Airdrie United 2 - 0 Queen of the South

Published on Saturday 14 March 2009 18:46

Smyth 50; McLaughlin