrattan fired his spot-kick into a galaxy far far away...

The sides have a win each between them, Louis Longridge sealing a 2-1 victory for Morton in Airdrie back in October, after Euan Henderson cancelled out an own-goal from Matty Connelly.

It’d be the Diamonds to be the victors at Cappielow in the reverse fixture, Sean McGinty towering home a header from Dean McMaster’s free kick, and I still to this day don’t know how the hell we won that game. Wonder if Billy Davies found out how yet...

Last Time Out

Airdrieonians 1-1 Raith Rovers (3-5 Penalties)

As previously mentioned, the Diamonds exited the KDM Evolution Trophy at the semi-final stage, as Raith Rovers finally managed to defeat us away from home.

Dylan Easton opened the scoring with a superb strike, that no goalkeeper could’ve gotten to, and it looked like plain sailing for the Rovers until the 88th minute.

Scott Constable flighted in a cross, and through a nick off a Rovers man, Jake Hastie found himself in the right place at the right time to nod home the equaliser.

Penalties ensued, and it was a perfect five from the Rovers, after McGrattan sent his penalty into the stratosphere.

A gut-wrenching way to exit the cup, but alas, that is how it went.

Queen’s Park Vs Greenock Morton

It wasn’t a particularly happy day for Morton either on their last matchday, however it looked like it’d be going great for the Ton after only four minutes, as a Matthew Shiels own-goal made it 1-0 to the visitors in Glasgow.

The lead only lasted four minutes, as Nikolay Todorov popped up with the equaliser, firing home into the corner, not long after Callum Smith had tested Murray Johnson. Are you seeing the pattern yet?

Henry Fieldson would turn the game on its head on the 62nd minute, as he headed home from a Carlo Pignatiello ball in.

The Ton would equalise themselves through Iain Wilson, firing home with his right foot on the 72nd minute, but it was to be the Spiders day.

Aidan Connolly was the man to win it on the 75th minute, firing home with his right foot, with Callum Smith getting the assist. I’m not upset, you’re upset!

Not a good day for the Ton, or incidentally, the Diamonds.

Team News

The Diamonds had Rhys Armstrong return to the bench, our number 26 marking his return after being out since December.

Robbie Mahon and Dom Thomas will also return to the matchday squad, having been cup-tied.

Owen Stirton at long last made his debut for the Diamonds on Wednesday, and we hope to see him for the run in, God only knows we’ll need him.

Alex King, Aaron Reid and Aidan Wilson remain sidelined.

Mon the Diamonds!

By David Jarvie

Played for both

George Anderson

Port Glasgow born George Anderson grew up a Greenock Morton fan. He signed for his boyhood club as a 16-year-old schoolboy in early 1970. While he made a few appearances off the bench for the ‘Ton that season, his first start came against Aberdeen in October 1970.

That midweek, Morton had travelled down to the Black Country to take on West Bromwich Albion in the Texaco Cup. They returned to Renfrewshire with a 1-0 victory and passage to the next round having also won the first-leg 2-1. Airdrie also went through to the next round after defeating Nottingham Forest 5-4 on penalties, both ties having finished 2-2. Coincidentally, Morton would return to the Black Country in the next round to take on Wolves. They won the away leg again, 2-1, but were knocked out 4-2 on aggregate after they lost 3-0 at Cappielow (Airdrie also went out at this stage by 7-3 on aggregate to Hearts).

On the day of Anderson’s Morton debut, the ‘Ton beat Aberdeen 2-0. George went on to make 374 appearances in total for Morton (360 of them from the start) across two spells and 14 years at the club. He is 9th in their all-time appearance holders list and Anderson was inducted into the Morton Hall of Fame in 2017. George is still a regular at Cappielow – as a fan and in his capacity with fans’ group Morton Club Together. Just last season, in October, George was given the responsibility of raising a flag on the Cappielow pitch to commemorate 150 years of Greenock Morton. Fans were pleased with George’s selection, with such tributes in the local press as:

‘George Anderson is the epitome of a Morton legend; he was a very fitting selection to raise a flag honouring 150 years if the club.’

‘George is an example of the very best of local football.’

In between his two spells at Cappielow, Anderson found time to make over 100 appearances in a diamond. He played under the management of Bill Munro and Ally MacLeod as Airdrie transitioned in the First Division after relegation from the Premier League and played in our 5-0 defeat to St Mirren in the 1983 Scottish Cup quarterfinals.

Lewis McGrattan

Another Port Glasgow native, Lewis joined the Diamonds from Morton in the summer of 2024. Now in his second season at New Broomfield, McGrattan made 107 appearances for ‘Ton after coming through their academy. In season 2022/23, he was voted Young Player of the Year by Morton supporters, as the Greenock team finished 5th and missed out on the play-offs by goal

difference. Lewis also finished 5th with Morton in his last season at the club before signing for Airdrie. In a diamond, McGrattan was instrumental in Airdrie securing their second-tier status last season, scoring twice in the first leg of our play-off semi-final against Stenhousemuir, which we won 3-1. At time of writing, he is our second top goalscorer in all competitions so far this season with 7 goals.

Lewis also gives back to his community in the form of his coaching business Playmakerz Academy, which he runs with fellow ex Morton and current QoS player Reece Lyon, which offer one-to-one and group sessions with aspiring young footballers.

By Sean Smith

Renfrewshire First and Lasts

A previous edition of Broomfield Bulletin saw us take a look back at ‘firsts and lasts’ against Morton while St Mirren got the same scrutiny in the programme for the recent Scottish Cup tie. Today, given the Greenock club are back in town, we cast an eye over past encounters with other clubs from Renfrewshire. That’s the whole of that historic county including the territories lost to Inverclyde and East Renfrewshire at the end of March 1996.

Port Glasgow is three miles east of Greenock and John Henderson’s indispensable ‘Excelsior Beginnings to Scottish League Membership’ book shows that we first travelled to that town on 6th December 1884 for a challenge match that we lost 3-4.

Port Glasgow Athletic went to claim distinct places in the history of Airdrieonians FC. The Scottish Football League was inaugurated in 1890 but rival competitions soon emerged and these included the Scottish Football Alliance which was instigated in June 1891. Airdrieonians took part in its first season and Port Glasgow Athletic provided the opposition in our first home match, at Mavisbank, where a 1-1 draw was recorded. The same club visited Broomfield on August 25th, 1894 for our first home Scottish Leage fixture. We won 4-2, where the legendary Bob Scott etched his name in history with the first home counter.

The club from ‘The Port’ finished bottom of ‘Division 1’ at the end of 1910/11 and disappeared from league football at the end of the following season. The town is now represented by Port Glasgow Juniors who play in the ninth tier of the pyramid in the Third Division of the West of Scotland League. Their accessible Parklea ground sits nestled between the River Clyde and the M8 motorway.

Abercorn was Paisley’s other club and Airdrie’s first encounter was a 2-4 away defeat on 13th February 1886. ‘The Abbies’ played their home games at Blackstoun Park at that time. They were Scottish League members for twenty-five years up to 1915. The first encounter with us at that level came at Broomfield on 20th April 1895. We won 4-0 but lost 1-3 in the return match a week later. They’d moved to Underwood Park by that point, a ground that had the distinction of having hosted the Scotland versus Wales ‘home international’ five years earlier. The clubs would subsequently meet several times on league duty up to 1904 and, in so doing, Airdrieonians would also visit Old Ralston Park in East Lane, where a car park now stands. Abercorn ceased existence in 1920, a year after the final encounter with Airdrie in the 1919 Victory Cup.

It’s curious that a town as large as Paisley was unable to accommodate two senior clubs when a smaller place like Falkirk could, but it now boasts Glenvale and St Peter’s who occupy pyramid tiers nine and ten respectively. The former’s ground is a short walk from the current St Mirren Park while the latter are tenants of Renfrew at New Western Park.

That first meeting with Abercorn came exactly seven days after we’d inflicted Rangers’ worst-ever defeat, to the tune of 10-2 at their then Kinning Park ground. As that area didn’t become part of Glasgow until 1905, we can claim that that result is the greatest we’ve ever recorded within the Renfrewshire County boundary.

Arthurlie, from Barrhead, were Scottish League members from 1923/24 to 1928/29. They never played in the top division so, as one of the country’s strongest provincial clubs at that time, we never encountered them in a league fixture. We had however met them in our final Scottish Alliance season in 1893/94. A 4-4 draw and a 4-1 success were both played at Broomfield. We did visit the then Dunterlie Park however. That was for a Scottish Cup 2nd preliminary round tie which took place on 24th September 1892. That appears to have been the same version of the ground where Celtic lost in the same competition in January 1897. It’s possible that only the long passage of time has prevented that result from being cited whenever the great shocks are recalled. Houses now cover the site, the club having since moved the half-mile to their current home. The club currently competes at tier six and I would strongly encourage any groundhoppers among you to combine a visit with a trip to the nearby ‘Brig Inn’, as fine a ‘football pub’ as you could wish to see.

If we include Kinning Park in the Renfrewshire reckoning, we can do likewise with Govan which wasn’t part of Glasgow until 1912. We trounced Whitefield from that area 12-0 at Mavisbank in March 1891, meanwhile our first encounter with Linthouse, another set of Govanites, was a 1-2 defeat, also in Airdrie, just after Christmas 1885. As with Port Glasgow Atheltic and Arthurlie, we also met them in the Scottish Alliance and they have the distinction of winning the championship in the inaugural season. They had however disappeared from Scottish football by the beginning of the twentieth century, the dominance of Rangers just down the road spelling the end.

Other early Renfrewshire encounters included tussles with Cartvale, from Busby, in May 1885, Johnstone five months later then Thornliebank two years after that. We recorded 7-0, 7-2 and 5-1 wins respectively. Coming right up to date, there are five other Renfrewshire clubs currently plying their trade in the pyramid. Those are Giffnock Soccer Centre and Thorn Athletic from Johnstone who play under a mile away from current Scottish Junior Cup holders Johnstone Burgh. Their Keanie Park home’s barrel-roofed enclosure is another must for groundhoppers, but so is the huge concrete stand at Ravenscraig where Greenock Juniors play. That leaves Neilston and Brig O’Lea’s pitch length covered terracing which is another delight.

By Peter Smith

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Airdrieonians 1924 Scottish Cup Winners Centenary Dinner Programme – April 28th, 2024, The Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld.

We have many mementoes of being an Airdrie supporter that are personal to each one of us, but the programme prepared for the celebration dinner held to honour the centenary of our great 1924 Scottish Cup final win must be up there with the best.

The 21-page glossy programme is an impressive piece of work in its own right and is certainly a fine memento to honour our team’s fine achievement, way back on that great day at Ibrox, lifting the trophy after a 2-0 victory against Hibs.

The programme introduction included the quote:

“Heritage is important to football supporters. This is the greatest achievement in the history of Airdrieonians and should be celebrated accordingly. The aim (of the event) is to paint a picture of how great an achievement the 1924 success was for a smaller provincial club at the time.”

The programme certainly did it justice.

Alex Ferguson, Jonathan Watson (who previously in 2000 performed a one man show on the life story of Hughie Gallacher), Hugh Dallas (referee) and Bill Leckie (sportswriter) – all invites to the dinner were covered in detail. As was the menu for your dinner!

There was a detailed history of our past titled ‘The Story so far….’ and a record of our route to the final titled ‘Airdrie’s path to glory….’

Also included was a photograph of the team of 1924, the team line up, and a photograph of the cup final programme – (just give me a call if you have the real thing!!!)

Most impressive was a pen picture of each of the 11 fine diamonds who played on the day, and what a great team we were. Ewart, Dick, McQueen, Preston, McDougall, Bennie, Reid, Russell, Gallacher, McPhail and Somerville.

All eleven pen pictures are too much to cover here, so I’ve highlighted just three of our heroes.

Jock Ewart

The pen picture of goalie, Jock Ewart, pointed out it was only Jock’s save at the feet of Bairns striker Syd Puddefoot in the cup semi-final at Celtic Park that prevented an equaliser, and secured the Diamonds place in the final. Jock, who joined Airdrie at age of 18 years old, left for Bradford City for £300, only to return 12 years later for the same fee in 1923. During that time, he sustained injuries during the Great War of 1914, however, played against the Auld Enemy winning 3-0 to add to his 2 previous Scottish League call ups. The programme described him as:

“...a leader on and off the park, admired for his skills and bravery, and was known as a charismatic keeper with a dry sense of humour who enjoyed ‘witty exchanges’ with opponents and crowds alike.” Jock returned to Bradford to meet his second love (after Airdrie) and we should be ever grateful for his contribution, specially as it is suspected, it was he who first brought Hughie Gallacher to the club’s attention!!

Willie Russell

– Willie who signed for Airdrie from Benburb in 1920, operating as an inside forward from 1922, will forever be remembered for scoring both our goals in the final. He was of course much more than that, the programme describing Willie as:

“…. a master craftsman, a dribbler and excellent passer of the ball, who is undoubtedly one of Airdrie’s greatest inside-forwards.” Willie’s talent was recognised from afar and he went on to play for Preston North End, Airdrie receiving £3,500, believed to partly fund our new stand.

Hughie Gallagher

– Who although he did not score in the final, he played in all the cup games scoring 6 goals. In fact, in his first season (1923/24) he scored a club record of 45 goals in 49 games, including five goals in one game against Clyde. The programme wrote:

” Some match reports suggest Gallagher had a subdued final, not quite living up to his usually high standards, although a quote from strike partner Bob McPhail seemed to contradict this opinion – “Hughie Gallagher caused havoc with the Hibs defenders. He and Russell were easily our best forwards.”

If you attended on the night and you still have your programme – hold on to it - it’s a prized possession, brings back memories both of the celebration dinner, and recognition of our finest achievement…. so far!

By Andy Locke

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to tonight’s Broomfield Bulletin for our semi-final against Raith Rovers. The Diamonds have a proud history in the Challenge Cup and will be looking to add to that by getting to another final tonight. Also, I am sure ATS and the players will want to make up for Saturday’s disappointment.

‘Mon the Diamonds!

Recent Head-To-Head

September 23rd 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Raith Rovers

November 4th 2023

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 1-1 Airdrieonians

January 6th 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Raith Rovers

February 2nd 2024

Scottish Challenge Cup semi-final

Raith Rovers 0-1 Airdrieonians

April 9th 2024 -

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 1-3 Airdrieonians

August 3rd 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Raith Rovers

October 29th 2024

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 1-0 Airdrieonians

February 25th 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Raith Rovers

April 12th 2025

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 1-1 Airdrieonians

September 20th 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-0 Raith Rovers

November 15th 2025

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 0-3 Airdrieonians

January 3rd 2026

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-0 Raith Rovers

Raith Preview

The Diamonds are into the Scottish Challenge Cup semi-final for the second time in three seasons, our opponents being the same as they were at this stage of the competition in 2023/24.

Both sides started the cup in the second round, Airdrie seeing off Alloa Athletic, in which we almost paid the price for giving away a 2-0 lead, thanks to Cammy Cooper & Tate Xavier-Jones, with Cameron O’Donnell and Steven Buchanan getting the two goals to equalise for the Wasps, before Dylan MacDonald sent us through to play Montrose.

A game in freezing conditions, Airdrie only opened the scoring in the second half, Cammy Cooper laying the ball off to Gavin Gallagher to strike past the Mo’ Keeper. Chris Mochrie and Euan Henderson would seal the victory, scoring either side of what proved to be a consolation goal from Ewan Loudon.

The quarter-finals saw Airdrie defeat fellow Championship men Arbroath, Lewis McGrattan and Euan Henderson scoring either side of goals from Aaron Muirhead and Scott Robinson, with Airdrie advancing on penalties.

Raith Rovers on the other hand started their journey at Starks Park with a 5-2 thrashing of a young Hamilton Accies side. Darragh O’Connor and Scott Brown scoring, before Jai Rowe netted a hat-trick. Findlay Cameron got the two Accies goals.

They then squeaked by Queen of The South 1-0, a Dylan Easton penalty in the 37th minute the difference, before they took on Queen’s Park. Only three days after thrashing them at Starks Park 4-1, the sides played out a 1-1 draw at Lesser Hampden, Paul Nsio opening the scoring before Josh Fowler equalised, but the Rovers won on penalties.

These six games set up a semi-final where the hosts have failed to score in their last five home league matches, and the visitors have only scored six away league goals all season. Should be a cracker...

Last Time Out

Partick Thistle Vs Airdrieonians

The Diamonds travelled to Firhill, hoping to dispel the negative results they’ve had there of late, but would be sent packing with nothing to show for a poor performance.

A 23rd minute Ben Stanway free-kick was all it took to down us, as the Jags held out for all three points to stay in the title race with St Johnstone.

Airdrie remain ninth, four behind Queen’s Park who have two games in hand. Level on points with County, who also have a game in hand. Not good.

Raith Rovers Vs St Johnstone

The Rovers hosted St Johnstone in front of the BBC cameras, a game where Raith had a goal wrongly chopped off & Josh Fowler kept out teammate Sam Stanton. Scottish football, eh?

It ended 0-0 under the lights, keeping Rovers fifth & Saints first.

Team News

Airdrie will be without Dom Thomas and Robbie Mahon once more, as well as Aidan Wilson, Alex King, Rhys Armstrong and Aaron Reid. However, rumours have it, Owen Stirton will be a part of the squad.

Fingers crossed all boys fit and available are firing on all cylinders.

C’mon the Diamonds! ♦️♦️

By David Jarvie

Challenge Cup semi-finals

Tonight’s match against Raith Rovers provides Airdrie’s seventh Challenge Cup semi-final since we first reached that stage of the competition in 1994/95. The good news is that we have a 100% success record, having won all six ties. If history is anything to go by, then those statistics would suggest we have more than a decent chance of progress this evening. On the other hand, now that I’ve said all this out loud, I’ve probably jinxed it!

The 1994/95 season was our first away from Broomfield but the Challenge Cup draw provided four consecutive ‘home’ ties. Berwick Rangers, tonight’s visitors, then Ayr United were all dispatched at Broadwood en route to the last four. Clydebank travelled to Cumbernauld in the penultimate round but our 3-1 triumph was a prelude to a 3-2 win against Dundee in the final. That was part of cup final double that season as we subsequently lost the Scottish Cup final to Celtic. Only a penalties’ defeat by tonight’s guests in the League Cup semi-final prevented an appearance in all three finals.

The early part of the new century saw us reach three Challenge Cup semi-finals in four seasons. In 2000/01 wins against Queen of the South, Hamilton and Clydebank sent Steve Archibald’s International Brigade to Stair Park for a last four encounter with Stranraer. It proved to be a difficult evening but two unanswered extra-time goals set up a 4-2 win. We beat Livingston in the final. Our successful defence of the trophy saw us take out Queen of the South, Albion Rovers and Clydebank (them again). That set up an Excelsior semi-final against Brechin City where we prevailed on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Ian McCall was in the hot seat for the cup final win against Alloa.

The ‘old’ version of the club folded not long after that success but the ‘new’ iteration took only two seasons to return to the Challenge Cup’s second-last stage. Wins against Montrose, Morton and Forfar in 2003/04 meant we met Brechin again, only this time at Glebe Park. If you were there, you’ll recall Alan Gow’s extraordinary extra-time winner that secured a 2-1 win and a cup final meeting with Inverness. We lost that one, but it remains the only blip to date. For the record, a 0-2 second-round defeat at Shielfield in 2002/03 was the defeat that interrupted that semi-final sequence.

We were back in the last four during season 2008/09. Wins against Dumbarton, East Fife and Cowdenbeath sent us to Firhill for a Sunday afternoon showdown with Partick Thistle. Paul Di Giacomo’s fourth minute strike was the only goal of a game I watched on the BBC’s Gaelic channel in a pub in Stromness. We met Ross County in the final and won on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

It took almost fifteen years to return to the latter stages of the competition but our sixth semi-final came during 2023/24 and was against tonight’s opponents. Changes to the format meant we didn’t enter until the third round but we beat Stirling University at Forthbank at that stage then Rangers U21 at Cappielow the next. Another win at Greenock, this time against Morton, set up a Kirkcaldy semi-final. Nikolay Todorov notched the game’s only goal and he scored the winner in the final as we came from behind to defeat Welsh league side The New Saints 2-1. As that game was played at Falkirk that meant we’d played every tie away from home.

No other club has won the Challenge Cup five times nor has anyone else appeared in six finals. A win tonight means we’ll add to at least one of those records.

By Peter Smith

What If

The Broomfield Bulletin has previously examined one of the great ‘what ifs?’ in Airdrie history. The ‘what if?’ in question being our League Cup semi-final exit in 1991 at the hands of Dunfermline and Davie Syme. Unfortunately, there is another League Cup semi-final – also involving a Fife team – that remains a large ‘what if?’ for Airdrieonians.

On this occasion, we move forward three years later to 1994. Airdrie took on Raith Rovers at St Johnstone’s McDiarmid Park. Both teams were in the First Division, Airdrie there for the second season running after spending two campaigns in the Premier League. Raith won the league that season and went onto have two years in the top-flight themselves. In those pre-play-off days, the Diamonds finished 4th and only 8 points behind the champions. Neither club has returned to Scotland’s top-flight since those heady days. Airdrie went onto win the Challenge Cup that season so there was the rare potential for both clubs to lift 2 honours in the one year. (Rarer still, Airdrie had the opportunity to lift all 3 cups they competed in given they also made the Scottish Cup final that campaign)

The Diamonds lined up:

Martin; Boyle, Hay, Sandison, Jack, Stewart; Harvey, Wilson, Black; Cooper and Lawrence.

Raith’s team – including ex diamond Davie Kirkwood and future diamonds manager Danny Lennon, director of football Gordon Dalziel and assistant manager Colin Cameron - was:

Thomson; McAnespie, Dennis, Narey, Broddie; Kirkwood, Narey, Lennon; Cameron, Graham and Dalziel.

Both teams created chances in the first-half, Alan Lawrence’s shot saved by Scott Thomson (more on him later) and Ally Graham putting his shot wide, before Graham put the Kirkcaldy men in front at the near after Airdrie failed to clear the ball.

Rovers led at half-time and some intricate play by the men in red and white saw Stewart shoot narrowly wide. Airdrie continued to dominate when Rovers’ keeper Thomson (another future diamond) picked up a through ball just outside the penalty box and was shown a straight red card. On came his replacement in 17-year-old Brian Potter, a fantastic opportunity for the Diamonds to now seize the initiative in this semi-final. Which Airdrie duly did, Stevie Cooper equalising after volleying Jimmy Sandison’s one-tto-pass off the ground.

The tie went to extra-time where the best chance came Airdrie’s way when Andy Smith hit the post. But neither team added to the scoring and to penalty-kicks it was.

Shaun Dennis and Jimmy Boyle scored first for both teams; McAnespie and Smith likewise and so it continued until Potter saved Airdrie’s crucial 5th penalty (taken by Lawrence) and won the tie for Rovers. They were through to the League Cup final which they would contest with Celtic, at Ibrox due to Celtic using Hampden as their home venue that season.

A great ‘what if?’ in many senses. Raith beat Celtic in the final so Airdrie fans will forever ask if we would have done the same had it been us in the final instead. Celtic’s defeat also had ramifications for their Scottish Cup final appearance where – this time – they did play us, and, sadly, won. Were they ever likely to lose to two First Division teams in cup finals in the one season? It seems unlikely. Alas, what a shame it had to be us on the losing side of this equation.

By Sean Smith

Loan Watch

Jamie White (Cumbernauld United)

Jamie was still absent from the Cumbernauld United squad.

Cole Williams, Dylan Williams & Divine Iserhienrhien (Edinburgh City)

The Citizens were on the end of a 5-0 thrashing by Clyde at the weekend, Divine & Cole started but were taken off at half-time. Dylan came on in the 68th, but failed to make an impact.

Cammy Cooper (Kelty Hearts)

Kelty drew 1-1 away to Cove Rangers on Saturday, Jack Bryden and Cooper Masson trading goals, Cammy came off the bench on the 83rd minute but failed to make an impact.

By David Jarvie

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Our Club Badge.

It was 2013. Airdrie had taken up the opportunity of the creation of the SPFL to register our name back to Airdrieonians from Airdrie United. This included the registering of our club badge.

Nothing controversial in this you would think, however, roll forward to 2015 and Lord Lyon, on learning of our return to our club crest, branded it illegal and threatened sanctions if it was not removed.

So, who was Lord Lyon?

For this we turn to our friend Wikipedia who tell us:

‘The Lord Lyon King of Arms’ is the Heraldic Authority in Scotland, serving as the sole King of Arms, a judge of the court of the Lord Lyon and a Great Officer of State. Based in Edinburgh, the office regulates all Scottish Heraldry, including Coats of Arms, Clan Chiefs and Genealogical Records. The current Lord Lyon is Dr Joseph Morrow, appointed in 2014.

Lord Lyon oversees Scotland’s oldest court, enforcing the Scots Law of Arms. Airdrie had designed a badge including the letters AFC within a shield. Unwittingly this was done without the required consent of Lord Lyon, breaching an ancient law from 1672.

The Court of the Lord Lyon ruled that the club badge, used at the time, breached regulations regarding the use of letters and numbers within heraldic devices. We had included the letters AFC within a shield. The crest was not a registered coat of arms.

Punishment can include confiscation - including the handing over of all merchandise bearing the ‘illegal’ badge. You forfeit the Arms.

Procurator Fiscal for the court of Lord Lyon, Alexander Green explained:

“This issue is not uncommon”, adding:

“Alot of organisations produce a badge, it looks heraldic and it can be described heraldically. And if it can be described heraldically, if you want to use it in Scotland, it must be first granted to you by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.”

Ayr United and Formartine United FC are just two other Scottish clubs unwittingly caught up in this controversy.

Ayr United fell foul to this ruling for including the saltire on their badge without consent. The major issue for Ayr United is that the badge, which they had been using since the 1950s, contains a saltire. Operations manager Tracy McTrusty stated at the time:

“They wouldn’t have been able to register as a coat of arms because we have a saltire and we are not a national institution – we couldn’t have represented Scotland. So, it was a no go to register as it is and keep it as it is.” As a result, their long-standing badge was replaced in 2017 by their current badge, chosen by their supporters.

Highland League club Formartine United faced a similar fate after Lord Lyon received a complaint that their badge contained a Scottish saltire in 2012. This was deemed illegal, and a new badge was introduced in 2012-13 with a yellow bordered shield featuring a red and white striped design with a golden griffin rampant and a golden banner with the motto “SANS PEUR.” (French for “Without Fear.”)

All the clubs resolved the issue without sanction. Airdrie, by simply removing the shield.

Some believe many more clubs in Scotland could fall foul of this law.

To some amusement, Police Scotland - on its inception - made a similar error before they changed their logo after 5 weeks of unlawful use!

Life can be much more complicated than on first sight. Worth keeping this in mind when you wear our club badge with pride in the future!

By Andy Locke

Hello, and welcome to the programme for this evening’s game. Last week, ATS and the team gave us a performance to be proud of, taking St Mirren to extra-time and so close to a penalty shootout. What might have been had we been given what looked like a stonewall penalty… I am sure the players and management will want to put in a similar level of performance tonight and, if they do, I am sure a positive result will come with it. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

St Johnstone Preview

As Scottish Cup action draws to a close for the Diamonds, we return to league action and it is, once again, on a Friday night in front of the BBC cameras.

This time, it’s the league leaders St Johnstone who will come to town. The Diamonds haven’t had a good record against Simo Valakari’s side so far, having lost both meetings against the Saints, shipping five and scoring once, Cammy Cooper the scorer.

Saints are on a great run of form, only losing two of their last ten. Most recently, a 1-0 home loss to Dunfermline Athletic back on the 24th of January, Robbie Fraser the sole goalscorer in that match.

On the road, Saints have won two, drawn two and lost one of their last five. They haven’t played away from home since a 0-0 draw away to Ross County in the tail end of December. The loss came at Firhill, a 2-1 defeat against Mark Wilson’s Partick Thistle.

After the cup disappointment, Airdrie are still yet to win at home in the league since Arbroath came to the Tattiehad in October, and we hope to dispel our poor run of home form against the table topping Saints.

Team News

Airdrie will welcome back Dom Thomas and Robbie Mahon, as our two cup-tied men return to the squad at long last. I expect Jack Smith & Adam Aird to drop out the squad in place of the front men.

Gavin Gallagher also made his return to the squad, albeit against Arbroath on Tuesday evening.

Aidan Wilson, Aaron Reid, Rhys Armstrong & Alex King are all expected to remain sidelined.

By David Jarvie

Last Time Out

Airdrieonians Vs St Mirren

The Diamonds cup run would come to a stop at home to Premiership St Mirren, as the Diamonds went down 2-1 after extra time.

It was St Mirren who opened the scoring, Jacob Devaney scoring a worldie from the edge of the area to put Stephen Robinson’s men ahead.

Jamie Barjonas was blatantly barged over in the area by Richard King around the half hour mark, but Kevin Clancy (A.K.A Stevie Wonder) saw no need to award a spot kick despite the very obvious and blatant foul.

Airdrie would get their equaliser on the 65th minute. Cole McKinnon superbly winning the ball off of St Mirren substitute Etete, and playing a 1-2 with Chris Mochrie before finding Jamie Barjonas, who fed the ball to Euan Henderson who struck on the half volley to grab his 18th goal of the campaign. A superb equaliser.

The Diamonds pushed for a winner but, extra time was to beckon. And with only four minutes of the extra half hour remaining, St Mirren struck through Roland Idowu, finishing under Harry Stone to win it for Saints.

A great performance from Airdrie shattered at the death by St Mirren, but it’s still a performance to be proud of, and a lot of positives can be taken from the match.

St Johnstone Vs Partick Thistle

Saints haven’t played in February at all, three times their game against Ayr United in the Challenge Cup was attempted, three times it was called off.

Their last match was the 2-2 draw with title-rivals Partick Thistle, in which the scoring was opened by on-loan St Mirren man Oisin Smyth. A blazing Partick Thistle counterattack was led by Tony Watt, who passed to Smyth to open the scoring.

They would only have the lead until the 46th minute. A corner swung in was bouncing around the Thistle box, and eventually fired home by on-loan Falkirk attacker Alfredo Agyeman, with the aid of a deflection.

Saints would get their second through talisman Josh McPake. He evaded three Thistle men before drilling past Josh Clarke in the Jags net to turn the game on its head.

However, Thistle would deny Saints the victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Alex Samuel being brought down by Cheick Diabate in the area forced Sean Murdoch to point to the penalty spot. Oisin Smyth stepped up and fired home the equaliser.

A thrilling game, albeit about two weeks ago. Both sides remain in the hunt for the title, although Thistle are two points behind Saints with the latter having a game in hand.

By David Jarvie

1967/68 Scottish Cup

The programme for the match against St Johnstone last September included a reference to our 2-1 win at McDiarmid Park during the 1989/90 season. That victory saw us inflict Saints’ first competitive home defeat at their new ground. The clubs would go on to compete neck-and-neck for that season’s middle-tier title, culminating in another match in Perth the following March. Saints were victorious that time and the win propelled them to the divisional championship and promotion to the top tier.

We joined them in the Premier Division in 1991/92 but the clubs took very divergent paths after our relegation at the end of the following season. We have never returned to the top flight whereas Saints have spent the bulk of those three decades at that level. Indeed, their relegation to the second-tier at the end of last term came after an unbroken sixteen years spell at the top table. That they lifted two Scottish Cups and a League Cup during that time only further illustrates the huge gap that now exists between two clubs that were peers for so long.

If that match at McDiarmid in March 1990 proved to be an inflection point, it can possibly lay claim to being the clubs’ most famous meeting. There was, however, another huge match between the two sides. That was a Scottish Cup tie that took place just over twenty years earlier.

The first-round draw for the 1967/68 competition sent Airdrie to Fir Park where a crowd of 9000 saw John Phillips put The Diamonds ahead after fifteen minutes but the home side equalised on the hour. The replay took place four days later for what was the third meeting between the sides in the same month, Drew Jarvie having notched both our goals in the New Year’s Day league fixture at Broomfield that had ended 2-2. A goalless first half made it look like the teams mightn’t be separated once again but, despite playing into driving wind and rain, a heroic team effort saw Motherwell wilt and Bobby Ramsay claim the only goal of the game.

Subsequent league wins against Morton and Clyde meant there was huge excitement ahead of the second- round home tie against Hibernian. John Henderson’s ‘Airdrieonians FC – Through the Sixties’ shows that a crowd of almost 10,500 turned up to see Davie Marshall at outside-right and Billy McPheat, who’d previously been Sunderland’s teenage goal-scoring sensation, at centre-forward. Meanwhile, Jim Black was at centre-half and ensured Messrs Marinello, Stein and Cormack didn’t have a hope. Unforgettably, Derek Whiteford emerged with the game’s only goal, a typical headed effort that was all the sweeter in that it ended his old club’s interest in the trophy.

That took us through to the quarter-finals and a last eight that otherwise comprised Rangers, Hearts, Dunfermline, Partick, Morton, St Johnstone and Highland League Elgin City. When the draw pitted Rangers against Hearts it was clear that a middle order club had a great chance of going all the way. We were sent to Perth but, given our league form and our performances in the last two rounds, there was optimism the semi-finals were within our reach.

John’s book tells us however that, as so often happens, things fell very flat. There was apparently a dispute about bonus payments in the Muirton Park dressing room, so heated that some of the players threatened not to appear. As it happened, they took the field but lost a goal after a mere 12 seconds. We were unable to recover and went down 1-2, the disappointment for the 2000 Airdrie followers in the 7500 crowd almost tangible. The sense of ‘what might have been’ was only accentuated when Rangers subsequently lost to Hearts.

For the record, Saints lost to Dunfermline in a replayed semi-final, while it also took two games for Hearts to dispatch Morton. The Pars went on to win the cup, ex-Diamond Pat Gardner scoring twice in their 3-1 win.

The Diamonds line-up at Perth that fateful day was as follows (nostalgists should now reach out for a hankie!):

MacKenzie, Jonquin and Caldwell; Goodwin, Black and Whiteford; Marshall, Ramsay, McPheat, Jarvie and Phillips (Madden replaced Marshall).

By Peter Smith

Fair City

It was only two years ago that Airdrie beat St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup at New Broomfield. That was not the first time that Airdrie had defeated Perth opposition in the national competition.

For that, we must look back to season 1894/95. Airdrie reached the 4th preliminary round of the Scottish Cup having already disposed of Cameronians 6-0, Girvan via them scratching from the cup and Linthouse by 4 goals to 2. Up next for Airdrie was a trip to Perth with a place in the first-round proper up for grabs. But rather than St Johnstone being the opposition, it was Fair City Athletic who stood in the way of the Waysiders.

Founded 10 years prior, Fair City were one of the region’s top sides, along with Dunblane, winning the Perthshire Cup three times between 1893-1899.

The introduction of organised leagues, and growth of St Johnstone, saw the club’s fortunes decline. While FCA never competed in the Scottish league, their first season in the Northern League saw them finish bottom and gain only 1 point from 17 games while, in their other 2 seasons, they won only 8 out of 24 games. In between, in 1897/98, they finished 3rd bottom in the Combination League and failed to gain re-election (as did St Johnstone).

Fair City Athletic came to an end in 1902, an expensive ground move in 1899 proving to be a fatal millstone around their neck. The club had bought Muirton Bank Park (not to be confused with the ground most associated with St Johnstone) for a pricey sum of money which left the club in a debt they never managed to recover. Only 2 years after moving into Muirton Bank, the Athletics looked to sell the place. But they were unsuccessful and other fundraising initiatives like a benefit match against Celtic (which Fair City lost 7-1) and a ‘sale of work’ similarly failed to solve the club’s woes. In 1901/02 FCA were expelled from the Perthshire League for failing to fulfil fixtures. Their last recorded fixture was another benefit match, this time against St Johnstone who, had agreed to play: ‘in order to assist the City officials out of their troubles’. Fair City Athletic did remain on the SFA’s roll the following season but they did not take to the field again. Another club called Fair City Athletic appeared in 1935 but only played for two seasons before disappearing, while an amateur and youth club of the same name exists today.

It will be hoped that the behaviour of parents and supporters of the current incarnation are better behaved than the supporters of the original FCA. The Athletics’ first ever match, against Pullars Rangers in the 1884/85 Perthshire Cup, had to be replayed because of continual pitch invasions by the Athletics contingent. At the end of the 1888 Perthshire Cup final, Dunblane supporters essentially had to buy their way out of trouble to ‘obtain freedom from unpleasant attention’ according to the local press. In the following season’s Perthshire Cup, the Bridge of Allan Gazette reported in a Perthshire Cup tie, the Athletics found themselves 5-3 down at Couper Angus when, with 10 minutes to go, supporters invaded the pitch and caused the match to be abandoned. Not only that, the FCA fans ‘ran amok’ after the game and left Couper Angus in a ‘state of riot’ and:

‘no wonder; everybody knows what Fair City “rowdies” are like’. Said the Gazette! The paper also reported that Athletics protested the result due to ‘rough play’, which was considered by them to be ironic as: ‘there is not a dirtier team going’. In 1893, Fair City supporters were said to have thrown stones at St Johnstone players.

A year later, no such hostility was reported as being shown to their visitors from North Lanarkshire. According to the Dundee Courier, a large crowd came to watch the game at Balhousie Park. The legendary Matt Scott was missing for Airdrie, as was Slaven, their work outside of football absenting them from the tie. The Scottish Referee reported Airdrie appeared determined to win from the start of the game, this perhaps evident by them scoring three first-half goals. Bob Walkinshaw opened the scoring for ‘the strangers’, after being given a clear sight of goal by the home defence. Airdrie’s second goalscorer is unidentified, which perhaps gives an indication of the sort of ‘scrimmage’ the goal came from, as per the Dundee Courier. The Dundee paper claimed FCA pressed but they failed to regain a foothold in the game due to their: ‘shooting being lamentably weak’. the 3rd an OG scored by Fair City’s Stewart. Cook replied for FCA with a free kick, ‘amidst loud cheering’, and almost repeated the feat a few minutes later. Fair City put Airdrie under more pressure in the second-half, thanks mainly to McCash’s ‘smart dodging’. The game was said by the Courier to have got ‘rather rough’ and, despite Fair City’s reputation, the paper blamed Airdrie for this! But Airdrie held on to make the first round proper where they were then subsequently put out the cup by St Bernard’s. Bob Scott finished Airdrie’s top scorer in that campaign’s Scottish Cup with 4 goals, while St Bernard’s went onto win the competition after they defeated Renton 2-1 in the final.

Thank you to John Henderson for his research and use of his research materials.

By Sean Smith

Loan Watch

Jamie White (Cumbernauld United)

Jamie still was not in the Cumbernauld United squad, as his loan side went down 4-0 to Kilbirnie Ladeside in the West of Scotland First Division.

Cole Williams, Dylan Williams & Divine Iserhienrhien (Edinburgh City)

Another disappointing result for our loanees, this time in League Two, as our trio suffered a 2-0 home loss to East Kilbride.

Dylan Williams had to be taken off two minutes before half-time, and we wish him a quick recovery with whatever injury he suffered.

Twin brother Cole however, played the full 90 for his side.

Divine Iserhienrhien came into the fray in the 65th minute, but couldn’t make an impact as City went down to the Kilbie.

Photo credits - @ArranEwart

Cammy Cooper (Kelty Hearts)

Sadly, it was to be a trio of losses for our loanees this matchday, as Kelty Hearts went down 2-0 to Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup.

A Chris Kane double eventually saw the Pars defeat the Maroon Machine. Cammy Cooper was substituted on in the 76th minute for Alex Ferguson, in the wake of the first strike for Kane. He would double his tally on the 87th, to win the Fife Derby.

A disappointing weekend for our five loan players.

By David Jarvie

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Newspaper Cuttings and the last game at Broomfield.

Memorabilia can take many forms, and many of you will recall it was the back page of the paper you would turn to for your fitba gossip. You would also remember cutting bits out the paper of significant events to keep them; along with your photos, ticket stubs, fitba cards, and programmes as keep sakes to look back on later in life.

So, it was with this in mind, I dug out a pile of albums comprising of yellowing cuttings of the Diamonds of old and relived my memory of our last day at Broomfield – Saturday May 7th, 1994, the last league match of the season, home to Dunfermline.

The first article I found was written by well kent reporter, Alex Dowdall, whose article was headed: ‘Lets, go out in blaze of glory!’ Alex wrote:

‘Emotions will be running high at Broomfield on Saturday…. but Airdrie have vowed that they will go out in a blaze of glory. After 102 years of football at Broomfield a full house of around 12,000 fans is expected to say their farewells to the famous old stadium.’

“It will be a very emotional day for everyone” said assistant boss John McVeigh. “A lot of people have an affinity and association with the club, and there will be a lot of grown men in tears at the end of the match. I hope the emotion gets through to the players and we go out in a blaze of glory against Dunfermline.” He added: “When the fans leave Broomfield on Saturday it will be for the last time. We will give them the lasting memory of a win.”

And the Diamonds were true to their word, with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Marvelous Marvyn Wilson assisted by Pars player, Neale Cooper. This was no mean feat as Dunfermline were not just there to make up the numbers. Alex Dowdells wrote:

“Saturday could be a security nightmare as leaders Dunfermline could clinch the First Division championship at the same time, … the Pars are expected to bring around 6.000 fans from Fife.”

The Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser, on the morning of the game, wrote:

“Diamonds plan gala send -off… Airdrieonians have planned a series of events to give the stadium a gala send-off”. This included the Braemar Pipe Band, an under 16 girls 7-a-side match, a player of the year award to Kenny Black, culminating 10 minutes before kick-off, with fans having the opportunity to meet over 30 former players. There was no mention of the parachutist landing on the park…, however, photographic evidence proves this did happen, delivering the match ball!! The article finished with the very optimistic promise that Broomfield will be open tomorrow Sunday “…for the sale of the turf.” Many there will recall much of it was away by 5.30pm on the Saturday!

To mark the occasion, Airdrie produced a wonderful souvenir programme for only £2 and available for sale only at the ground on the day.

The second reporter with a well kent face to us Diamonds fans is one, James Traynor who, admittedly in an excellent article wrote:

“Several thousand fans travelled from Fife into Airdrie on Saturday, hoping to see Dunfermline win promotion to the premier division. They went home shoulders hunched, hearts heavy. I could have told them it would end in tears. Any Airdrieonian could have warned them it would not be their day. Saturday was all about something much more significant. Poignancy hung so heavily in the air the parachutists, who dropped in with the match ball before the last ever game to be played on Broomfield kicked off, could have walked down from their aircraft. Saturday was a day which started on August 13, 1892.”

Traynor describes the scenes as the game neared its end.

The fans “…. spilled on to the pitch two minutes from time, when …(they) thought the referee had sounded the final whistle. They tried to take the nets and corner flags, but were ushered off. When the match did end, they swarmed all over the pitch and dug up the turf. It was more than an hour before the last fan left, leaving Broomfield bare and forlorn.” Taylor went on to record:

“The advertising hoardings had been taken and benches ripped out the stand” followed by the self-admission: ‘Incidentally, if anyone is wondering where the “Treatment Room: Private” sign has gone, I’ve got it. My wife still doesn’t understand’.

These two newspaper cuttings, along with the programme and my own photographs, bring back happy and sad memories of that day. Happy at being there and getting the result, but sad at the loss of the famous old stadium and seeing it ripped apart.

Newspapers have less prominence now which is a shame when I look back at cuttings from big events involving the best wee team.

Now what’s this I’ve found?... “Super Cooper – Robbo off as Stevie breaks Hearts! Shock squad Airdrie humbled and humiliated 10-man Hearts as they stormed into the Tennent’s Scottish Cup Final.”

Airdrie 1 v 0 Hearts Hampden Park 8th April 1995 – Marvelous!

By Andy Locke

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of the Broomfield Bulletin, the first of two Friday night lights programmes in a row. Tonight, we welcome St Mirren in the Scottish Cup. Can the Diamonds knock out the Buddies? It will take Airdrie playing beyond their best and producing a performance we have not managed at home in a long time. But the magic of the cup under the lights, who would doubt it? ‘Mon the Diamonds!

St Mirren Preview

The Diamonds are back in Scottish Cup action, and it’s Friday night televised football for Airdrie, as the Paisley Saints come to town, in front of the BBC cameras.

Airdrie have already seen off Hamilton Accies and Arbroath in the Scottish Cup, both games at home, and they’ll look to make it a hat-trick of home victories against an out-of-form Saints, despite their victory on Tuesday evening.

The Buddies began their journey in the fourth round, seeing off fellow Premiership strugglers Livingston on penalty kicks. Roland Idowu scored very early for St Mirren, only on the 3rd minute before Scott Arfield’s 11th minute equaliser brought the Lions level, and the scoring to an end.

St Mirren’s away record is nothing short of shambolic, and while this statement will probably come back to bite me, I’ll make it anyway. Saints have failed to win away from home (if you exclude Hampden) since a win on penalties against Kilmarnock in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, and in the league since a 2-1 win over Falkirk, all the way back in September.

The Diamonds home record is just as appalling as the visitors away record. Our last home victory was the Scottish Cup match against Arbroath, which we won on penalties. In the league, it was against the same opponents back in October.

All of this points to either being the drabbest game you’ve ever witnessed, or the most thrilling 8-8 draw you’ll ever see.

Whilst I’m not expecting a win, I’m hoping we have a good performance. The Tattiehad hasn’t been the best place for us recently.

By David Jarvie

Last Time Out

Arbroath Vs Airdrieonians

The Diamonds emerged victorious on Tuesday night, once again versus Arbroath, once again on penalty kicks.

Lewis McGrattan opened the scoring in the 90, finishing smoothly past Aidan McAdams after Adam Devine did very well to pick him out with a low pass into the area.

The Red Lichties responded just 13 minutes later, Aaron Muirhead’s strike taking a quite ridiculous deflection and ending up in the net.

Arbroath would take the lead through Scott Robinson, once more a corner proving to be our undoing as he poked home from close range.

The Diamonds got their equaliser going into the last ten, Euan Henderson being slipped through superbly by Lewis Strapp and, as McAdams committed, Hendo fired past him on the angle to level the contest.

Penalties ensued once more and it was Airdrie who emerged victorious once again. Cole McKinnon sending us through with aplomb, as the Airdrie number 24 fired his spot kick into the top left corner, to send us through to the semi-final, after Findlay Marshall had been denied by Harry Stone.

The Diamonds will host Raith Rovers in the semis, the winner of that will then play one of St Johnstone, Ayr United & Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the final.

St Mirren Vs Heart of Midlothian

Going into this one, St Mirren hadn’t won in the league since a 1-0 home victory against David Martindale’s Livingston, and they welcomed league leaders Hearts to the SMiSA stadium.

The first-half, it was all St Mirren. A penalty overturned and a goal disallowed saw the Saints and Jambos go in goalless at the break, but Hearts were down to 10 men after Craig Halkett saw a straight red for denying Jacob Devaney a goalscoring opportunity.

With only two minutes of regulation time remaining, centre back Miguel Freckleton was to be the Buddies hero. A superb corner from Declan John met the head of Freckleton, who jumped and headed superbly past Alexander Schwolow in the Jambo net.

A rare league win for Saints, putting them in good stead heading into the cup game on Friday night.

By David Jarvie

New Signings

So, this is what it feels like to have a transfer window that isn’t absolute dugmeat (disclaimer: I still think we need a striker)!

Airdrie Have gone out and recruited another 3 players since the last time of writing, adding Adam Devine (Sydney’s grandson), Charlie McArthur and Dom Thomas. So, let’s have a wee look at the 3 of them and how they might boost our survival hopes going into the business end of the season.

Adam Devine

The former Rangers player hasn’t kicked a ball in anger since May last year, when he was on loan to Queen’s Park, but he does come with a fair amount of experience in his short career. He has been at Motherwell, Queen’s Park and also made a few appearances for The Rangers. He played at Brechin and made a brief stop at Partick. He is fairly versatile, playing mostly at RB or RWB but has filled in at LWB a few times in his career.

I’m assuming that Devine will act as cover for MacDonald while he allegedly still manages an injury. I’m writing this before the Arbroath cup game so we may even see him get some game time tonight which would be a good indication as to where he fits in. Hopefully a good player to have in and around the squad, providing a bit of experience despite only being 22 and will allow ATS to rotate the squad during the run in.

Charlie McArthur

Okedoke, it’s only been one game, and I’m not getting carried away, but how many times have we had a young player in from a youth team in England only for them to be absolutely chronic? But thankfully it looks like Charlie is going to buck that trend for us. Coming in from Newcastle on loan he was incredibly comfortable against Dunfermline at the weekend (making the SPFL team of the week) and comes with plenty of experience, albeit in the u21 squad at Newcastle. He seems to have been played mostly as a LCB but has also filled in at LB, again it looks like a sensible signing that can cover a few positions.

Dom Thomas

I am a big fan of this signing, but I’m also a bit realistic about it. Thomas didn’t exactly set the Heather alight at Ayr, albeit there were rumours of a fall out. He played only a handful of games and registered 1 goal and no assists (in the league and League cup anyway). But he was excellent for Queen’s Park before leaving for Ireland, and he has plenty of goals and assists across his career.

But where will he play?...

So as mentioned above we didn’t sign a striker other than the tenuous loan signing of Stirton. Well, he’s been added to the Co-op loan but I doubt we see him. So, talk in the coffee shops is that Thomas will play a more central role, and looking at times he’s played more central across the last few seasons, it’s not the worst news. He has been effective as a central player, during his time at QP in 23/24 he had a run of games playing through the middle and managed half a dozen goals, including 1 against us. Towards the end of his time at QP he was still playing a fair few games in a more central role.

He has played most of his games on the wings though…and as seen below, it’s mainly on the right-hand side.

So, it’s a case of mibbees aye mibbees naw in regards to the question “is he actually going to be our “striker” that we have been looking for?”. But if he can recapture even some of his form from his time at Queen’s Park this could be a really important signing for us.

All in all, a decent window, with what looks like well thought out signings rather than the “organising a game of fives” approach that we’ve had in previous seasons and it’s all I’ve wanted from a recruitment strategy. Well done Airdrie.

By Ross Mitchell

St Mirren First and Lasts

John Henderson’s definitive ‘Excelsior Beginnings to Scottish League Membership’ book shows that Airdrie’s first encounter with St Mirren was on New Year’s Day 1886 while Jack Paterson & Bob McPherson’s ‘Marching On – 125 Years of The St Mirren Football Club’ tells us that match was played at the Westmarch Grounds, a venue that was situated on the same street as the current St Mirren Park. The game was classified as a ‘Challenge Match’, league football not getting underway until 1890. Airdrie won 5-2 but John’s research found the goals are uncredited.

St Mirren were members of the fledgling Scottish Football League for its first season in 1890/91 but it was in that term’s Scottish Cup that the clubs first competitive meeting took place. The Saints travelled to Mavisbank Park on 8th November 1890 for a fourth-round tie and a late goal secured their 2-1 win in front of a crowd of 2500.

Airdrieonians had joined the Scottish Football Alliance, the alternative to the Scottish Football League, in time for 1891/92 but Mavisbank saw one sole season at that level before the move across town to Broomfield was completed. If the club was aware that Mavisbank wasn’t up to the rigours of regular competitive football, St Mirren moved the short distance to Love Steet in September 1894 for the same reason.

St Mirren’s first visit to Broomfield was during its first season. They travelled east for a challenge match on 1st April 1893. King, Slaven and Galloway were all on the scoresheet in the home side’s 4-1 win but so was the legendary Bob Scott, to this day our greatest goal-scorer and one half of the club’s only international sibling group.

As with St Mirren’s first trip to Airdrie, our first visit to Love Street was for a Scottish Cup tie, this time a first-round clash on 11th January 1901. The black-and-whites scored the game’s only goal, described in Paterson & McPherson’s book as being scored ‘half a minute from time’. That statement was heard in evidence from the referee at an SFA meeting after we’d protested that he’d ‘exceeded time prior to the goal being scored’. The appeal fell on deaf ears and The Saints progressed.

Love Street’s last match was a goalless draw against Motherwell in January 2009, so that means our last visit was the league fixture on 25th March 2006, almost twenty years ago. Bryan Prunty got the historic counter but it came in a 1-2 defeat. We were in our ‘Airdrie United’ guise by that point but Love Street was also the venue for the ‘old’ club’s last-ever meeting with the Paisley Saints. That came four Marchs before, on the 9th in 2002, and also ended in a 1-2 reverse but Owen Coyle got the goal on that occasion.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

The Buddies last trip to Broomfield came just six weeks before the beloved old place closed its doors for the last time. That was on 26th March 1994 and they left with a 2-0 win. Their first trip to Excelsior was on 22nd August 1998 and is famous in that it featured the first-ever league goal at the ground, Habib Sissoko scoring the only goal of the game in his one and only appearance for The Diamonds. St Mirren’s other Excelsior record came during 2005/06, the same season as our last trip to Love Street. The 9612 that saw them defeat Hamilton 2-1 in the Challenge Cup final on 6th November 2005 is the ground’s biggest attendance to date.

St Mirren moved to the other end of Murray Street to the current St Mirren Park just after that game against Motherwell. We have visited but once in the seventeen years since. That was for a sectional League Cup tie on 29th July 2017 but we lost 0-5, Andy Ryan missing a penalty to boot.

By Peter Smith

McCabe Era Connections

During the Rhys McCabe era, it became relatively common for players to swap the black and white stripes of St Mirren for Airdrie’s red diamond. The first player to do so was Dean McMaster who signed on loan from St Mirren in July 2022. ‘Deano’ went onto play an important role in our promotion that season and is still an almost ever-present in midfield, as well as being vice-captain. That same month, Alan Gow returned to the club as academy director and our now director of football had a season and a half spell at St Mirren Park from 2014-2016. Unfortunately for Gowser and co, 14/15 was the season in which Saints were rather dismally relegated from the Premier League.

After defeating St Mirren 2-0 in the League Cup in the last time the clubs met competitively (Justin Devenny and Kyan Gunn our goalscorers), July ’22 saw one last connection formed between Airdrie and St Mirren. Striker Lewis Jamieson signed for the Diamonds on loan from Saints and scored 8 goals in 19 appearances, including a hat-trick against Montrose, before returning to St Mirren Park.

That season also saw goalkeeper Dean Lyness join from St Mirren. While the Brummie perhaps did not impress as much as some of his fellow Paisley Buddies did, he went on to play 11 times for the club.

After promotion, McCabe’s Diamonds were further populated by ex-Saints. McMaster became a permanent Airdrieonian and Elliot Dunlop joined the Diamonds. Dunlop played 10 times for Airdrie, mostly off the bench, before a deal in summer 2025 which saw Airdrie and Crusaders swap Dunlop and Alex King respectively.

Unarguably more impactful than Dunlop has been Gavin Gallagher, who is still at the club, and who’s import in us staying up last season was recognised with his receiving the Young Player of the Year award(s) from fans and players.

Our next Saintly recruit was Dylan MacDonald, the full-back having spent time in the youth system at Paisley, before impressing at East Kilbride.

Signed last season, Dylan was usurped as Airdrie’s newest Saint in the summer of 2025 when we signed Adam Aird. The young midfielder has appeared once off the bench, and the 17-year-old will hope to make further appearances for the first team and U19s side over the next few seasons.

Danny Lennon has, of course, managed both clubs though with far more success in Renfrewshire than North Lanarkshire. Lennon returned to the Airdrie dugout as Rhys McCabe’s successor in August. But, after only 8 games (of which we lost 6 and drew two 0-0) he was relieved of his duties. A far cry from the days of winning the League Cup and managing in the SPL with St Mirren.

McCabe’s predecessor – Ian Murray – has also managed both clubs while another connection worth mentioning is that of Calum Gallagher. The Airdrie Hall of Famer wore the black and white stripes earlier in his career, where he was a teammate of Alan Gow’s. He scored a respectable 8 goals in 41 appearances in his first season for Saints in the Championship before leaving for Dumbarton in January 2017. From there, of course, came a goal laden and successful spell in a diamond.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

Another tenuous connection, but perhaps one worth mentioning is that, while Cammy Cooper has never played for St Mirren, his da’ Paul Cooper is an academy scout for the Paisley Saints and is, therefore, perhaps, responsible for bringing some of these ex Saintees into the world of professional football, and thus, into a diamond.

By Sean Smith

St Mirren in the Scottish

70 years ago, these two teams met in Airdrie in Scottish Cup action. Airdrieonians were to play St Mirren in the Scottish Cup 6th round and the Paisley Buddies, like this evening, perhaps went into the game as favourites. Their favourite status was on account of their form against the Diamonds that campaign: 3-2 and 4-2 wins in the League Cup section and, most recently, a 7-2 hammering on Hogmanay (the Diamonds had also lost 7-2 on Christmas Eve to Aberdeen!). But Airdrie went into the tie having recovered their form in January; a 2-0 New Year’s win over Motherwell always a sweetener while, in the two preceding games to the St Mirren cup tie, Airdrie won 7-1 and 7-3 respectively; the former game being a Scottish Cup 5th round demolition of Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton Accies on the 4th of February.

The upturn in form was no surprise given who Airdrie had to call upon upfront: the great Hugh Baird. The Calderbank native had fired his hometown club to the old First Division the year before with an incredible return of 53 goals. Topflight defences could not handle him any better, and his 37 goals that season saw Airdrie finish a creditable 7th out of 18 teams in Scotland’s top division. Despite their 100% record against Airdrieonians up to that point, St Mirren would finish 15th and only 2 places and 5 points above the relegation zone.

On the day of the cup tie, 20,620 souls – around 5,000 from Paisley – graced Broomfield’s hallowed terraces and stand. No mean feat, especially when compared to crowds nowadays and given the wintry conditions on the day of the game (Broomfield was said to have a light covering of snow when the game kicked off). No BBC Scotland Friday night coverage in those days mind you.

It was the 5,000 travelling supporters who celebrated first – a goalmouth scramble saw Tommy Gemmell put the Saints ahead. After 10 more minutes, who else but that man Hugh Baird equalised for the home side, ably assisted by a Tommy Duncan pass. Ironically, Baird would score Aberdeen’s consolation goal in their 1959 Scottish Cup final defeat to St Mirren. The Saint’s goalkeeper? Davie Walker, who was Airdrie’s goalie for this Scottish Cup tie and who swapped the goals of Broomfield for Love Street in 1957.

Another Airdrieonians legend Ian McMillan gave his team the lead. However, that lead only lasted 5 minutes when the Buddies got a rather fortuitous equaliser. Duncan McGill’s speculative shot looked to be heading wide but deflected off Gemmell and in.

The home side, however, again took the lead with McMillan similarly at the heart of things. His well worked move was finished by Willie McCulloch and Airdrie led at half-time.

The Diamonds looked to have won the game when George Rankin made it 4-2 from a breakaway after 64 minutes. But, perhaps in typical Airdrieonians fashion, things were not so simple. Gordon Henry and Bobby Holmes netted further goals for the Saints, and both teams were left to do it all again, the tie at Broomfield finished 4-4. Henry gave St Mirren the lead in the replay at Love Street but, the Diamonds ultimately prevailed 3-1 to set-up a quarter-final with Celtic. Same result and outcome tonight?

By Sean Smith

Loan Watch

A new segment in this edition of... My section in the bulletin, where we will round up how our various loanees got on.

Jamie White (Cumbernauld United)

Jamie was not in the Cumbernauld United squad due to injury; he has been out a matter of weeks so far.

Cole Williams, Dylan Williams & Divine Iserhienrhien (Edinburgh City)

Our co-op loan trio got themselves a victory for Edinburgh City away from home against Dumbarton on Saturday.

Cole registered his first assist with the club, assisting Innes Lawson as he got the equaliser against the Sons. Lawson would score his second two minutes after the restart.

Cole & Dylan played the full match; Divine came on in the 76th minute to see out the remainder of the 2-1 win.

Cammy Cooper (Kelty Hearts)

Our final loanee, Cammy Cooper, played 56 minutes of Kelty Hearts goalless draw with Hamilton Accies on Wednesday.

He was only one of two substitutions made for Kelty, as he was replaced just before the hour mark by James Graham.

By David Jarvie

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

The Continued Adventures of The Fitba Nomad - Adam Lawson Stalker. Published in 2022.

Some of you may remember The Fitba Nomad who, following visits to both our team and our local hostelries, heralded our club, our supporters, and our town as one of his all-time favourites.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Fitba Nomad, aka Adam Lawson Stalker, he is a unique individual who, since 2017, travels round Scotland visiting various grounds from all levels of Scottish football; from the highs of the Premier League to the lower reaches of what used to be called Junior football. On his visits he will report on a local match, while also trying out local pubs and giving a pen picture of the town. From this, the Fitba Nomad has written three books all of which include numerous short stories, each covering a match, the town, and the nearby pubs, making for an entertaining read, as well as giving the reader the taste to go and do the same.

In the Nomad’s second book: ‘The Continued Adventures of the Fitba Nomad’ published in 2022, the Nomad covers many varied fixtures, each chapter starting with a descriptive title - ‘Presiding Over the Pennypit’ – Preston Athletic v Royal Albert United 8th January 2022; -‘A Gander Around Gayfield’ – Arbroath v Hamilton Academical 11th September 2021; or even ‘Loitering Around Lochee United’- Lochee United v Blairgowrie 17 July 2021. I dodged the chapter ‘Mingling with the Honest Men’ – that is a step to far!

The Nomad also includes his wanders further afield, into England, with the chapter ‘Crossing Over to Carlisle’ – Carlisle United v Morecambe 22nd February 2020 and a further chapter ‘Attending the Academy Stadium’ – Manchester City Women v Birmingham City Ladies 12th October 2019.

The randomness of his choice of visits makes the book all the more entertaining.

Pride of place is the chapter ‘Doting on the Diamonds – Airdrieonians v Montrose 12th February 2022. The Nomad starts the chapter summarising our club’s history – covering the highs and lows of the roller coaster of our past, including our liquidation and the phoenix rising from the ashes of our ‘new’ club in 2002. To his credit, the Nomad finished his section on our history by stating ‘….Airdrie fans I spoke to ahead of my visit were adamant that the club, so well served by Gallacher, McPhail, Sandison, and Fashanu, is the very same as the side Vareille, Prunty, and Fordyce have represented. If the supporters hold firm in that belief, who am I to argue? After all, I’m a great believer that a church is the congregation and not the building made to house them.’ – Later he said, ‘The only question is, if you believe in the legend of Airdrieonians or not, If you do, there should be no doubt in your mind that they are one of the same club.’ Well said!

On a lighter note, the Nomad writes of his joy at the offerings at the West End Bar, Cue Here and the Albert Bar before taking in the match. Reminiscing of a previous association with a Glenmavis gal, and, therefore, previous history in the pubs of Airdrie, the Nomad took to the delights of the West End Bar; described Cue Here as ‘the best pool hall I’ve ever been to and a truly unique boozer indeed,’ and complimented the Albert for the excellence of the Guinness!

Nomad’s review of our Ground is fair. Describing the Ground from the outside as ‘a little generic’, he compliments the inside of the main stand as ‘a beauty.’ He acknowledges the historic reasons for having a 10,000 all seater, as well as the resultant cost implications for its maintenance and running costs. While being impressed with the shirts on display in the stadium bar, he does express disappointment over the lack of memorabilia celebrating Airdrie’s achievements over the years, which again, I think is fair comment.

Regarding the game, Airdrie ran out overall winners 4-1 with two goals from Calum Gallagher with one each from Craig Watson and Adam Frizzell. Ironically, given this season’s frustrations, the Nomad while acknowledging Montrose had most of the possession, stated it comes down to taking their chances, which Airdrie did, and Montrose failed to do so.

In his summery of his visit to the Diamonds the Nomad wrote ‘I am very grateful to the good people of Airdrie. Never have I had such support and interest from fans of an SPFL club ahead of a match day, and on the day itself, so many people made the effort to stop and speak to me.’

Not every day do we get a good press. Let us take it. Well done all concerned.

By Andy Locke

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to today’s issue of the Broomfield Bulletin. Today’s game is a huge one for both teams and feels like a potential season definer, even with plenty of the campaign still to be played. Ross County away has been my highlight of the season so far. Let’s hope today is another game we look back on fondly for a while to come. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

Recent Head-To-Head

19th August 2023

Scottish League Cup – Last 16

Airdrieonians 3-4 Ross County (AET)

2nd August 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-2 Ross County

6th December 2025

Scottish Championship

Ross County 1-2 Airdrieonians

County Preview

The Diamonds are back in league action after a thrilling Scottish Cup match against fellow Championship side Arbroath.

Our opponents, Ross County, have a new manager emplaced, their third of the season, much like Airdrie. Stuart Kettlewell has taken the reigns of the Staggies after only being out of a job a matter of weeks after his sacking at Kilmarnock.

The Diamonds have had the better of the Staggies in the two meetings between the sides. A 2-2 draw at the Tattiehad in the first game of the league season, as a Euan Henderson double cancelled out Akil Wright’s double, leaving Rhys McCabe’s & Don Cowie’s sides with a point each. Feels like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?

Away from home, the Diamonds got a deserved victory. Gavin Gallagher and Euan Henderson scored on the counterattack to put the Diamonds 2-0 up, before a Jay Henderson goal put a nervy end onto the game. This game was the penultimate league match before Tony Docherty lost his job after a 6-0 humiliation against Raith Rovers.

Last Time Out

County, unlike Airdrie, were defeated in their Scottish Cup match at the weekend, as they went down 1-0 to high flying Motherwell at Fir Park, a sole goal from Tawanda Maswanhise enough to sink the Staggies, and put the ‘Well through to the fifth round.

The Diamonds, as mentioned, defeated Arbroath on penalties after a scintillating 3-3 draw, or aggravating, depending on what tinted glasses you look through.

Euan Henderson opened the scoring with a superb curling strike, after a great run from Lewis Strapp and an intelligent lay-off from Jamie Barjonas left the striker firing an outstanding effort past Aidan McAdams.

Arbroath fired back in the second half, and it only took six minutes for the visitors to equalise. Taylor Steven did extremely well down the near side and found Gavin Reilly in the box, who thumped high into the net.

The Diamonds did get back in front, though. Euan Henderson hit Arbroath on the counter and was brought down in the area, with Aaron Muirhead seeing yellow when he should’ve seen red. Henderson stepped up and slotted away the spot-kick.

Arbroath would equalise and force extra time on the 84th minute. Thomas Beadling hit a shot that took a huge deflection, wrongfooting Harry Stone and trundling into the net.

Extra time beckoned, and the Diamonds did get their third. An outstanding counter involving Dean McMaster, Euan Henderson and Cole McKinnon ended with the latter crossing the ball into the area for the first, and Dean slammed home to make it 3-2.

Airdrie would be undone a third time, however. Former Diamond Scott Stewart headed home from a corner kick, and penalties were to come.

Euan Henderson, Jamie Barjonas, Lewis McGrattan and Dean McMaster all scored their spot-kicks, with Jake Hastie the only man denied. Harry Stone would be the hero though. Despite Nikolay Todorov and Jack Wilkie scoring, the Airdrie keeper denied Ross Callachan and Craig Watson to send Airdrie through, where they face St Mirren on the TV.

Team News

The Diamonds have sent Cammy Cooper out on loan to Kelty Hearts. A loan which should do him a lot of good, and become far more fruitful than sending him to Lithuania.

We have also agreed with Edinburgh City, a co-operation loan agreement with the League Two side. Similar to our one with Dundee United, we have sent Dylan & Cole Williams to the Citizens, who can still play for us should we need them. The Diamonds can send one more player to them, if we so choose to.

Airdrie have revealed Gavin Gallagher & Cade Melrose are back in training after sustaining injuries against Arbroath and Ayr United respectively. Whether they’ll be in the squad waits to be seen, however.

We will also finally see Robbie Mahon in the squad too, as the forward was cup-tied for the visit of Arbroath, and will also be cup-tied against Arbroath in the Challenge Cup and, of course, St Mirren.

Rhys Armstrong, Alex King and Aaron Reid are still expected to miss out.

C’mon the Diamonds ♦️♦️

By David Jarvie

Airdrie Highlanders

Invernessian Mark Ridgers began his career in the youth ranks of today’s opponents and, at 15, became the youngest player to ever represent Ross County, coming on as a substitute in a League Cup win over Stranraer.

In 2007, Hearts paid £40k for the young goalkeeper and it was from here that he enjoyed loan spells with East Fife and Airdrie. Ridgers signed for the Diamonds in the summer of 2010. It was a period of transition for the club with the team moving from a full-time to part-time structure and the start of what many deemed an era of ‘managed decline’ under the Ballantynes. Nevertheless, Mark was a solid enough goalkeeper and, along with a team of fellow youngsters and unfancied players, finished the season in an unexpected respectable mid-table position.

The following season he returned to East Fife, his most notable appearance being in a League Cup victory at Pittodrie when Ridgers saved 3 penalties in a shootout. That same campaign, Ridgers returned to Hearts and made 3 competitive appearances for the club overall and was on the bench in their 2012 Scottish Cup final victory, before departing for St Mirren.

Mark was Tommy Craig’s (who replaced future Airdrie manager Danny Lennon) first signing at St Mirren but, that season was a disaster in Paisley, the Saints relegated, 11 points from 10th place and safety.

Mark had short spells at Orlando City B and Partick Thistle before enjoying the longest and best run of his career in his home city, at Inverness Caledonian Thistle. The Inverness club were Mark’s home for 7 years. In those 7 years, he kept goals 280 times, including in the 2023 Scottish Cup final (which they lost 3-1 to Celtic), and in a Challenge Cup winning team in 2018 (technically Mark also ‘won’ the Challenge Cup in 2020 when Inverness and Raith Rovers were declared joint winners due to the final being indefinitely postponed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic). A year after the Scottish Cup final, Duncan Ferguson’s Inverness were relegated to League 1 and Mark joined Buckie Thistle, where he subsequently won that season’s Highland League.

Ridgers spent one season at Buckie Thistle before signing for the club he supported growing up in Inverness: Clachnacuddin, where he still plays today. From one something of a full circle moment to another, Mark now works for Ross County as their business development executive in his day job.

Another Highlander whose career has come full circle with our visitors is Gary Mackay-Steven. Thurso born and bred Mackay-Steven began his career in the youth ranks of Ross County, before going down south to Liverpool. After a bad injury, Mackay-Steven was released, and it was Jimmy Boyle at Airdrie who gave Gary the chance to revive his career. Dundee United signed Mackay-Steven from the Diamonds and he made his debut for the Arabs in the Europa League against Slask Wroclaw. Like Ridgers, Mackay-Steven also played in a losing Scottish Cup final, in this instance in 2014 when United lost 2-0 to St Johnstone at Parkhead. Before leaving Tannadice for the Glasgow club, he became best remembered by terrors’ fans for scoring a double in United’s 6-2 Dundee derby victory.

Celtic signed Mackay-Steven for £250,000 in January 2015 and in his two and a half seasons in Glasgow, he won 3 league titles and 1 League Cup, in 2016/17.

The following season’s League Cup final was a repeat of the previous year’s: Celtic v Aberdeen. This time, Gary was on the opposite team, but he did not carry any luck with him for the Dons as they lost 1-0 and Mackay-Steven was stretchered off after a head knock. A second place finish that campaign and further European qualification the following season continued a period of relative prosperity for Mackay-Steven.

From Aberdeen, his career has become somewhat unsettled. A season spent at New York City FC was followed by a spell at Hearts. In the Covid season, he was part of the Hearts squad which won the Championship and lost to Brora Rangers. His appearances at Hearts became more fleeting and, after only playing 6 times in 2022/23, he left the club.

A period of inactivity followed before he eventually signed for Kilmarnock in December 2023. However, a fairly unremarkable spell at Rugby Park saw him leave in the summer, and sign for the club where it all started – Ross County.

By Sean Smith

New Signings

Robbie Mahon

Maybe I’m being optimistic, but I really like this signing. Robbie was flagged up to me by a few folk who are very knowledgeable in the Scottish game and, having done a bit of digging on him I’m hoping he works well for us.

I don’t really subscribe to writing players off from lower leagues. Does it work all the time? Of course not. There are plenty of examples of this, but you look to Dylan MacDonald as an example where its worked well for us. I would much rather see someone come in who’s been playing regularly than a cast off from a Premier League youth team with no first team experience that would need time to adjust to playing every week.

Robbie has 15 goals and 11 assists in his career so far with the bulk of these coming from his 2 spells at Edinburgh City. This season he has 7 goals and 4 assists in the league, including a hat-trick at Elgin back in August. There is a case that his goals have dried up a bit in recent weeks, but this may be down to a change of shape at Edinburgh meaning he’s playing a more central role, when he seems to be much more effective on the right-hand side.

There is also a case to say that his goal tally is inflated by penalties as he is the one who takes them for Edinburgh, and I doubt Henderson will be relinquishing that responsibility anytime soon.

So, what could this mean for the team?

It will be interesting to see how ATS works things going forward. Mahon seems to be either a replacement or competition for McGrattan, who himself is actually not starting many games at the moment. Could we maybe change shape if a striker comes in? 4231 with Henderson, Mochrie and Mahon playing behind a striker would maybe work? But Henderson feels more effective through the middle. And then there’s the added headache of who would you drop? Either way I look forward to his debut and hope that I am proved right that Mahon will be a good buy for us.

Mahon and where he ranks against other League 2 players in similar positions:

Owen Stirton

Owen has been added to our loan agreement with Dundee United and, If we ever see him in an Airdrie shirt, which is still not guaranteed despite our clear lack of a recognised striker, I wanted to cover his addition to the Co-op.

He has actually played 524 Minutes for Dundee United this season and has scored 1 goal in a 2-1 defeat to Kilmarnock back in August. He has started a handful of games for Jim Goodwin’s side with most appearances being cameos off the bench.

Last year he joined Montrose in League 1 where he managed 7 goals, including a double against Alloa at home, and 1 assist.

The amount of action he sees on the left is interesting for a centre forward:

Excuse the terrible circle I drew…

By Ross Mitchell

County over the years

Ross County began life as a Scottish League club in 1994/95 so are a relatively new addition to the country’s football furniture. That means that, in terms of ‘firsts and lasts’, there is little more than thirty years to look back on with regard to competitive meetings with Airdrieonians.

Ross County had competed in the Scottish Cup as a Highland League club for many years before the mid-1990’s and, indeed, Victoria Park had hosted a record crowd of 8000 when Rangers visited in February 1966. It was ironic then that, having never been paired together to the point the Dingwall club joined the league, the third-round draw in 1997/98 sent ‘The Staggies’ to Cumbernauld to meet The Diamonds. Oddly enough, the match was played on 24th January 1998, exactly 28 years ago today. Brian McPhee and the late Steve Cooper struck for the ‘home’ side but goals by Mark Haro and Steven Ferguson ensured there would be a replay in the highlands 10 days later. Those of a red-and-white persuasion who made the long midweek trip for Airdrie’s first-ever visit to Dingwall were left disappointed. Derek Adams scored the game’s only goal just as extra-time was looming. That was an impressive result for the northerners as The Diamonds had started that 1997/98 campaign two divisions above them.

Ross County climbed out of the basement at the end of 1998/99 but a second successive promotion meant they’d joined Airdrie in the second tier in time for 2000/01. The first league fixture between the clubs was at Dingwall on 26th August 2000 and those in attendance will recall that a sublime pass by Antonio Calderon set up an Eddie Forrest counter at the ‘jail-end’ goal. That game ended 1-1, but the Andalucian was prominent again during County’s first-ever visit to Airdrie two months later. The sheer elan with which he struck his volley into the northern goal at New Broomfield means that strike is surely a contender for the greatest at the stadium to date. The Diamonds won 5-1 with Stuart Taylor, John Elliott, Martin Prest and David Fernandez also on the scoresheet.

If ‘old’ Airdrieonians first visit to Ross-shire was in midweek, so was the last, a 1-4 league reverse in late March 2002 coming just two months before the club folded. Mark Roberts notched that historic counter. Any claim that the ‘new’ version of our club is merely a continuation of the ‘old’ is strengthened by the fact that, after the old club finished season 2001/02, the new iteration was in place for 2002/03. The current version started in the third tier but it only took two seasons to rejoin Ross County one division higher. The Dingwall side’s visit to Excelsior on 18th September 2004 was thus the first time it met the ‘new’ club. Stephen McKeown scored our goal but Mark Canning and David Winters struck for the visitors to ensure the points were northward bound.

Corrections

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted that my article for the Montrose Challenge Cup tie earlier this month contained two mistakes. I’d claimed that the tie in that competition against Elgin City in 2018/19 was the only time we’d met that club since they joined the league in 2000/01. I had overlooked our 1-0 League Cup win at Excelsior in 2002/03. I’d also stated that our last-ever match against Clydebank was the Challenge Cup semi-final at Excelsior in September 2000. We met them at Cappielow, one round earlier, in August 2001. The programme editor is a teacher so, as you might expect, he’s given me lines.

Must try harder.

Must try harder.

Must try harder…

By Peter Smith

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Glasgow Football Programme & Memorabilia Centre, 140-142 Abercorn Street, Paisley.

It’s fair to say that there has been a bit of a renaissance on football memorabilia, and match programmes in particular, in recent times across Scotland. As well as our excellent Broomfield Bulletin, fans of other clubs, such as Hibernian, Dunfermline and Alloa have taken up the mantle of producing their own match programmes.

Much of this renaissance emanate from football memorabilia shops and Programme Fairs, held regularly around Scotland where football fans, ranging from the hardened collector paying three figure sums for the essential programme for their collection, to the casual shopper seeking that one off purchase of a significant programme for a loved one, to relive a football memory important to them.

So last weekend, it was with this in mind, that led to me heading off to visit the new kid on the block – recently opened Glasgow Football Programmes & Memorabilia Centre – to seek out what’s on offer, particularly from a Diamonds perspective.

Wandering around on a damp Saturday morning on an industrial estate in Paisley, I did temporarily question my sanity on how I had chosen to spend my ‘leisure’ time, however, this quickly disappeared when I finally came across an Aladdin’s cave of goodies for the ardent fitba collector. Based in a sectioned off part of Iain the owner’s flooring company was a treasure trove of programmes, books, scarfs, flags, pendants, fitba cards - Scottish, British, European, even global - anything from pre-war to date …..and not forgetting a recent delivery of Alex McLeish’s jacket from his time as Scotland manager! I felt like a kid high on an overload of goodies on Christmas Day – so where do I start?

Offered a much welcome coffee on my arrival, I meet Iain the owner and his son, accompanied by two Albion Rovers fans, there for the same reason as me. Iain, clearly a football man, spoke with great enthusiasm of his new initiative and the positive response to its development. He answered the why Paisley? question, by outlining the economic logic of setting up the Centre in his work premises, rather than facing the overheads of leasing a shop with all the running costs of heat and light.

Quickly, things turn to all things Airdrie, as Iain relived his memory of attending the old Broomfield for our famous European experience of facing up to the might of Sparta Prague way back in 1992.

Needless to say, it didn’t take me long to find a couple of Airdrie gems to add to my collection. I had given myself a talking to on the drive down to keep to my budget, but it’s not always that easy.

Iain dug out a Scottish Cup semi–final match programme from March 26th 1955 where Airdrie, who were in a lower division at the time, gained a highly credible 2-2 drew with Celtic, losing 2-0 in the replay. Total attendance over the two matches was 160,000. Worthy of note, was the detail that Reid from Airdrie scored 15 seconds into the game, without a Celtic player touching the ball! Iain advised this programme was extremely rare, and certainly I had not seen a copy before, however, much as I was tempted, the domestic fallout of the purchase was too much of a risk!

What I did find, which would fill a gaping hole in my current collection, was the Airdrie v West Ham United match programme dated 3rd August 1982. This match of course was a follow-on promise from the high profile transfer of Diamond legendary striker Sandy Clark to West Ham for the not inconsiderable sum of £200,000. Sandy, an Airdrie supporter and ex Caldervale High School Diamond, signed as a professional with Airdrie in 1974. He went on to impress with 272 appearances and 110 goals over the period of 8 seasons, while consistently subject to transfer speculation since 1979, before his eventual departure to the Hammers. Incidentally, the final score was Airdrie 3 West Ham 0. In the programme of interest, supporters were encouraged to purchase a season ticket where you could watch each home game for less than £1, and to purchase the programme would cost you 20p!

My second programme was a bit more random. Airdrie, like many other Scottish teams would regularly take on English opposition in various friendlies. This time, I picked up a copy of ‘Shots’ – the matchday programme for Aldershot FC. Why? Well, the season just completed was 1972/73, and Aldershot had just gained promotion out of the old English Division Four. To celebrate and mark the occasion, the Diamonds were invited to a ‘Promotion Celebration Match’ and the programme coming in at 10p, was titled ‘A Souvenir Magazine.’ Given the circumstances, not unreasonably the programme concentrated on the ‘Shots’ achievement, however, the programme did list the Airdrie squad, including the familiar names of McKenzie, Jonquin, Walker, Whiteford, Wilson, Busby and Cowan. I still enjoy just listing their names! The match ended 1-1 with Airdrie’s goal coming from trialist Iain Fearn.

If you have a day spare, unlike me, give yourself plenty of time, and take a visit to the shop – you’ll get a friendly welcome and perhaps that souvenir you’ve been looking for. For more information, check them out on Facebook.

By Andy Locke

Thanks to Iain at the Programme Centre for his time, and John Henderson (again!) for some of the detail.

Hello, and welcome to the latest Broomfield Bulletin, covering today’s Scottish Cup tie v Arbroath. A tie against a team in your own league is never the most exciting prospect, and not what you want from a cup tie. But it does offer possible progression and the chance of riches or at least a tie against a ‘big’ team in the next round. Today’s game is a good chance to capitalise on a decent point at Somerset Park last week. Let’s hope ATS and the players do exactly that. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

Recent Head-To-Head

September 16th 2023

Scottish Championship

Arbroath 4-0 Airdrieonians

November 11th 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-0 Arbroath

March 16th 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 5-2 Arbroath

April 2nd 2024

Scottish Championship

Arbroath 1-2 Airdrieonians

August 30th 2025

Scottish Championship

Arbroath 2-0 Airdrieonians

October 24th 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Arbroath

December 27th 2025

Scottish Championship

Arbroath 1-1 Airdrieonians

Arbroath Preview

The Diamonds continue their Scottish Cup journey against Championship fellows Arbroath (whom they’ve also been drawn with in the Challenge Cup...)

In the last round, the Diamonds trounced Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton Accies 4-0 with goals from Euan Henderson & Chris Mochrie, as well as a Lewis McGrattan double saw Airdrie through.

The Red Lichties on the other hand defeated East Fife at Bayview in the last round, Findlay Marshall and Gavin Reilly scoring to send Arbroath through to the fourth round.

The meetings between the sides already this season have been nothing more than extremely even. A 1-0 victory for the home sides in the first two meetings, as Nikolay Todorov came back to haunt Airdrie at Gayfield but a Euan Henderson penalty levelled the victory tallies at the Tattiehad.

The last meeting was a 1-1 draw, Arron Pettifer scoring first before Jack Wilkie got himself sent off, leading up to a 90th minute equaliser from Lewis Strapp to share the spoils.

Hardly an appetising tie, but one the Diamonds would be hopeful to overcome. Extra time and penalties will occur if needs be.

Team News

A lot of news to get through for the Diamonds team, let’s get to it!

We announced the signing of Robbie Mahon on Thursday evening from Edinburgh City. The Irish forward, unfortunately, is cup-tied for Saturday & the Challenge Cup, however we hope he’ll provide a lot of help when we resume our league campaign.

Owen Stirton has also been added to the Airdrie squad, through the Dundee United co-op loan system. However, we might not see him much since this co-op system has proved to be about as useful for us as sliding doors on a submarine.

Calvin Beattie was removed from the system to spend the rest of the season on loan at Highland League side Brechin City.

Onto our players, Gavin Gallagher possibly may be available, but he is touch and go for Saturday.

Sean McGinty and Rhys Armstrong are close to recoveries, but they most likely will miss out against Arbroath.

Cade Melrose, Alex King and Aaron Reid continue to miss out.

As mentioned earlier, we believe Robbie Mahon is cup-tied.

C’mon the Diamonds!! ♦️♦️

By David Jarvie

Arbroath in the Scottish Cup

This afternoon’s match notches up a new statistic for the current version of Airdrieonians in that it provides the first occasion the club has met Arbroath in the Scottish Cup. If the original incarnation of the club is included however then today’s contest is only the fifth time the clubs have met in the competition.

If that indicates meetings with the Lichties in the ‘Scottish’ have been scarce, then it’s curious that three of those ties took place in the 1970s. The most memorable was the one in season 1974/75 when the club’s met in the quarter-finals. A crowd of 4287 packed into Gayfield on 8th March and saw ex-Maroon Tommy Walker put the Diamonds two ahead in the first twenty minutes, but Andy Penman and Eric Sellars had restored parity before half-time. There would be no further scoring so the teams met again, at Broomfield, four days later. 3000 people watched a goal-less first hour but Willie McCulloch broke the deadlock then Derek Whiteford soon added another before Paul Jonquin’s late penalty made sure. We would, of course, go on to reach our first final in half a century.

The clubs had met in the third round three seasons earlier. 3285 were at Gayfield on 5th February 1972. Derek Whiteford scored that day too but so did the ‘two Drews’, Busby and Jarvie, before Jimmy Milne recorded a late consolation for the home side. We lost 0-2 at Easter Road in the next round on Hibs’ route to the final.

The other tie was also a third-round meeting, also at Arbroath, this time on 27th January 1979. Poor weather meant that only four of that days’ ties went ahead. Scottish Television had planned to cover Celtic’s meeting with Montrose at Links Park but a late postponement saw Arthur Montford & co race down the A92 to Gayfield. As a result, yours truly appeared on Scotsport the next day celebrating Sandy Clark’s early counter at the town end goal. The fourth-round draw sent us to Firhill but we lost 0-3, albeit Partick Thistle was a top division side at the time. The Jags went to lose a semi-final replay to eventual winners Rangers.

You have to go all the way back to season 1898/99 for the clubs’ first Scottish Cup meeting and, so far, the Lichties only success. They won 3-2 at Gayfield after a 3-3 draw at Broomfield, James McCabe’s four goals for Airdrie all in vain. Arbroath lost to Clyde in the next round, who then lost to Rangers who would go on to meet Celtic in only the second Old Firm final. The Hoops prevailed winning what was, at that stage, only their second Scottish Cup. Rangers had three by that point, but the mighty Queen’s Park had ten.

If we’ve reached four finals, Arbroath have never progressed beyond the last eight. They were back at that stage two years after the 1974/75 thriller. A third-round success against Angus neighbours, Brechin City, set up a Gayfield tie against Hibs. A 1-1 draw sent the clubs to Edinburgh for the replay but the Lichties won a famous 2-1 victory and progressed to meet local rivals, Dundee, at home in the quarter-finals. Future Diamond,

Tommy Yule, scored in the first minute in front of a huge 9558 crowd but Gordon Strachan equalised only for another future Diamond, Eric Sinclair, to score two late goals to take the Dark Blues through. Arbroath also got to the quarter-finals in 1992/93 but lost 0-3 to Rangers who went on to lift the trophy.

By Peter Smith

Played for both

Lewis Coult

Lewis was born and raised in Edinburgh. He came through the youth ranks at Hamilton Accies where he made his debut in a 2006 New Year 1-0 derby win against Airdrie. Despite the win, it was an inauspicious start to life in professional football, as he was booked before having to go off injured with a dislocated shoulder. He spent the latter half of the 06/07 season on loan at Alloa Athletic before he moved onto Berwick Rangers. That season proved to be a miserable one for Berwick as they were relegated from the Second Division in last place, into the bottom tier. Lewis then spent time in the US with Miami All-Stars and then Lothian Thistle in the Edinburgh Amateur Leagues, before a spell in the Juniors with both Leith Athletic and Arniston Rangers. It was from ‘Arni’ that Cowdenbeath signed Coult for a nominal fee, and it was with the Blue Brazil whom Lewis had the best spell of his career.

Despite Coult scoring in the first-leg, Cowden were relegated to Division 2 by Brechin City in the 2010/11 Division 1 play-off semi-finals. The following season, ‘Flamingo’ enjoyed his personal and professional best, helping Cowdenbeath win the Second Division title. He scored 15 goals on the way to the championship, finishing top scorer in a forward line that included Greig Stewart. Cowden were presented with the Second Division trophy on the last day of the season, after a 0-0 home draw with the Diamonds. In next season’s second tier, he scored 5 (8 in all competitions) and it was from here that he signed for Airdrie.

The summer of 2013 saw the name Airdrieonians officially return to Scottish football. In the ‘Onians first league game since April 2002, Lewis Coult not only led the line but got a goal and assist as Airdrieonians came from behind twice to draw 3-3 with Forfar Athletic at Station Park. Gavin Malin put the Loons ahead, but Coult was instrumental in the Diamonds’ first equaliser. ‘Flamingo’ held the ball up and fed David Sinclair who played in Willie McLaren before the ball returned to Coult. He then sent in a cross which his strike partner Jimmy Lister headed into the net. McLaren put the Diamonds ahead briefly before a Paul McManus double had the Loons back in front. Coult, however, had the last say of the game, taking advantage of a defensive mix-up to earn a point for Airdrieonians in their first game ‘back’.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

Despite that reasonably positive start, season 2013/14 was a struggle and Jimmy Boyle left his position as manager with Airdrie at the bottom of the table in the first quarter. Gary Bollan took over and improved the team enough to secure a mid-table finish in 6th place. Coult scored 6 league goals for Airdrie and left after only 1 season in a diamond.

His career upon leaving Airdrie was unremarkable. He remained in League 1 with Stirling Albion, but it was another tough season for ‘Flamingo’, the Binos relegated with only 20 points and 14 points adrift of safety. Coult managed 4 goals and 1 assist across 23 games.

After one season in Stirling, he signed for Arbroath in the summer of 2015, but it was a brief stay in Angus: Coult played 3 games for Arbroath (all of them defeats) before leaving by mutual consent.

Once he left Arbroath, Coult spent his time in non-league and amateur football; as a player with Newtongrange Star (and Clermiston Vale, Gorgie Hearts and Edinburgh Star in the amateurs) and as a manager with Edinburgh United and then Penicuik Athletic.

Kenny MacDonald

Born in Dundee, Kenny started his career at local Junior club Broughty Athletic. From there he got a move to St Johnstone for the 1981/82 season, but it was at Forfar Athletic where Kenny first caught the eye. From 1982-1988 (not including a brief interlude at Happy Valley in Hong Kong) he scored 80 goals in 167 league appearances. MacDonald was part of what some Loons describe as ‘Forfar’s greatest ever team’ which won the Second Division in 1984, and remained unbeaten at home all season, only losing in the league 3 times. Forfar went onto consolidate in the second tier for the rest of Kenny’s time at Station Park, his exploits there earning him a move to Airdrieonians. Kenny was also a popular figure at Broomfield. He was the second tier’s top goal scorer in season 1988/89, with an impressive 22 goals. The following season Kenny was in Jimmy Bone’s Airdrie team who were pipped to promotion by St Johnstone, and he was perhaps unfortunate to have not been part of the promotion winning squad the following campaign. Instead, he spent 1990/91 at Stark’s Park – ironically the venue in which his former club won promotion. It was, however, another decent year for MacDonald, 12 goals in 37 games saw him end up in the Premier League, via a return to St Johnstone, the following season along with his ex-Airdrie teammates.

It was from there that Arbroath manager Mickey Lawson brought Kenny to Gayfield. MacDonald was a regular starter under Lawson but initially found games harder to come by after Lawson was replaced by Danny McGrain in November 1992. But a player of Kenny’s talents could not be kept out the side indefinitely and he became the regular striker again in the end of season run in. After 7 goals in 39 games for the Red Lichties, he was on the move again. Kenny finished his career with brief spells at Stirling Albion, East Stirlingshire (where he scored 5 goals in 14 appearances), Cowdenbeath and in his local Junior scene with Dundee St Joseph’s. A Forfar great and the distinction of finishing top goal scorer in the second tier with Airdrie, Kenny’s career is one to be proud of.

By Sean Smith

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Airdrieonians FC Excelsior Beginnings (1878 -79 to 1893-94) The story told by John Henderson. First Published 2017.

What’s in a name? Well, some would say everything.

The move to our ‘new’ stadium now some 27 years ago, was met with mixed emotions; relief that we had at last got our new home, and for many fans, still a sadness that we had lost our ground of Broomfield Park.

Identity is important, and I, for one, would say the façade of the old Broomfield pavilion built into the main stand along with the naming of the ground ‘The Excelsior,’ went some way to easing the acceptance of change. Giving a nod to our history, when entering a fresh chapter in our journey, was a good move. That recognition of our past, is so important.

So, what do we really know of our origins, and the name Excelsior?

For this we turn to John Henderson, Airdrie Historian and author of: Airdrieonians FC Excelsior Beginnings to Scottish League Membership (1878-79 to 1893-94.)

John confirms that on 14 September 1878 the local press included a public notice that “Airdrie Cricket and Football Club” would open the football season that day. Records were sparse at that time. We go to 1947 in Glasgow’s Evening Times, when announcing the passing of Tom Forsyth, involved with Excelsior/Airdrie from the outset, the newspaper stated the SFA in 1878 had refused to accept the dual title of “Airdrie Cricket and Football Club” and for a time football was played by a club called Excelsior.” John believes the SFA’s reason for refusal to accept the title, was not due to the dual sports, but through the SFA’s awareness of an already active Airdrie Football Club, dating back to 1868!

The Glasgow News on the 26 August 1878, referred to Airdrie FC rather than Excelsior. However, the SFA’s Annual 1878/79 includes an entry for Excelsior (Airdrie) dating back to the team’s inception given as 1876!

As John states “If, these 130 -odd years later, it is difficult to establish the 1878 timeline and facts surrounding the birth of our club, it is only fair to point out that there was confusion even then.”

The first record John could find of an organised fixture appeared in the Rutherglen Reformer and Cambuslang Journal dated Saturday, 19th October 1878 “as follows: - FOOTBALL – Greenbank v Excelsior.” Greenbank won 6-0! Greenbank hailed from Rutherglen, while Excelsior would play from Mavisbank Park, Airdrie, likely referred to as Airdrie Cricket ground.

Information is difficult to find. To put it in context, before 1872, teams just arranged matches between each other, with the number of players and length of the game just decided by teams just before kick-off. There were no corner flags, bye lines etc and few records kept of scores or scorers. However, John did find a record of results from eight fixtures from that first season 1878/79. Losing six of the eight fixtures, Excelsior played Eastern from Parkhead, Brandon and Westburn, both from Cambuslang and Glengowan from Dumbreck in Caldercruix. John makes the point, clubs came and went at that time and it is to the organisers credit, that Excelsior FC survived their first season, due to the hard work of Messrs Forsyth, Connor and T Adam, aged 19,17 and 18 respectively, who made it happen. Football flourished in the late 1870s with new teams starting out while others disappeared. Excelsior gained respect. Not easy for a club outside Glasgow and Edinburgh. Communication was difficult then, to know exactly what was going on. Newspapers referred to us as (Airdrie) Excelsior as it was believed there were less ambitious clubs in Scotland not registered with the SFA, who were also known as Excelsior. I required the use of the internet, to discover Excelsior is the Latin word for Ever Upward! or Excellent - and there is of course the existing club from Rotterdam, called Excelsior, founded in 1902, currently playing in the top tier of Dutch football.

It is believed Excelsior was renamed as Airdrieonians at a gathering on the 16 August 1881. Tom Forsyth was credited with the suggested alteration, as it would allow access to an extended fixture list and avoid confusion with another club named Excelsior that had emerged from Wishaw.

John’s book continues to cover in great detail the following fifteen seasons up to 1893/94, providing a fascinating reading of our club’s early days.

Big thanks once again to John Henderson, Airdrieonians Historian, for his consent to this article and loan of his book to assist in pulling this together.

Excelsior or Ever Upward!

By Andy Locke

Hello, and welcome to the programme for tonight’s game v Montrose. With a place in the quarterfinals at stake and £150,000 awarded to the winner of the cup, this is not a game or competition to take lightly. Airdrieonians have a proud history in the Challenge Cup. Let’s write another chapter in that history tonight. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

Challenge Cup Round-Up

A bumper edition of the Bulletin for this issue, with sixteen games covered in the Challenge Cup round-up!

We’ll start on the 9th of December, then the 16th, and then the final game on the 22nd.

Alloa Athletic Vs Airdrieonians

Airdrie’s Challenge Cup journey began in the round of 32, as it did for all Championship sides.

To begin, it was Alloa Athletic whom our opponents were, and the Diamonds would seek some revenge after we lost 3-2 to the Wasps in the League Cup, which most likely denied Airdrie a trip to Ibrox in the last sixteen.

A much changed Airdrie side saw Cammy Bruce start for the first time since Dundee away in the Scottish Cup, as well as starts for Cammy Cooper, Jake Hastie, Tate Xavier-Jones, Andy McNeil & Charlie Telfer. Academy player Jack Smith came onto the bench to replace Aaron Reid.

It was Airdrie who opened the scoring. Tate Xavier-Jones doing well to time his pass to Cammy Cooper, who stayed onside and curled a superb strike off the post and in to give Airdrie the advantage on a very wet & stormy night.

Six minutes later, it was a second. And it was a first Airdrie goal for Tate Xavier-Jones. Telfer doing well to win possession and find Gavin Gallagher, who passed into TXJ, with the Luton youngster drilling a low shot past Ogayi in the Alloa net.

Alloa pulled one back on the 34th minute. Andy McNeil failed to collect a cross under pressure from an Alloa forward, and despite making a good save from Cameron O’Donnell, the ball bobbled in off Craig Ross & Sean McGinty for a lifeline to the hosts.

In true Airdrie fashion of throwing away a multiple goal lead, the Wasps did get the equaliser. Owen Foster doing well to release Steven Buchanan who fired past Andy McNeil to level the scoring.

Thankfully, it was Airdrie who had the final say. Sean McGinty spotted the run of Dylan MacDonald and played through a superb through-ball, and the Airdrie right-back passed the ball into the net for the fifth and final goal of the night.

The round of 16 awaits the Diamonds, and it’s Montrose who we shall face.

Arbroath Vs Kelty Hearts

Kelty, who we could’ve faced if the draw went our way, travelled to Gayfield looking to cause an upset against high-flying Arbroath, and on the 16th minute, it looked like that just might happen.

Kelty tried playing into the Arbroath area on the far side, but the ball came out to Alex Ferguson outside the area in a central position, and he released a thunderous shot past Jordan Pettigrew in the Arbroath net.

In what looked like a carbon copy of Arran Pettifer’s goal against us last week, the second Kelty goal on the 41st minute was a cross-come-shot from Brody Paterson, undoubtedly assisted by the wind, the former Airdrie man shot over the Arbroath keeper and into the net. Kelty using Arbroath’s main threat against them, it seems.

Arbroath did pull one back on the 44th minute. A corner on the nearside was floated in, and diverted into the net by Ryan Dow to give the Red Lichties slight hope.

On the 85th minute, Arbroath got their equaliser. Arron Pettifer’s free-kick looked like it went all the way in, once more a wind assisted goal.

And two minutes later, Arbroath snatched victory from the jaws of a penalty shootout. Kelty’s defence was scrambling to clear an Arbroath attack, but Dapo Mebude was on hand to hit home the final goal of the night and send Arbroath to the last sixteen.

Ayr United Vs Peterhead

A match that saw Peterhead lack a kit as their kitman got stuck in traffic (Scottish fitba, eh?), they had to wear the U19s kit of their opponents. And it didn’t help them, sadly.

13 minutes in saw the opener come. Dom Thomas flighted a ball into the area, where it was chested down by Anton Dowds and fired home by the Ayr forward.

The Blue Toon did get their equaliser however! Thirteen minutes later, neat play from the League One side saw veteran Peter Pawlett capitalise and strike beyond Liam Russell. An excellent finish from the frontman.

Ayr, however, spoiled the Peterhead party four minutes into the second-half with the third and final goal. Nick McAllister firing home through a crowd of Peterhead bodies for Ayr to regain their lead.

A spirited performance from the Blue Toon, but sadly not enough to down their Championship opponents.

East Kilbride Vs Stranraer

A game which saw the scoreline end in a quite shocking way, a big victory for the Blues at K-Park.

There was only one goal in the first half, and it came for the visitors. EK goalkeeper Joe Morrison taking out both Beejay Coll as well as one of his own men, saw the referee point to the spot. Mark Russell stepped up and fired low into the left of the net to give Stranraer the lead.

On the 52nd minute, Russell turned provider for Deryn Lang. Russell almost kicked the ball off of Lang, but he somehow managed to control, spin and fire on the volley past Morrison to double the advantage of the Blues. A superb strike.

On the 67th, EK pulled one back. A corner came swirling into the area, with Rhys Breen getting the final touch to prod past Josh Lane in the Stranraer net.

Eight minutes later, it was Josh Lane’s turn to become provider. The goalkeeper blootered the ball down the field where Daniel McManus chased, got onto it and just inside the box, unleashed a beautiful strike past Morrison to restore the Blues’ two goal cushion.

The final goal came two minutes later. Mark Russell releasing James Dolan, who got to the bi-line, cut the ball back for Lewis Hunter who tapped into an empty net.

A huge win for the Blues, giving them the chance to play Ayr United at Somerset Park in the last 16.

Forfar Athletic Vs Edinburgh City

In another all League Two clash, the Citizens travelled to Station Park to take on Forfar Athletic.

The first of two goals came on the 43rd minute. Innes Lawson released Robbie Mahon to his left, and the striker made no mistake, thumping the ball past Marc McCallum in the Forfar net.

The Loons did get their equaliser, and what a way to do it. Martin Rennie with a quite unbelievable free-kick right into the top right corner to equalise for the hosts.

No more goals were to come, and so penalties ensued with the hosts shooting first. Mark Whatley, Scott Shepherd, Jake Sutherland & Scott Bright all found the net for the hosts, with, ironically, Martin Rennie the only one failing to convert for Forfar.

The Citizens only converted two penalties from Max Guthrie and Innes Lawson, with misses from Jason Jarvis and Quinn Mitchell seeing Forfar through to the last sixteen.

Raith Rovers Vs Hamilton Accies

Do you want a seven goal thriller and a hat-trick from a right-back? Then look no further than to the events that unfolded at Stark’s Park.

The first goal came only five minutes into the match. Darragh O’Connor firing home on the volley into the top-left corner after a long throw-in had only been partially cleared by the visitors.

Hamilton did get their equaliser on the 40th minute. Kayden Aitken played a brilliant through ball for Findlay Cameron to chase, who fired superbly past a statuesque Aidan Glavin.

Six minutes after the restart, Rovers had their lead back through their skipper, Scott Brown. And where to begin? If anyone remembers his goal against Dundee United a couple seasons back, it’s basically a carbon copy of that. Controlling the ball, letting it bounce and hammering it into the net. Outstanding from the Raith skipper.

Seven minutes later, Jai Rowe got the first of his three goals. A Raith corner came into the area and Jai Rowe was there to head home clinically.

Accies weren’t done and dusted yet, though. On the 79th minute, Findlay Cameron would get his & the visitor’s second goal, and it was another screamer. Not as flashy as Raith’s stunner, but he still controlled, let the ball bounce and lifted it over Glavin to get a second goal.

Jai Rowe responded a minute later. A free-kick floated into the box was met by his right boot, which tapped home the ball for the fourth Rovers goal.

The defender completed his hat-trick seven minutes later, picking the ball up, driving through the Hamilton lines and firing past the ‘keeper. In truth, it should’ve been a routine save but a good strike nonetheless.

An emphatic victory for the Rovers.

Ross County Vs Celtic B

One of the only two B teams left in the Challenge Cup was that of Celtic’s, with all other B teams being eliminated in the league phase. County on the other hand were hoping to wash the home defeat to Airdrieonians away with a good showing against the young Celts.

Jay Henderson opened the scoring on the 41st minute, after Ross Docherty had picked the pocket of a Hoops defender after they tried playing out from the back, with the former Ayr man firing home past Marcus Gill.

On the 47th minute, it was two. Jordan White agonisingly saw a header crash back off the bar, with Ross Docherty on hand to thump home the rebound.

On the 81st, it was three. Gary Mackay-Steven doing his trademark jinking in and out of players and finding Jamie Lindsay, who side-foot home to give the Staggies a commanding lead and surely seal the victory.

Lindsay however, got his second and County’s fourth on the 85th. Jay Henderson doing well to release the bandaged striker, who fired home to complete the rout.

You don’t often see Ross County 4-0 Celtic... Even if it was the latter’s B team, but still.

Stenhousemuir Vs Annan Athletic

These two sides had already met in the league phase of the cup, and the end result proved no different.

The opener came on the 35th minute. Leyton Grant thumping a ball down the pitch for Ross Taylor to chase. He controlled and got into the area, where the Annan keeper made a complete hash of it, which allowed Taylor to tap into an empty net.

On the 53rd, Grant once again provided Taylor, but this time the finish was more clinical. A low drilled shot past Balfour in the Annan net to give Stenny a 2-0 lead.

Annan only had things go from bad to worse on the 72nd minute, as Tommy Muir was shown the red card for denying Euan O’Reilly a goalscoring opportunity.

A good win for Stenny seeing them safely through.

Stirling Albion Vs Greenock Morton

The only one of the nine games to cause an upset happened at Forthbank, and it did so after a 2-2 draw.

The first goal came from the penalty spot on the fifth minute. Robbie McNab fouling Michael O’Halloran in the box, with Nathan Shaw stepping up and slotting home the penalty kick.

Stirling Albion got the first of two equalisers on the 33rd minute. Russell McLean winning the ball and passing to Robbie McNab, who, to make up for the earlier penalty, did a Kenny McLean and scored from the halfway line. An outstanding goal.

Although, it only took a single minute for Morton to retake the lead through Kerr Robertson. A corner not completely clear was hit by Robertson who outstandingly lifted the ball over everyone, including the keeper, to give Morton their lead back.

Russell McLean then turned goalscorer in the first minute of added time in the first half. Sam Murdoch had an absolute mare, completely missing the ball allowing Russell McLean to pass into an empty net.

The second-half brought no further goals, and penalties ensued. Stirling Albion scored all five through McLean, Ross Cunningham, McNab, Kyle Banner & MacKenzie Carse.

Morton scored their first four through Owen Moffat, Iain Wilson, Cammy MacPherson & Michael Garrity but when Cammy Ballantyne stepped up, he tried to go straight down the middle, but Derek Gaston was equal to it, saving his spot-kick & sending Stirling Albion through.

A huge win for the Binos, and they host Stenhousemuir in the last 16.

Cove Rangers Vs Partick Thistle

The first of six games from Tuesday 16th, was up in Balmoral stadium, as Cove faced Partick Thistle.

For whatever reason, neither club (that I could find) had a highlights package nor a video of the goals so... this’ll be fun.

The first goal came three minutes into the match, Adam Emslie scoring from a Blair Yule assist to start what might’ve been a potential upset.

However, Thistle only needed three minutes to complete the comeback and the first of the goals came on the 24th minute through Kyle Turner, equalising for the Jags with Steven Lawless getting the assist.

Alex Samuel got the second Jags goal on the 27th, to complete the turnaround. His goal proved to be the final of the game, as Partick Thistle advanced.

Dumbarton Vs Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Well... 9-0? This... will take quite a while I think.

The first of the nine goals in this demolition job came only four minutes in from Alfie Bavidge, heading home after Ross Millen picked him out with an inch-perfect cross.

The second came on the 21st minute. Calum MacLeod drilling low and hard to double the advantage of the Caley Jags after Luis Longstaff had picked him out.

Two minutes later, Billy McKay got his name on the scoresheet. Firing home on the rebound, after the keeper saved a stinging shot well.

The fourth goal came on the 27th minute, and Bavidge had his second. He controlled Mitchell Robertson’s ball beautifully and fired home for his brace.

And it only took an additional four minutes to complete the hat-trick. Oscar MacIntyre this time turning provider for Bavidge to head in for his third and Caley’s fifth.

He got the quad on the 37th minute. Ecrepont in goals saving well initially from a Caley man, but Bavidge got his third header and fourth goal on the rebound.

The seventh goal came on the 43rd minute, Luis Longstaff this time curling a sublime effort past Ecrepont for his name to get onto the scoresheet.

It took 20 minutes for Caley’s eighth to come after the restart, Ross Millen thumping home a penalty kick into the top right corner after Aron Lynas fouled Oscar MacIntyre.

The ninth and final goal (thankfully, if you’re from a Dumbarton persuasion) came from Billy McKay. Controlling well and dispatching beautifully into the top bin. A fitting finish for a former internationalist striker.

A rampant Caley take on Partick Thistle in the last 16, with that game live on BBC Alba.

Elgin City Vs East Fife

It only took nine minutes for the opener to arrive. Nathan Austin the man who just barely got the opening goal. The goalkeeper doing his best to claw it away from the net but the referee gave the goal.

The second goal came on the hour mark, Reis Peggie getting the final touch on a Fife corner to double the advantage of the Bayview side.

The Fifer’s third and final goal came three minutes after. Michael McKenna slotting home the spot-kick after Miko Virtanen pulled back Lewis Latona.

Elgin were given a lifeline on the 77th minute, Kieran Millar fouling Russell Dingwall in the penalty area, and the frontman fired home the penalty to give the hosts the slimmest bit of hope.

Elgin managed to get a second on the 85th minute. Mark Gallagher doing excellently to skip past multiple Fife men and find Oliver Colloty, who fired home past Matty Rollo.

Elgin couldn’t find that equaliser they so desperately needed, and the Fifers advanced.

Heart of Midlothian B Vs St Johnstone

The final B team in this year’s Challenge Cup was Hearts, and whilst their A team is flying in the Scottish Premiership, their B team... weren’t so much.

It took only a single goal to seperate the sides, and it took a while to get it. Jamie Gullan on the 76th minute getting the winning goal after Adama Sidibeh did well to pick out Franciszek Franczak, who saw his shot blocked. Gullan picked up and shot home beautifully for the Perth Saints.

It ended 1-0, which saw the last B team bite the dust. Saints now go head to head with Ross County once more in the last 16, a tie many will be keeping an eye on.

Queen’s Park Vs Clyde

Queen’s and Clyde went head to head at Lesser Hampden, in a match that was a very tight game.

The opener came 22 minutes in. Good work from the Spiders on the far side saw a cutback failed to be cleared, and it came to Seb Drozd who fired into the corner.

Clyde got their equaliser in the first minute of stoppage time in the first half, Scott Williamson firing home superbly after Taylor Sutherland cut the ball back from a corner that wasn’t fully cleared.

The final goal of the game came on the 46th minute. Seb Drozd doing superbly well to get past multiple men and find Josh Fowler, with the talismanic Spiders striker drilling hard and low past the Clyde goalkeeper.

Through go Queen’s in a quite entertaining match.

Queen of the South Vs Dunfermline Athletic

A match that turned out to be a seven goal thriller at Palmerston, ended with the Doonhamers coming out on top.

The opener came six minutes into the match. Liam Smith doing excellently to cross into the area, with an inch perfect ball on a plate for Kurtis Guthrie to head home.

Five minutes later, Queens doubled their advantage. Liam Smith thundering forward on the counterattack and slipping in Jack Stott, with the frontman making no mistake in passing past Deniz Mehmet.

On the 41st minute, the Pars pulled a goal back. Kieran Ngwenya pulling the ball down for Rory MacLeod to thump past Ross Stewart to give Dunfermline a lifeline.

On the 55th minute, Queens had a penalty. Ewan Otoo seemingly having a brain fart as he brought down Kurtis Guthrie. Jack Stott stepped up and saw his penalty saved by Mehmet and the ball was cleared by Colin Hamilton.

On the 74th minute, Queens got their third. Once again, Ewan Otoo having... honestly I’m not even sure what he was doing. What I DO know is that he had his pocket picked by Freddie O’Donoghue, who tapped home.

Queens looked to have the game dead and buried. Benjamin Luissint getting a 100% meant and totally supposed to happen assist, as he lashed the ball off the near post, only for it to come back out to Brennan Dickenson to score.

The Pars were handed a lifeline through Barney Stewart on the 79th minute, Rory MacLeod putting in a sublime cross where Stewart headed home with an equally as good header.

Four minutes later he got his brace. Keith Bray managing to find Barney Stewart in the area and he diverted the ball into the net for 4-3.

The Pars, however, couldn’t get the equaliser and Queens march on to a tie against Raith Rovers.

Montrose Vs The Spartans

Finally, after being postponed twice, this game was finally played. Albeit it was played at Balmoral.

Once again I couldn’t find any goal footage so, take these descriptions lightly.

The first of three goals came on the 10th minute, and it was Craig Brown who opened the scoring for the “hosts”, scoring from outside the area to give the Mo an early advantage.

On the 63rd minute, Spartans equalised. Former two-time Airdrie loanee Murray Aiken firing home for the “visitors” (they’re both visitors, in this case.) to level the scoring.

However, it’d be Montrose to get the last goal. Blair Lyons scoring in the 75th minute to advance his side to the last sixteen, where they take on the Diamonds.

By David Jarvie

Airdrieonians Vs Montrose Preview

After Raith Rovers on Saturday (and Cove Rangers for Montrose) it’s cup business once more as the Mo come to the Tattiehad.

Both sides have already faced off this season in the league cup, where Euan Henderson and Lewis McGrattan scored to secure Airdrie the win, despite Ewan Loudan’s 81st minute deficit slicer.

The last home meeting with Montrose was back in our League One days, Gabby McGill opening the scoring with a header, before a sublime Adam Frizzell free-kick doubled our advantage. Lewis McGregor then sealed the win with his first Airdrie goal.

A game not to be taken lightly, but this will be a superb chance for Airdrie to get into the quarterfinals.

Team News

Most of us suspect the team news to be roughly the same for both this game and Raith, so there will most likely be no real difference, just some slight rotation.

Mon the Diamonds! ♦️♦️

By David Jarvie

Recent Head-To-Head

3rd May 2022

Scottish Championship play-off semi-final first leg

Montrose 1-0 Airdrieonians

7th May 2022

Scottish Championship play-off semi-final second leg

Airdrieonians 6-4 Montrose (AET)

4th October 2022

Scottish League 1

Montrose 4-2 Airdrieonians

29th October 2022

Scottish League 1

Airdrieonians 4-0 Montrose

23rd December 2022

Scottish League 1

Montrose 2-4 Airdrieonians

8th April 2023

Scottish League 1

Airdrieonians 3-0 Montrose

23rd July 2025

Scottish League Cup

Montrose 1-2 Airdrieonians

The Challenge Cup at New Broomfield

Tonight’s match against Montrose is the 25th Challenge Cup tie to be contested at Excelsior Stadium by one or other of the two versions of Airdrieonians. As we have lifted the trophy on four occasions since we moved in during August 1998, you may be surprised to be reminded that of those 24 ties, we won only 11.

While ‘old’ Airdrieonians account for exactly a quarter of those matches, they claimed just under half the victories. Indeed, but for a 1-2 defeat by Alloa Athletic in 1999/00, the original club achieved a perfect home record. They defeated Queen of the South and Clydebank en route to winning the tournament in 2000/01 then the Dumfries club and Brechin City as we successfully defended the trophy the following season. You will recall that we beat Livingston in the first of those finals and gained revenge on Alloa in the denouement a season later.

As the old club folded a mere six months after that win against the Wasps, that means that match against Clydebank in September 2000 was the last-ever time we faced the Bankies. While we bought out their Scottish League membership at the end of 2001/02, a phoenix club was set up in West Dunbartonshire and its progress through the non-league ranks in the interim has increased the prospect the clubs will meet before too long. For the record, the old club’s other Challenge Cup win at Excelsior was against Dumbarton in 1999/00, the first in the competition at the new ground.

The new version of Airdrieonians contested the eighteen other ties at Excelsior and the fact only a third of those were won is perhaps indicative that, when the new club was formed it was, in comparison to the old one, in a reduced form. That said, the club’s current iteration won another two Challenge Cups. A 3-2 success against Dumbarton in 2008/09 preceded the cup final victory against Ross County, while the win against the New Saints in 2023/24 was achieved without playing a home game, which might indicate that was the best success of them all.

We have of course won the tournament on a total of five occasions, the record for most wins, but the first was back in 1994/95 when were tenants at Broadwood. All four ties on the way to our 3-2 win against Dundee were played in Cumbernauld but we could argue that, as we’d just left Broomfield, we weren’t really at ‘home’. We did lose one final, to Inverness back in 2003/04, but we defeated Montrose at home en route so that might add some extra drama to tonight’s match.

The Challenge Cup was introduced in the 1990/91 season to celebrate the Scottish League’s centenary and it originally involved only the group of league clubs placed out-with the top division. That changed in 2016/17 however when first tier reserve sides were permitted to enter but so were clubs from Wales and Northern Ireland. League of Ireland sides began to take part the following season, clubs from England’s National League the season after that, then Highland and Lowland Leage clubs participated from 2020/21.

Of the five ties Airdrie have contested at home since the change of format, all but one stand out. We lost 0-1 to Sutton United of south London in 2018/19, but won 3-2 against Bohemian from Dublin the season after that. That win took us through to meet Elgin City, the only time we’ve met the northerners since they entered the Scottish League in 2000/01. We lost, however, as we did to East Kilbride last season, who were a non-league club at the time.

Our only other successes were the 5-1 win against Arbroath in 2007/08, the 2-1 victory over Hamilton in 2013/14 and the 3-0 success against Raith Rovers back in 2002/03, a game that provided the new club’s second-ever competitive match. We lost the nine other home ties we’ve contested. Two of those catch the eye in that Livingston’s 5-0 win in 2011/12 was the biggest margin of victory. The 0-3 reverse against Gretna in 2006/07 was the only occasion we lost to the border club.

By Peter Smith

6-4

It would be remiss not to talk about it, wouldn’t it? May 7th, 2022, and the second leg of the Championship play-off semi-final second leg. Unremarkable stuff to the uninitiated. But, if you know, you know, and if you were there you bore witness to seismic proceedings in North Lanarkshire in one of the most remarkable games of football ever likely to be seen in the county.

Montrose came to Airdrie with a 1-0 lead from the first leg. A mix-up between left-back Brody Paterson and goalkeeper Max Currie saw the ball fly over Currie and give Montrose striker Craig Johnston the simple task of scoring into an empty goal. While the Diamonds created chances, they were left with it all to do at home in the second leg, against an opponent who had proven tricky ever since their League 2 title win and promotion to League 1 in 2018.

That combined with Airdrie’s poor play-off record (albeit usually reserved for the final rather than the semis) made for a nervy pre-match disposition for Diamonds fans.

Those nerves were completely shot by around the 25th minute, after a Cammy (F) Ballantyne double had put the Gable Endies 2-0 up on the day and 3 goals to the good on aggregate. Both goals coming down Airdrie’s right-hand side: the first a cross by future Diamond Cammy Ballantyne headed home by his namesake and the second, another cross, this time from Lewis Milne, tucked away by Ballantyne. I am sure many were tempted to leave at that point. 3-0 down and with Airdrie’s play-off record? I am sure a few folks did leave. But I hope to God all those who are reading this stayed.

Desperate times called for desperate measures and Ian Murray made a double substitution after only half an hour: Gabby McGill and Craig Watson replacing Scott McGill and Kyle MacDonald. Two important changes that impacted the outcome of the game: one shoring up our right-hand side and one adding a needed attacking impetus. Callum Smith, Dylan Easton, Watson and McGill came close before half-time, but the Diamonds were left with a mountain and 3-goal deficit to climb in the second-half.

That scoreline? Enter Murrayball phase 1: striker Jordan Allan replacing defender Paterson at the break, meaning forwards Allan, McGill, Smith and Calum Gallagher were all on the park at the start of the second stanza.

Murrayball looked like it was starting to pay dividends; Easton hit the bar about 5 minutes into the half before, a minute later, Smith (at his customary best) skipped past a few would be challenges and unleashed a terrific shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. 1-2 on the day, 1-3 on aggregate, and a lifeline for the Diamonds?

The Gable Endies, a streetwise team under the leadership of Stewart Petrie attempted to slow the game, and Airdrie’s momentum down with some smart tactical fouls and substitutions. Indeed, Airdrie’s momentum – and chances of recovering the tie – looked to have completely died on 69 minutes. On the break, Montrose forward Craig Johnston picked out Milne at the back-post to put his team 1-3 up (1-4 overall). Twenty minutes left to overturn a 3-goal deficit? In a play-off? You would not have banked on it.

Enter: Murrayball phase 2: Jon Afolabi on in place of Scott Agnew, leaving forwards: Afolabi, Allan, McGill, Smith and Gallagher all on the park. Why not go for it at this stage? And indeed, because this moment proved to be a turning point – from 3 goals down – in this tie. Within a minute of entering the field of play, Afolabi squared Rhys McCabe’s pass to Smith who scored his second from the corner of the 6-yard box. 2-3 (2-4).

The Diamonds still had a lot to do. But you just got a wee feeling that something magical, something bonkers, might be about to happen.

Right away Callum Fordyce almost levelled the scores on the day with a header the Montrose keeper did well to put round the post. But, not deterred, the players had the same feeling as the Airdrie support at that moment. Despite setbacks that season, like the late draw with Cove Rangers, there was a never say attitude within that team and especially on that day, which the players and Ian Murray deserve a lot of credit for.

Callum Smith – in perhaps the best individual performance I have seen in a diamond – got his hat-trick on 76 minutes, letting a McCabe ball over the top bounce, before setting himself and firing into the back of the net. 3-3 (3-4). Game on!

The Diamonds had further chances as the tie went into its last 10 minutes. The Gable Endies were into the dictionary definition of ‘squeaky bum time’ but just when Montrose thought they might have done enough to see out the tie, Airdrie had other ideas. With 3 minutes to go, the Montrose ‘keeper Allan Fleming came out to collect a high ball. He missed it and the ball fell to Gallagher. What happened next? Any Airdrie fan present will be able to tell you. Goal. 4-3 and the tie – somehow (!) – level. When all hope had appeared lost 35 and 65 minutes earlier. But that was not all she wrote. Indeed, Easton almost won it within added time with a shot cleared off the line, but the tie was destined for extra-time.

The start of extra-time was end-to-end: McCabe clattering a post as he made a goal-line clearance and Fordyce making a goal saving tackle on Montrose winger Blair Lyons.

But this tie was destined to have only one winner. Allan held up Watson’s long ball before knocking it down to Afolabi who put Airdrie ahead for the first time in the play-off after 195 minutes across the two legs. 5-3 (5-4). Cue Black Lace. Afolabi was causing panic amongst the Gable Endie’s defence and did so for one final Airdrie goal. At the corner flag, the big Irishman was somehow able to round his man and pass off for McGill to finish the tie from a tight angle. 6-3 (6-4).

And thank goodness he did. For, while Smith and Afolabi’s goals and performances have been immortalised in Airdrieonians’ history, it was Gabby’s goal that won the tie and he should never be forgotten for that, as Martin Rennie still had time to pull a goal back for the visitors in extra-time added time and make the remaining seconds of the match more interesting than they had to be! 6-4 on the day and 6-5 was the full-time score for the tie overall.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

A remarkable day and an extraordinary game of football. Just don’t mention the final.

By Sean Smith

First signing of the winter window - Harry Stone

I think signing a new keeper was a bit of a no-brainer given that Melrose is now injured, McNeil is a little bit rusty and Connelly officially recalled. Stone seems to be something different from what we have had in the past 2 seasons. He's tall, confident in the air and comes with experience of the Championship having played at Ayr and has also been on loan to Albion Rovers, Stirling Albion, Spartans, Partick Thistle and Queen of the South, clocking up 7356 minutes of first team football. He did recently sign a 1-year extension at Hearts, but I do wonder if this move could be a way for him to secure a future away if he is not kept on at Hearts. At 23 he will be having one eye on his future while he is here at Airdrie.

I don’t have Wyscout anymore so I’m relying on the usual places for data and it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

10 clean sheets in 24 games for Ayr looks good but that does mean he conceded 25 goals in 14 games which is about 1.8 goals conceded per game. But I try not to look into that as much, it’s a team game and without seeing the goals you can’t really judge his impact, or lack of, on them. He did look comfortable on Saturday for us and long may that continue. I do hope if he shines here and, if Hearts don’t extend his contract again, that we could bring him in to finally bring stability to a position that hasn’t felt comfortable since Josh Rae parted ways with the club.

We can’t keep loaning goalkeepers - settling down the squad has to be an aim for the club over the next 2 seasons.

By Ross Mitchell

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

The Eye of the Tiger -The Story of Jock Shaw, by Ian Stewart First Published in 2021.

One of the Joys of Christmas is getting a good fitba book, which you actually have the chance to read over the festive break.

In my case, I was delighted to be gifted ‘The Eye of the Tiger : The Story of Jock Shaw’ written by Ian Stewart.

Jock (Tiger) Shaw is best known for his sixteen years in a Rangers jersey from 1938 -1954. Jock, the boy from Annathill, hung up his boots at the age of 42 after winning 38 honours during his time with Rangers, including four league championships, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups. He made 604 appearances during this period, however, as an old-fashioned left-back, only scored four goals. His talent did not go unnoticed, as he also was capped on four occasions for Scotland.

Not surprisingly, the book concentrates on these achievements, however I want to concentrate on his time before Rangers... at Airdrie.

The book contains a chapter titled ‘From Bedlay to Broomfield.’ Bedlay Colliery, situated close to the village of Annathill, was one of many working pits in Lanarkshire at the time. Jock, local to Annathill, worked down the pit, while starting his football career at Benburb as a young 18-year-old in 1931. Annathill, at that time, consisted of a small cluster of mainly pit worker houses. However, despite its size, Annathill had a record for producing top players, many of who, went on to play for Airdrie.

Jock continued his employment at Bedlay after joining local club Airdrie in 1933 – ahh the glamour of part-time football!

Jock made his first appearance for Airdrie on 19th August 1933. A home match at Broomfield against Aberdeen. He was 20 years old at the time; five foot seven inches tall, weighing eleven stone, nine pounds. Short, but strong, an effective left-back.

Jock had spent the two previous years gaining experience in the tough world of junior football, and was seen as a replacement for the now veteran, experienced defender and captain, George McQueen, whose football career was coming to an end aged 37 years.

Although Jock joined Airdrie at what we nowadays call a ‘challenging time’ – the Diamonds narrowly avoiding relegation in his first season – Jock was enjoying his football and was showing much promise. In the book Ian Stewart states ‘Typical of reports in the local press was: ‘Airdrie’s young recruits, Shaw and Todd, continue to please. Both give great promise. Shaw was a bit special on Saturday with his powerful directional punting.’ In modern speak, this translates to ‘his long range, accurate passing!’

Jock, through his performances was creating some interest from scouts both, down south and back home. It was speculated that Bill Struth at Rangers had spotted Jock in his early days at Benburb, and wanted to monitor his development at Airdrie before making a move. In January 1934, Sandy McFarlane the Blackpool Manager who, incidentally, previously played for Airdrie, was particularly interested in the young left-back, however, in the end, it came to nothing. Jock, who is described as a home bird, was happy to remain in Lanarkshire.

Season 1935/36 however was a disaster for the Diamonds: relegated after finishing second bottom to Clyde. This was despite Jock’s contribution, not as a consequence. Jock’s positive influence was recognised by Airdrie in October 1935, when Jock took over as club captain from Tommy Calder – not just for his talent, but his attributes as a leader, a man who understood tactics.

In his book, author Ian Stewart, to highlight Jock’s growing profile in the game, quotes the Sunday Post, of 27 October 1935, as follows:

‘Once upon a time there was a wee short trousered fellow called Johnny Shaw, Johnny was the favourite nephew of an uncle who had brought much renown to Annathill, a little hamlet in the Lanarkshire backwoods, by some great defensive play for Armadale. And little Johnny Shaw told his uncle that he, too, wanted to be a back. So it happened, on a stretch of turf at the rear of his Annathill home, this lad was taught football by his uncle - how to kick right, to head cleanly, to dodge with a fancy feint. That’s how Johnny Shaw of Airdrie, Scotland’s left back for this week’s league National with England, started football.’

Although Jock was unable to play for Scotland against England on the occasion mentioned, due to a rare injury, his status was finally recognised. Jock was called up to play for the Scottish League against the English League at Ibrox on 21 October 1936. It was, therefore, one of the few occasions when a player from the Scottish Division Two, was called to represent the Scottish League. The match ended in a 2-2 draw, where Jock was described as: ‘acquitted himself really well against a high standard of opposition and contained his direct opponent Birkett of Middlesbrough with great aplomb.’

After this performance, Jock was receiving further interest from south of the border, particularly by Reading. Airdrie meantime continued to languish in Division Two and it was reported Jock was, for the first time, displaying frustration at the team’s inability to escape the lower division and, perhaps, was feeling the pressure of captaincy.

At the end of 1937/38 Season, Jock declined to re-sign for Airdrie. A few days before he signed for Rangers, The Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser of 13 July 1938 wrote:

‘Will Johnny Shaw leave Airdrie? The followers of Airdrie are anxiously awaiting news as to what is to happen. Is he leaving Broomfield or will he remain until he sees the old club back in the First Division?’

What the papers didn’t know, was Airdrie were unwilling or unable, to pay Jock his agreed bonus for completing five years’ service, and he had had enough.

Jock left the Diamonds to join Rangers for a fee of £2,000 – a substantial fee in those days. He did say his decision was also based on the attraction of full-time football and getting away from going down the pit. While Airdrie were sad to lose Jock, they at least put his transfer fee to good use, and built a new stand from the proceedings.

Jock appeared for the Diamonds on 174 occasions over five seasons from 1933/34 to 1937-38. He could never be described as a goal scorer, scoring five in his time with the Diamonds. But it was different times, there were no over lapping backs in those days. Jock was a very talented left-back and a leader. An asset to any defence. He went on to have a long and successful career with Rangers continuing his involvement with them as a trainer and groundsman, until his retirement in 1988.

Off the park, Jock was known for helping out around his local community. This was recognised through the naming of a new street in Glenboig – Jock Shaw Avenue.

Jock was one, of a number to wear the Diamond on the road to success. Many of who were discovered in and around Lanarkshire and Annathill in particular. Long may it continue!

By Andy Locke

Happy new year and welcome to the first Broomfield Bulletin of 2026. We hope you had a fun and relaxing festive season and that the new year will be a brilliant, happy and successful for all Diamonds fans and Airdrieonians. A win today, in Aaron Taylor Sinclair’s first official game as head coach would be the perfect start. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

Championship Round-Up

Well, in this edition of the Round-Up, there’s no big news and only 11 goals to cover, so let’s get started, shall we? And I think we’ll begin... at Gayfield.

Arbroath Vs Airdrieonians

A dismal Queen’s Park result would have to be out the Diamonds’ system very quickly, as we took the dreaded trip to Arbroath. The Red Lichties, however, had won their last five on the bounce, and to top it off, had only lost once at home all season, in a 5-0 thumping off of Dunfermline.

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair made three changes to the side that lost last weekend, with Charlie Telfer, Lewis Strapp and Aidan Wilson returning to the starting lineup in place of Lewis McGrattan, Jamie Barjonas and Craig Ross.

The first goal of the game unsurprisingly came for the hosts after an enforced goalkeeper change, with Cade Melrose having to be replaced by Andy McNeil.

Arran Pettifer hit a ‘shot’ if you want to call it so from the left side touchline, that went over the head of McNeil to give Arbroath the lead.

Jack Wilkie would receive his marching orders on the 81st minute - straight red card for denying Jake Hastie a goalscoring opportunity - after the Diamonds forward did well to get through on goal. Euan Henderson cracked the crossbar with the free-kick that followed.

Airdrie would get their equaliser though. A speculative Aidan Wilson overhead kick didn’t quite reach the same result of Scott McTominay’s, as Aidan McAdams tipped it over the bar. From the corner played short by Jamie Barjonas and Dean McMaster, the latter’s shot deflected into the path of Lewis Strapp, who headed home, despite the best goalkeeping attempt from Arbroath captain Thomas O’Brien.

A point not to be sniffed at for the Diamonds and with only one team emerging victorious this matchday, it’s very much as you were at the bottom of the division.

Greenock Morton Vs Ayr United

Billy Davies’ Morton hosted play-off seeking Ayr United at Cappielow, a game which looked like a very tasty affair on paper.

The first goal came 25 minutes in, and it was for the visitors. Jamie Murphy’s shot tested James Storer in the Morton net, and whilst the keeper made a good save, Anton Dowds was on hand to fire into the net from a tight angle.

Morton’s equaliser came two minutes after the restart. Nathan Shaw crossed into the area, where the ball was chested down by Eamonn Brophy into Arron Lyall, and the former Airdrie loanee fired home past Liam Russell.

A point a piece in Greenock, doing no harm for either side.

Queen’s Park Vs Partick Thistle

After last week, we hoped Thistle would do us a favour and beat the Spiders, and they looked well on course to do so... Before everything fell apart.

It only took twelve minutes for the opener to arrive. Aidan Fitzpatrick crossing into the area where the ball was met and missed by Alex Samuel, but Ben Stanway was on hand to thump home past Calum Ferrie.

Three minutes later Thistle made it two. A scintillating counter-attack by the Jags saw about half a dozen players involved, ending with Fitzpatrick’s ball across being diverted into the net by Euan Murray.

Queen’s were awarded a very dubious spot-kick on the 28th minute, as the ball was cannoned off (I think) Ben McPherson despite the fact it looked as though it scudded him in the cheek.

Josh Fowler stepped up and saw his penalty saved by Josh Clarke, but after a stramash in the box, Seb Drozd slammed it into the back of the net.

On the 41st minute, Oisin Smyth saw red. A tussle before a Queen’s Park free-kick was taken saw Smyth gain a second yellow after a bit of pushing with Matthew Shiels, as the Queen’s man fell to the deck, referee Lloyd Wilson (surprise surprise) produced a second yellow and subsequent red.

The ten men of Thistle were denied victory on the 81st minute. Louis Longridge fired a free-kick into the area which met Euan Murray, and he made up for the own goal with a bullet header going right past Josh Clarke.

A Thistle win would’ve seen Airdrie move back up to eighth, but no matter.

Raith Rovers Vs Dunfermline Athletic

The Fife Derby came to Starks Park this time as Raith and Dunfermline face off again.

On the 33rd minute, it was the Pars who broke the deadlock. The ever-impressive Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen fired a ball across the area, and there was Andy Tod to slide in the first goal of the game. A ninth Championship goal of the season for the Pars frontman.

Seven minutes later, it was two. A Pars corner whipped into the area met the flicking head of Barney Stewart, with the Falkirk loanee putting the ball past Josh Rae for 2-0. His impressive spell at the Pars earned him a re-call back to the Bairns. A blow for Dunfermline undoubtedly.

Raith forced their way back into the game on the 60th minute. Dylan Easton going down in the area under the challenge of Chilokoa-Mullen saw Dan McFarlane point to the spot. Easton stepped up and sent Deniz Mehmet the wrong way.

Despite the penalty, Raith couldn’t get the all-important equaliser, and so the bragging rights went to Dunfermline.

The Pars were the only team victorious last week, but they remain fifth in the league. Raith sixth.

Ross County Vs St Johnstone

A game that most thought would be title-deciding, when in fact it’s almost the complete opposite. At least it is for Ross County.

No goals to show in this one, but certainly not for a lack of trying from a Saints perspective. Eighteen shots combined for both sides, with only four of them being on target. A poor showing in a game you’d have certainly expected there to be goals.

County remain stuck to the bottom. Saints remain top.

By David Jarvie

Recent Head-To-Head

September 23rd 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Raith Rovers

November 4th 2023

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 1-1 Airdrieonians

January 6th 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Raith Rovers

February 2nd 2024

Scottish Challenge Cup semi-final

Raith Rovers 0-1 Airdrieonians

April 9th 2024

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 1-3 Airdrieonians

August 3rd 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Raith Rovers

October 29th 2024

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 1-0 Airdrieonians

February 25th 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-0 Raith Rovers

April 12th 2025

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 1-1 Airdrieonians

September 20th 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-0 Raith Rovers

November 15th 2025

Scottish Championship

Raith Rovers 0-3 Airdrieonians

Raith preview

The only side to have lost this week come to the Tattiehad on Saturday, as Dougie Imrie’s Raith come to town.

Our home record against the Rovers is very good, failing to win just one of our last five home meetings with them. In fact, the Diamonds record against the Rovers is incredibly strong in any event, only losing one of the last eleven matches against them, which was a 1-0 loss at Starks Park when we fielded a team that was... absolutely all over the place, and Rovers were under the management of Neill Collins.

With the Diamonds seeing victories over Rovers sides guided by Ian Murray, Barry Robson and Paul Hanlon, we hope to make home advantage count against Dougie Imrie’s tactics.

In the derby, Rovers only had a bench of FIVE players, and even then, Ross Matthews had to go off early for Raith. A reminder of where we were last season and how dire things were. Whilst I don’t know the medical situation of the Rovers, I do know that Paul Hanlon, Lewis Vaughan, Callum Smith and Callum Fordyce all missed the derby and I hope they miss the game against us... For our sakes.

A game I expect to be a tasty one, and one we’ll have to win to make ground against Morton & Raith themselves.

Team News

Airdrie saw Lewis Strapp, Aidan Wilson & Charlie Telfer return to the starting lineup on Saturday, with all three whom were replaced on the bench. Rhys Armstrong missed out completely, and he was replaced by Cole Williams.

Tate Xavier-Jones also missed out the last two games, although I suspect we’ve most likely seen the last of him in a Diamond as he’ll be returning to Luton in January.

Sean McGinty started and played the whole match, and came through it relatively well despite the bandaged head attire he wore through the match.

Most likely we’ll be without Alex King and undoubtedly Aaron Reid against Raith and most likely Montrose too.

C’mon the Diamonds! ♦️♦️

By David Jarvie

YOUR favourite New Year memories watching Airdrie

For today’s issue we asked you, our readers, for YOUR favourite New Year memories watching Airdrie. Here is what you responded with:

Gus Martin said: ‘1st January 1981, without any doubt, my favourite game ever. Hearts 2 Airdrieonians 3.’

For those unfamiliar with the game, it was a famous comeback and long remembered and favoured by all those who were there to witness it. The Diamonds found themselves 2-0 down after 65 minutes thanks to goals from Willie Gibson and Paul O’Brien. Jim ‘Jolly’ Rodger got what looked to be a mere consolation goal for Airdrie. Until, up stepped Willie McCulloch whose double - into the away end goal - in the last 5 minutes won us the game and sparked bedlam in the Tynecastle away end. The new year celebrations were to continue for another night yet for those Airdrie fans lucky enough to be there. As for Hearts? Well, as one of their fans said after the game, they were: ‘doing alright until that baldy bastard came on!’.

Robert Mair also put forward the comeback victory at Tynecastle, and suggested a game on New Year’s Day 1975. The score? Airdrie 2-0 Motherwell.

One of my own favourites was proffered by John Dougall: Dunfermline 3-4 Airdrie in the Scottish Cup on 7th January 2006.

John said: ‘it is hard to beat’.

I have to agree! The festive season is one of my favourite times of year in the football calendar (as it is for Allan Bryce who says he enjoys every new year game watching the Diamonds!). There is something extra special about watching your team - often in a local derby or a big Scottish Cup tie - at this time of year (when you are desperate to get out of the house and for something to do!). We certainly felt the magic of the cup that afternoon in Dunfermline. 2-0 down after 23 minutes to a good Premier League team, Stephen Docherty managed to claw a goal back in the first-half to keep us in the game. Martin Hardie’s second-half equaliser was quickly cancelled out by Derek Young’s 3rd for the Pars (which looked like a foul on the goalkeeper) and it appeared that the game was won. Not so, said the Diamonds whose proud cup tradition remained that day, with Stephen McKeown and Docherty winning the game for Airdrie with two goals in the last two minutes. More bedlam!

James Kirton nominated Airdrie 1-0 Albion Rovers when a cracker from Jamie Stevenson saw Airdrie prevail in the Monklands Derby. A good choice. Personally, another Monklands Derby victory remains a favourite of mine. 2nd January 2016 saw Airdrie make the short trip to Cliftonhill. Airdrie had a 100% record against Rovers going into the game. However, this looked in jeopardy for the bulk of the afternoon after Rovers led for the majority of the game (thanks to a John Gemmell header). For reasons presumably only known to the management team, neither Jim Lister or Bryan Prunty - a popular strike partnership with the Airdrie support - started the game that today. But their introduction after half an hour proved monumental. Lister immediately caused panic in the home defence and his sheer presence saw Alan Reid head a Nicky Cadden corner into his own net. That combination would prove fatal for Rovers with 5 minutes to go when, Cadden crossed to the edge of the six-yard box and Lister rose above everybody to head the ball into the net and take the 3 points and bragging rights back to ML6 (in what was Eddie Wolecki Black’s first win as Airdrie manager).

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

Some brilliant new year games and memories there. I will leave it to Colin Campbell to round things off with his memories of new year fixtures in the 1960s:

“I’ll stick to the 1960s as I became able legally to consume alcohol from 1966 onwards and if a game took place close to Hogmanay or New Year’s Day in those days, you could sneak a wee hauf bottle in an inside pocket of a large winter coat: no jobsworth in that area and no one had pyrotechnics. The more brazen would just stroll in with whatever cans of beer were still unopened, into Broomfield. It was not so easy at away games.

1966 Jan 1st Versus Albion Rovers

I would certainly have managed to be in Broomfield despite a late night /morning celebration party. It must have been some game, although in the mists of time I can’t actually recollect any individual moments. Albion Rovers took a two-goal lead in ten minutes but as me, the players and the rest of the crowd sobered up, the Diamonds strongly recovered to go ahead 4-2, quite rightly, and the game ended with a 7-2 win. To think that many years later we would suffer a similar shocking scoreline at Cliftonhill! What made it quite amazing was, not so much our goalscoring run that year, but the fact that the Rovers had quite a good defensive record.

When a Saturday was close to a Neerday game then two fixtures came close together. My pal’s dad took us by car to Kirkcaldy. It was even more enthralling as we thumped Raith Rovers by 8 goals to Nil. If only that could be repeated in our next game this week against these other Rovers.

The other games in the sixties tended to see the Diamonds remain undefeated and there were several 1-1 draws against Falkirk, Hearts, and St Mirren from 1967-1970.

One significant game on New Year’s Day in 1968 saw the debut of a hirsute young Andrew Jarvie. Drew got two goals that day in a 2-2 draw and scored our equaliser on a snowy afternoon with minutes left. That sent us all home in a cheery mood.

Global warming was not a thing in the late 60s and indeed our new year game in 1970 against Motherwell at home was cancelled due to snow and the dreaded frozen pitch. Oh, for 4G surfaces and heated pitch side fancy seats, at least for the players.

That was a time of what are now seen as Airdrie legends in a season where Paul Jonquin, Derek Whiteford, Sam Goodwin, and of course Drew Jarvie were ever present in league appearances. It’s a reminder of days gone by, but not forgotten.

Happy new year 26

Colin Campbell

New Year games at New Broomfield

The last programme saw us take a look back at Christmas fixtures at Excelsior Stadium and found that, in the 25 festive matches to that point, we’d won 11, drawn 5 and lost 9. The 0-3 reverse against Queen’s Park that day means another loss was added to that side of the ledger. Today we recall the 27 new year encounters since we took up tenancy at Craigneuk back in the summer of 1998. The statistics make for very similar reading finding that, as of this morning, we’ve amassed an almost identical total of 11 wins, 5 draws and 11 defeats.

If our last home fixture in 2025 was that miserable defeat to the Spiders, the first was a 3-0 win against Dunfermline Athletic. That brought our first home league victory since August but started the run which ultimately brought a 9th placed finish. That was after being adrift in bottom spot for so long. The three-goal victory against the Pars was part of a successful early January pattern, our record since the new decade began standing at 4 wins from 6 attempts. There was a 1-0 win against Forfar in 2020, a 2-0 win over Inverness in 2024 and another 3-0 win, against East Fife, in 2022. If there are signs that visitors from the ‘Kingdom’ are generous first-foots, we can take heart from the fact that we’ve yet to lose to a Fife side in North Lanarkshire at this time of year. Cowdenbeath left with a solitary point in 2013 as did today’s visitors in 2019. The two defeats in the 2020’s were both inflicted by Edinburgh City. Their 5-3 success in 2023 followed a 1-0 Scottish Cup win in 2021, so they have the distinction of achieving both a perfect new year record and being the highest scorers to date.

If the Edinburgh side have visited twice, Inverness are our most frequent first-footers so far, having made the long journey south on three occasions. The 0-3 reverse in 2024 was identical to our 3-0 win in 2002 but they’ve managed some joy, the other match, in 2010, ending 1-0 in their favour. Albion Rovers and Arbroath are the only other clubs to have visited more than once. We didn’t score against the Angus side, a 0-0 draw in 2018 following a 0-1 defeat in 2004. Brechin City have so far been our only other visitors from the midlands’ county, so the 2-2 draw in 2011 means we’re winless against those clubs. The Rovers were here in 2012 and 2017 and the record stands at one win apiece, 1-0 for us on the former date, 2-1 to them on the latter. Those matches drew our largest league crowds of those seasons. Sadly, the chances of another new year encounter appear a distant prospect given Rovers’ current plight.

If one of Edinburgh City’s successes was in the Scottish Cup, that competition provided the first match of the year at Airdrie on three other occasions. Dundee United’s 1-0 win in 2016 pulled in 2330, second only to the 7006 that attended when Rangers visited in the League Cup earlier that season. The other two ties were against non-league opponents. We defeated Threave Rovers 1-0 in 2003 and Spartans 2-1 in 2009.

If that Rangers visit in 2015 provided the sixth-largest crowd in the new stadium’s history, the 6522 who attended when they visited on league duty on 2nd January 2014 provided the eighth. In sharp contrast, only 642 tuned up when Peterhead visited just over a year later. Most wished they hadn’t bothered, the north-east club winning 3-1.

That leaves seven matches unaccounted. There are three wins, 2-1 against Ross County in 2005, 1-0 versus Hamilton in 2007 and 3-2 against Queen’s Park a year after that. There were also three defeats, 0-2 to Falkirk in 2000 and 1-4 to St Mirren in 2006 but that one stands out in that the 2661 who attended provided our largest league crowd of that season. The other loss is also notable in that Morton were our very first new year visitors. They left with a 2-0 win in 1999 so Renfrewshire joins Angus on the mean first-footers list. The other game was the 1-1 draw against Livingston in 2001, the only time Steve Archibald’s International Brigade swapped paella for steak pie.

By Peter Smith

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Airdrieonians F.C. The Glory Years 1920/21 to 1929/30. -The Story told by John Henderson First Published 2013.

The Glory Years - they were in deed.

This remarkable period famous for our Scottish Cup win in 1924, was also significant for Airdrie finishing second in Scotland’s top division, Division One, on four consecutive seasons - 1922/23, 1923/24, 1924/25, 1925/26. A magnificent achievement for a small provincial club up against the big boys.

John Henderson, Airdrie FC Historian, in his book ‘The Glory Years 1920/21 to 1929/30’, tells the story behind this wonderful decade for our club. First Published in 2013, after much research, John has produced a detailed record of this time, and makes for a great read.

The limitations on this article prevents me doing justice to reviewing John’s work – however I can give you a flavour of some of its contents, by highlighting a few snippets from John’s record of those four seasons – 1922/23 to 1925/26, which hopefully are of interest.

1922/23

Airdrie’s squad for the season included the legendary Hughie Gallacher along with Bobby Bennie and John (Jock) McDougall, both currently being chased by Bolton Wanderers for transfer.

The Diamonds finished the season as Division One runners-up for the very first time ….. just five points behind Rangers. Celtic were third, a further four points short of our tally of 50 points from 38 games played (2 points for a win in those days.)

Along the way, we beat Rangers 1-0. The Coatbridge Express dated 14-02-1923 wrote “There was no fluke about the victory. Airdrieonians were the better team, and their consistency of purpose and determination won the day.”

Off the field, the Club was also busy.

In late September the Directors spent £1,500 on the purchase not of a player but of the title to Broomfield Park from The North British Railway Company. The ground was now ours.

That Christmas, the Directors temporarily put aside the running of the business of Airdrieonians FC and gave of their own time “to distribute 500 parcels of provisions to the unemployed and deserving poor of the Burgh of Airdrie on New Year’s Day.”

And finally, at the tail end of the season, Manchester United, who had only managed to come 4th in Division Two that year, invited the Diamonds to close the season at Old Trafford on 5th May. The match, arranged by our ex-secretary Jim Chapman, now at United, was in aid of the Lord Mayor’s Million Shillings Hospital Fund. The Diamonds finished an excellent season winning 2-0 with goals from Hughie Gallacher and Willie Russell. With a crowd of 15,000 present, the charity’s fund also got a boost.

1923/24

The following season, the Diamonds again finished second in the league, again with 50 points and again with Rangers winning the title and again, Celtic in third spot.

The squad was much the same as the previous season, other than the return of our goalie, Jock Ewart from Bradford City for £300, 11 years after his previous departure to England.

One season highlight, was Hughie Gallacher scoring five against Clyde, the first Airdrieonian to do so. Incidentally, those present witnessed the 19th match (home or away in all competitions) without defeat. A club record at the time.

Come Christmas time, Airdrie had signed a young Bob McPhail from Pollok Juniors. Airdrie’s success was getting national attention, with Willie Russell making his Scotland debut in a 2-0 loss against Wales in Cardiff and Jimmy Reid and Hughie Gallacher appearing for Scotland in a 2-0 victory against Ireland.

After beating Falkirk in front of 30,000 at Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup semi-final, Airdrie had a hectic build up to the final. To take the pressure off, the directors placed the squad at the Seamill Hydro for two weeks for rest and preparation. The squad was decimated by injuries, forcing a weakened team to scrap a 2-2 draw with Queen’s Park. Scottish League bosses were unimpressed, fining the Diamonds £25 for fielding a weakened team.

A week before the cup final, both teams, Hibs and Airdrie met in a league fixture – both teams without key men due to injury. For us, captain George McQueen and star man Hughie Gallacher were out, and Hibs went on to win 2-0.

That didn’t matter a jot. As we know, at the main event the Diamonds lifted the Scottish Cup for the first and only time, after seeing off Hibs by 2 Willie Russell goals to Hibs’ nil.

The season ended with a 3-match tour of Denmark to close another successful season.

1924/25

Airdrie fans’ fear that we would be punished for our previous success with the transfer of players turned out to be unfounded. Airdrie had another successful season, finishing second in the league again with 57 points, only three behind title winners Rangers, and 5 points ahead of third placed Hibernian. For Airdrie fans, so near but so far to winning the title.

Crowds were impressive by today’s gates, with Airdrie playing against Cowdenbeath 13,000, Partick Thistle 33,000, Queens Park 17,000 and 40,000 for a Wednesday afternoon tie at Ibrox – all this helped to fund the erection of a new stand at Broomfield, to be completed in the close season.

Again, the Airdrie squad came under national attention, and our season was disrupted with call ups - Hughie Gallacher scored two in Scotland’s 3-1 victory against Wales with Bobby Bennie playing at left half, followed by a 3-0 triumph in Belfast where the pair were joined by Diamonds, George McQueen and Willie Russell, as travelling reserves.

Once again, a successful season ended with a tour of Scandinavia winning all five games comfortably.

Goalie Jock Ewart established a new club record of 21 clean sheets (in all competitions) this season, and we had increased our unbeaten at home run to 62 (in all competitions) and 53 in Division One. I think you call that a fortress.

Hughie Gallacher excelled once again, scoring 51 goals this season (in all competitions) breaking his and the club’s previous record of 45 set the previous season.

1925/26

Could Airdrie finally win the title this year? Fans arriving for the new season were introduced to the new stand and the now, stepped west terracing. This was secondary though, to the question - could we keep this squad together and get that title?

Disaster! Key man Willie Russell transferred to Preston for £3,600. He was a loss. He left with a record of 59 goals in 167 appearances (in all competitions).

The Diamonds roared on, with a 2-1 victory against Rangers with an estimated 26,000 squeezed into Broomfield. Shortly afterwards Celtic left Broomfield with 23,000 witnessing a Diamonds onslaught, winning 5-1.

As is the Airdrie way, a setback ensued, where we then lost at home to Morton, ending our unbeaten run at home of over 3 years, back to September 1922. Bad news was to follow. Hughie Gallacher had taken exception to the home fans’ barracking during the Morton defeat, and was now open to Newcastle’s acceptance of Airdrie’s excessive demand of £6,500 for his transfer. Hughie, who scored 129 goals in 152 appearances, was gone.

Key players had left, and Jimmy Reid was now 35. So near but so far. Joint second in the league, impressive, but once again the title alluded us!

As John summarised in his book: “A look at our overall performance suggests that everyone at the club deserves great credit, and that to finish as league runners up again (in four consecutive seasons) was a magnificent achievement.”

Big thanks go to John Henderson for his assistance and loan of his book.

By Andy Locke

Hello, and welcome to the last Broomfield Bulletin of 2025. It is fair to say that our circumstances have improved greatly since our last home league game – a 1-0 defeat to Scott Brown’s Ayr United. A huge well done to ATS, Hutton, Prunty and all the players for earning 4 big wins in all competitions and winning our last 4 away games – a feat that has not been achieved by an Airdrie team for a long time. It all sets us up for a huge game today and a big opportunity to put a real gap between us and the bottom two. Let’s support the team as vociferously as we have on the road and back them to win our last home game of 2025. Merry Christmas and happy new year when it comes to all Airdrieonians. ‘Mon the Diamonds!

Championship Round-Up

Well, in this week’s round-up of the last load of Championship action, we have quite a bit to get through, don’t we?

Let’s get started... With this week’s big news.

Doc & Co depart Dingwall

To no-one’s real surprise, Tony Docherty was sacked by Ross County after an embarrassing 6-0 defeat away to Raith Rovers last week.

Whilst it’s hardly a shock, County, very much like the Diamonds, are now on the hunt for their third permanent manager of the season.

County remain at the foot of the table in the Championship.

Ayr United Vs St Johnstone

The BBC Scotland cameras came to Ayrshire on Friday evening, and the game to be served up would be little more than an absolute cracker.

After a sustained period of St Johnstone pressure early on, it was the hosts who took the lead. Mark McKenzie breaking the deadlock with a beautiful finish on the 18-yard line. A stunner to open a stunning game.

Six minutes later, it was two. Ethan Walker went sprinting down the right-side touchline, and managed to cut the ball back for the veteran Jamie Murphy to side-foot home and double the advantage of the hosts.

Saints pulled one back two minutes after half-time. Sidibeh managed to keep the ball in play down the far side and crossed into the area where Josh McPake swiped at it. The ball made its way to Matty Foulds who acrobatically finished.

The Saints equalised on the 77th minute through their talisman Josh McPake. Sidibeh once again running down the right-hand channel and testing the Ayr keeper with a cross, however, it was spilled by Liam Russell and there was Josh McPake to fire home. Right place, right time.

With Ayr’s heads now slumped the league leaders took full advantage on the 87th minute. After a lot of passes around the Ayr penalty area the ball finally found Adama Sidibeh, who cut it back for Josh McPake to slam into the roof of the net.

The scoring wouldn’t be done there, however. Kai Fotheringham finished the scoring off in the second minute of stoppage time. Gullan and Sidibeh doing excellently to break and get into the Ayr box, and after two attempts Fotheringham volleyed home at the third to seal the win.

Saints remain at the top of the league. Ayr sit fourth.

Arbroath Vs Partick Thistle

With St Johnstone showing the rest of the division what it means to be title contenders, Mark Wilson’s Thistle would be hoping to replicate that result.

The first goal came on the 50th minute. A goal-kick was swirling around in the wind and broke to Findlay Marshall who headed it on to Gavin Reilly who couldn’t quite get the break of the ball, but Marshall popped up to slam in to the net with a beautiful finish to give the hosts the lead.

Reilly, however, did get his chance twelve minutes later. Taylor Steven crossed into the area where it met the head of Harry Cochrane. He then headed down into the six-yard box where Reilly pounced and fired into the net.

Arbroath would be reduced to 10 men on the 72nd minute. Former Airdrieonians man Craig Watson scything down Scott Martin and referee Ryan Lee had no hesitation in sending off the Arbroath #16.

Thistle got a consolation prize four minutes later. Chalmers crossing a lovely ball into the box which met the boot of Alex Samuel to thump home.

However, Thistle didn’t manage to complete the comeback their title-chasing rivals managed to, which means the Jags now sit three points behind the Perth Saints, but six ahead of Arbroath who lay 3rd.

Greenock Morton Vs Airdrieonians

Ah, Cappielow. A hunting ground that isn’t favoured by... Anyone in Scotland. But the Diamonds would come out victorious anyway.

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair made six changes to the team that was victorious against Alloa Athletic midweek, as McNeil, Bruce, Cooper, Xavier-Jones, Hastie and Telfer all dropped out. All but Hastie returned to the bench, Jake missed out through illness. In came Melrose, Henderson, Barjonas, Mochrie, McGrattan and MacDonald. Lewis Strapp, Rhys Armstrong and Liam McStravick returned to the bench.

The only goal of the game came on the 62nd minute. Dylan MacDonald winning a free kick just inside the Morton half after being scythed down by Owen Moffat, with Captain Dean McMaster floating the ball into the area where it met the head of Sean McGinty to power a header towards goal. James Storer got a touch, but it trickled into the net for 1-0.

That would prove to be the only goal of the game, which caused celebration from Airdrie’s side, but tears and confusion for Billy Davies. Just how the hell did we win that game, I wonder?

The Diamonds sit above Queen’s Park and Ross County in eighth, hosting the former on Saturday. The Ton sit seventh, only four clear of Airdrie.

Queen’s Park Vs Dunfermline Athletic

The Spiders were hopeful to make home advantage count at Lesser Hampden as they hosted Dunfermline, who they themselves are looking to get back into the play-off hunt.

The first of two goals came on the 39th minute. Grant Savoury and Carlo Pignatiello playing excellently to get the ball into the area, where the latter’s deflected ball in found the head of Henry Fieldson who thumped home past Billy Terrell to give Queen’s the lead.

However, they wouldn’t be allowed the win. Nine minutes from time, the Pars equalised. A Dunfermline corner made its way to Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen, who flicked the ball on for Charlie Gilmour to head into the net.

A point did no damage for the Pars who sit fifth, a point behind Ayr, but Queen’s sit 9th, three behind Airdrie albeit with a game in hand against Ross County.

Raith Rovers Vs Ross County

Undoubtedly game of the weekend in Scotland... If you exclude the small matter of the League Cup final.

Relegation-threatened County travelled to Stark’s Park hoping to end an abhorrent run of results in the league and start climbing the table... But... Well, that didn’t happen. At all.

The first of six goals came eight minutes into the match, as Raith captain Scott Brown fired home after Jack Hamilton’s header fell into the path of the skipper.

The second came from the spot. Paul McMullan was clipped in the area by Scott Fraser, with referee Matthew McDermid pointing to the spot. Dylan Easton stepped up and calmly slotted home the penalty kick.

The third came in spectacular style. A corner kick wasn’t well cleared, and on the following play, Scott Brown skewered a cross which was headed right to Jai Rowe by Dylan Smith. The Rovers defender unleashed an absolutely unstoppable pile-driver past Trevor Carson, a surefire goal of the season contender for the Rovers.

The fourth came four minutes into the second half. Scott Brown and Jack Hamilton combining well to release Paul McMullan, who’s low ball into the area found Dylan Easton, with the former Airdrie man calmly firing past Carson four 4-0.

On the 77th minute it was five. A Raith throw released Josh Mullin, who forced a good save from Carson, but the ball was bundled home as Alex Iacovitti tried to clear it, but walloped it off Paul Nsio, and it went in.

The sixth and final goal came on the 83rd minute. Jordan Doherty drove through the pitch and forced Carson into a save, but Jack Hamilton was there to just pass the rebound into the back of the net to complete the rout.

This result unsurprisingly saw Tony Docherty lose his job, as County stay 10th. Raith sixth.

A result to very much forget for the Staggies faithful, but a result to cherish for those of a Kirkcaldy perspective.

By David Jarvie

Queen’s Park preview

The only home game of the month for the Diamonds comes in the shape of their relegation threatened fellows Queen’s Park coming to town.

The two sides have already met twice this season, both games ending in draws. A 1-1 at the Albert Bartlett in August, with Euan Henderson and Tyrece McDonnell exchanging goals, and a 0-0 draw at Lesser Hampden where Aaron Reid had the ball in the net but was flagged offside.

Winning only one of their last six away league games, Queen’s recent form away in the league is frankly, torrid. Including a 5-0 demolition by Patrick Thistle. Their only victory in that run was a 2-1 win over Ross County in Dingwall.

The same record extends to Airdrie’s last six in the league at home, including the Dunfermline loss which costed Danny Lennon his job.

Form in general however, very much favours the Diamonds. Only one loss in their last six with four wins on the bounce, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair has the Diamonds firing on all cylinders once more. Queen’s last six include three wins (two in the cups) a draw and two losses, and they were in action on Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Clyde.

Hopefully a fifth victory in a row is upon us, which will help us gain daylight between us, Queen’s and County.

Team News

Airdrie welcomed back Lewis Strapp, Rhys Armstrong and Liam McStravick last weekend, albeit only Strapp played. A welcome sight nonetheless.

Alex King and Aaron Reid remain out. Reid possibly out the rest of the season, facing 16 weeks on the sidelines, I wish him the very best in his recovery. King is expected to return to training in the new year.

The squad has been struck with flu, and although I am not aware of who has contracted it or displayed symptoms, the squad are being monitored very closely, and we will hope that no-one suffers too much.

C’mon the Diamonds!! ♦️♦️♦️

By David Jarvie

Recent Head-To-Head

October 20th 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-1 Queen’s Park

December 30th 2023

Scottish Championship

Queen’s Park 1-2 Airdrieonians

March 2nd 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-1 Queen’s Park

May 3rd 2024

Scottish Championship

Queen’s Park 2-0 Airdrieonians

August 24th 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 0-2 Queen’s Park

December 7th 2024

Scottish Championship

Queen’s Park 2-0 Airdrieonians

February 1st 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-1 Queen’s Park

April 2nd 2025

Scottish Championship

Queen’s Park 0-5 Airdrieonians

August 23rd 2025

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-1 Queen’s Park

October 18th 2025

Scottish Championship

Queen’s Park 0-0 Airdrieonians

Tommy Murray

The team behind the Broomfield Bulletin were saddened to hear of Tommy Murray’s passing, on the 26th of November at the age of 82. Tommy was a Caldercruix native, born on Caldercruix Main Street on 1st June 1943 and in a long and far travelled career, he served many clubs with distinction: most notably, Airdrieonians, Heart of Midlothian and Carlisle United.

Tommy grew up and was educated in ‘Cruix, where he attended school and trained to be a painter upon leaving. He received further education still on the parks of juvenile and junior football with Edinburgh Athletic and Mount Ellen United respectively, before he signed for his local senior side Airdrieonians in 1960.

In a diamond, Tommy shone. In his 7 years at Broomfield, Murray scored an impressive 105 goals in around 230 games, and he also has the distinction of being the last player to score 30 goals in a season for Airdrie: 1965/66 a season when he finished the top goalscorer in all of Scotland as Airdrieonians and Ayr United got promoted to the top division. An indicator of just how remarkable that feat is – and even more so that most of these goals were from the wing, and scored by a part-time player, Tommy still pursuing painting and decorating while turning out in a diamond.

Such a record attracted suitors, and, in March 1967, Tommy signed for Carlisle United – then in England’s second tier. At Carlisle, he continued where he left off, setting up a goal on his debut and quickly becoming a creative force for the Cumbrian club, both on the wing like at Airdrie or at inside forward.

In 1969, Tommy was part of the Carlisle side who reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. But it was England’s other domestic cup competition – the FA Cup – where Tommy’s finest hour in a Carlisle jersey occurred.

In January 1968, Carlisle were drawn away to Newcastle United and they produced what every fan of a ‘smaller’ club dreams for: a cup upset. Carlisle won 1-0 at St James’ Park. The goal coming from a glancing Tommy Murray header. Said Murray of the goal:

‘Everybody was so busy watching the big fellows that they forgot about the smallest man on the park’.

A fool’s errand if ever there was one, given Tommy’s scoring record, which at Carlisle ended up standing at 43 goals in 150 appearances.

In the summer of 1971, Tommy returned to Scotland when he signed for Hearts. On Tommy Murray, he was said to have brought:

‘Elegance, skill and a scoring touch during 4 seasons with Hearts’.

As fitting a summation of Tommy’s career as any. For Hearts, Murray scored 22 goals in 147 games. But perhaps what Tommy is best remembered for in maroon is not a goal at all. In a famous moment in a match against Rangers – the clip of which again did the rounds after his death – Tommy sat on the ball. His ploy to draw out the Rangers defenders worked, as, once he stood up, he passed the ball to Jimmy Brown who crossed to Donald Ford who headed in and won the game for Hearts.

Tommy left Hearts in April 1975, his ‘positional sense’ and ‘passing talent’ said to have played a part in Hearts securing a place in the initial Premier Division at the end of that season and highlighting the range of Tommy’s skillset.

After leaving Hearts, he spent some time travelling and played for Eastern FC in Hong Kong and Brisbane City. He returned to Scotland in November 1977 and signed for Arbroath, while he also played for Stenhousemuir, Raith Rovers and Bo’ness United before retiring from football. After retirement, Tommy continued his career in painting and decorating.

Thank you, Tommy, for your contribution to Airdrieonians Football Club. It is a yardstick by which all other goalscorers will likely be judged. Condolences to all of Tommy’s family, friends and loved ones. Rest in peace Tommy Murray.

By Sean Smith

Christmas games at New Broomfield

Today’s match against Queen’s Park provides this season’s Christmas fixture, or at least the league match closest to the big day. As such, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at all the Yuletide league encounters at Excelsior since the stadium opened in August 1998.

There have been 25 in total, with only seasons 2010/11 and 2022/23 failing to offer a festive fixture. The nearest home games before Santa’s arrival those years was a 0-1 home defeat to Livingston during the former then a 1-0 success against Kelty Hearts in the latter, but both were played in mid-November.

There were six Boxing Day contests and three of those were against Alloa Athletic. We have a perfect record against them, winning 2-0 in 2007 but the 3-1 success in 2021 came during the Covid era so the crowd was limited to 500. The first was back in the year 2000, our 2-1 success attained by Steve Archibald’s International Brigade. I recall thick fog and a layer of snow on the pitch. One of the other fixtures on the 26th was a 0-1 reverse against Ross County in 2006 but another was Peterhead’s improbable victory in 2015. You may remember that they won 4-3 after a late fightback. The other was the inaugural Christmas fixture at the ground. Raith Rovers have the honour of being our first festive guests back in 1998. Four goals were shared evenly.

There must be something about northern clubs because those two are the only ones to have won in Christmas’s immediate aftermath. That takes account of our undefeated record on 27th, 28th, 29th and 31st December. If we take the 27th then we see that Morton lost 0-2 in 2008 but Ayr United ended one goal worse off in 2014. There was a similar pattern on 29th, Queen of the South losing 0-2 in 2004; Stranraer 0-3 in 2018, while St Johnstone lost 1-2 on Hogmanay 2005. The only blemish was a 1-1 draw against Falkirk on the 28th in 2019 as we’d beaten Arbroath 2-1 on the same date six years earlier. The match against the Bairns drew 2530, our biggest league crowd that season.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

If Alloa have been our most frequent Xmas visitors, Raith Rovers, Partick Thistle, Falkirk, Ayr United, Morton and Stenhousemuir have all been here twice. If we’ve been successful after the big day was over, we were much less so in the run-up. Indeed, a 2-0 success against Ayr on 23rd in 2017 was our only success in pre-Christmas week. We drew 0-0 with Morton on the same date in 2023 but Falkirk won 4-1 on 22nd in 2012. Lyle Taylor scored a hat-trick that day so is, so far, the only player to have taped a sprig of Holly to the match ball before taking it home.

Partick Thistle beat us 2-0 on 21st December last year, but matched Falkirk’s three-goal win with a 5-2 success on 12th December 2009. They are the only visitors with a perfect Xmas record. If including 12th December may be stretching a point, it was the last home fixture before Christmas that season. As was the 1-1 draw with Raith Rovers on 15th in 2001. Both of Stenhousemuir’s visits were in the mid-December period and they have the distinction of recording the biggest win, their 5-0 success on 10th in 2016 amongst our worst results since we moved to the new ground. We beat them 2-0 on 14th in 2002, so at least it’s Xmas honours even.

That leaves four other matches to consider. The 3-3 draw against Forfar Athletic on 13th in 2003 brought a crowd of only 1072. If that was our lowest in 2003/04 our run to that year’s third tier title began soon after. The game against Montrose on 12th in 2020 completed the full set of Angus clubs, but their 1-0 win was also notable in that there was no crowd due to Covid. Brechin City had visited on 17th in 2011 and won 3-2. Livinsgton’s’ 2-1 success on 14th in 1999 means our home record stands at 11 wins, 5 draws and 9 defeats.

For the record, the last time Airdrie played on Christmas Day itself was the 3-3 draw against Third Lanark at Broomfield in 1965. There hasn’t been a league fixture in Scotland on 25th since 1976.

By Peter Smith

Boxing Day in Dundee

Santa Claus was not the only man in red and white who delivered festive cheer to those of a Diamond persuasion in 2005. Step up Bryan Prunty, who is still putting smiles on the faces of Airdrieonians young and old 20 years later. Fresh from opening presents, enjoying Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and perhaps a few libations, the Airdrie fans who made the trip to Dens Park on Boxing Day ’05 were in for a treat. While Dens Park has not always been a happy hunting ground recently for us Diamonds, our record at Dens that season – and against Dundee in general – would have made us unpopular opponents for the ‘dee half of the city. Stephen McDougall and that man Bryan Prunty scored to win the first Dens Park encounter in September in Alan Kernaghan’s first game as Dundee manager. The home games were better still, with Airdrie recording 4-0 and 7-0 victories at New Broomfield – the latter being the ‘new’ club’s record win until we beat Gala Fairydean 11-0 in the Scottish Cup 5 years later. The teams met a whopping 7 times that season. Airdrie won all 4 league encounters while two of the cup ties (the Challenge Cup and Scottish Cup 4th round ties) ended in draws. Dundee won the former on penalties and won the Scottish Cup replay (future Diamond Simon Lynch one of the goalscorers alongside Bryan Deasley) the only game they won outright.

Both teams came into the Boxing Day meeting off the back of big wins. The home side defeated league leaders St Mirren 4-0 in a result unexpected, while Airdrie had beaten Brechin City 6-0, courtesy of a Martin Hardie hat-trick, Prunty double and Willie McLaren goal. For this game, Sandy Stewart’s team lined up:

Robertson; McKenna, Lovering, McGowan, McManus; Dunn, McDougall, McKeown, McLaren; Hardie, Prunty. Subs: Hollis, Coyle, Barkey, McPhee, Holmes.

Dundee, perhaps buoyed by their win against table toppers St Mirren, put in what was described as their best first-half performance of the season up to that point, took the lead around midway through the first-half. Stephen McKeown made a mess of an attempted lofted pass to his full-back, which allowed young ‘dee striker Craig O’Reilly to shoot and score from the edge of the box, his 3rd goal in 2 games.

The Diamonds never really got going in the first-half and found themselves 2 down at the interval. Bobby Mann – in an act which perhaps belied his appearance – curled a free-kick into the bottom corner to put Dundee 2 to the good. The Dundee faithful were delighted with what they had seen and 7 goals scored and none conceded in their last 315 minutes of football potentially gave them a chance of getting back into the title picture should they hold on and other results go their way.

The second-half, however, proved to be a different story. Graeme Holmes replaced David Dunn at half-time and gave the Diamonds an impetus and drive they had been missing in the first-half. The Dee archive describes it as Airdrie went ‘gung-ho’ and this approach saw us get a goal back in the first 15 minutes of the half. McDougall squared a Paul Lovering cross into the path of Prunty and the striker made no mistake to bring his team back into the game. Not long after he nearly got his second, running onto a Holmes through ball and chipping the ball just narrowly wide.

17-year-old Bryan Deasley – who gave us a difficult time in the Scottish Cup tie later that season – was brought on just after the hour mark and almost immediately made an impact. Deasley was put in on goal by one time diamond Tam McManus, but it was the other McManus who saved the day, Allan using his experience to take the ball off the toes of Deasley.

It was instead, another substitute who would go onto influence the outcome of the game. Brian McPhee – described as ‘Dundee’s bogey man’ – came on for Martin Hardie and, despite Hardie’s protests at the time, it was a clear turning point. With his first touch of the ball, McPhee picked it up in the centre circle and fired a shot off the bar from 35 yards.

With 2 minutes left and Dundee looking to put a bow on this Christmas present, Brian and Bryan had other ideas. That ‘gung-ho’ approach and never say die attitude was best exemplified by Brian McPhee who put in a fantastic challenge to win the ball, and then a brilliant bit of skill and determination to beat the challenges of both Paul Dixon and Mann to cross the ball into Bryan Prunty for the equaliser and his second of the game. But that was not all she wrote. With the Diamonds not okay to settle for a point, Prunty’s mishit shot on first reaction looked like an agonising way for the game to end. However. His shot took a deflection and wrong-footed Dundee goalkeeper Kelvin Jack to hit the back of the net and spark scenes of jubilation not seen since the birth of Christ, in the away end.

Photo credits Robert Dalzell | Redacted Media

I will leave it to Dundee’s programme from the time to summarise the ending of the game:

‘That goal may have sparked wild celebrations in one section of the main stand, but across the park it told a more telling story - The South Enclosure looked like a giant had swept the crowd away with a swipe of his hand, so quickly did it empty. It was a fairy tale ending for Airdrie but the scoreline made ‘Grimm’ reading for the Dark Blues.’

By Sean Smith

Aff the Shelf – Books, Magazines, and all things Scottish Fitba!

Over 1,000 Games Watched – A Handwritten Record of One Fan’s Journey round Scottish Fitba’! - Sandy Taylor.

Mementos are really only important for the memories they bring back to you.

The ticket stub from the 1992 Cup final some years ago, a Sparta Prague bucket hat, a match programme from your first game watching the Diamonds – just some examples.

But maintaining a handwritten record of every match you’ve ever been to, with scores, scorers, attendance and venue, is taking things to a whole higher level.

For a handwritten record to have been started in 1987, over 38 years ago - and provide all that detail - that is a truly memorable memento!

Lifelong Airdrie supporter, Sandy Taylor, a familiar face around Broomfield, is that person.

Sandy’s addiction to football started in 1963, aged 10 years old, when his janny from Glengowan Primary School, Caldercruix, took him to Broomfield for the very first time. A cup match against Stranraer which the Diamonds won, meaning Sandy had to go back the following week to see them play the might of Glasgow Rangers. He was hooked. From then on, every second Saturday, Sandy would be dropped off, in his uncle’s butchers van, early every matchday to be dispatched to his aunt’s house, handily situated directly opposite Broomfield. Sandy would while away the hours till just before kick-off time, when he would sprint over the road to see the famous Diamonds.

That was 1963, but later Sandy decided to spread his wings. His first love was always the Diamonds but his love of football was not restricted to Airdrie, he wanted to see more. As Sandy said, “when you support your team, you only concentrate on them, but as a neutral you can calmly analyse both teams on show.”

Much older, Sandy set out to visit all 42 senior football grounds in Scotland. He achieved this goal on 25th August 1984 when he attended his last ground, Glebe Park, where Brechin beat the Diamonds 3-0, in what was Ally McLeod’s first game as manager for Airdrie.

Not settling for this achievement, Sandy thought - what about a new challenge - attending every possible fixture permutation in Scottish senior football – something he estimated would take 703 matches!

Sandy was honest, and admitted he got this idea from a pal called Bernard Stocks (author of the book Winners) who incidentally had attempted the same feat starting in 1943! It was Bernard that advised Sandy to keep a written record, something Sandy has done religiously for every game since 1987.

Sandy recalls he believed he had reached the halfway stage, on the 14th of April 1990, when Celtic played Clydebank – this was match number 351!

Many years later…. in 2025, Sandy reached the milestone of completing attendance at over 1,000 different Scottish fixture permutations! Even then, he still hasn’t completed his project. League reconstruction, promotions and relegations continually add fresh fixtures to complete, and you never quite get to the finishing line!

His unique achievement so far, however, was recognised by BBC programme – ‘A View from the Terrace’, who visited Sandy in his home in Caldercruix in 2019, to hear Sandy’s stories and put together a piece for their programme. In responding to their obvious question ‘Why?’ - Sandy retorted ‘It kept me out the jail’ as well as ‘It’s the best sport in the world, I love it!’

Along the way, Sandy recalls his most memorable match was in December 1963, when he, along with a Broomfield crowd of 2,852, watched Airdrie beat Hibernian 5 v 3. Memorable not just for the result, but for four penalties - two to each side - the sending off of both Billy Reid (Airdrie) and Neil Martin (Hibernian) for fighting and, as if that wasn’t enough, John Parke (Hibernian) went off with a broken leg!

The worst – Meadowbank Thistle no score draw with Clydebank in the freezing cold!

Sandy’s love of football inevitably affected other parts of his life including romance. Always the romantic, Sandy would combine the two loves of his life, football and Belle, his long-time partner. For example, Sandy invited Belle to travel with him to Tynecastle to go and see the Hearts – yes, it was St Valentine’s Day 1988! Incidentally, Hearts went on to beat Albion Rovers 3-0 that day.

In 1997, Belle, who had previously worked on the pie stall at both Ibrox one week and Celtic Park the next, gained ‘promotion’ to Firs Park and the East Stirling pie hut, for £10 a shift and free admission for her and one other. This permitted Sandy free access to the fitba and a cheap date!

Belle is sadly no longer with us, but Sandy has kept up his affection for the ‘Shire’ to this day.

Asked who was the best player he saw during his football journey across Scotland, aside from Airdrie of course, Sandy said Zoltan Varga who he watched twice during Varga’s time at Aberdeen. A cracking choice. Varga was described as, ‘before his time’, with his slick midfield play. Purchased by Jimmy Bonthrone, Dons manager, for £40,000 from Hertha Berlin, Varga went on to grace Pittodrie for one season only, 1972- 1973, scoring 31 goals before replacing the legendary Johan Cruff at Ajax of Amsterdam.

Sandy, always the internationalist, also admits to a love of AC Milan and Paolo Maldini, and all things Italian football, which was just as well, as it accommodated Belle’s interest in Del Piero!

For Sandy, the project never ends. As he admitted “’I’ve got nine more East Kilbride fixtures to get to this season!” What impresses is, Sandy has the same enthusiasm for the game now as he did at that first Airdrie game in 1963, and plenty of good memories picked up en route.

Big thank you to Sandy for taking the time and effort to help put this article together. It was a pleasure to listen to someone who speaks with passion about his two loves.

By Andy Locke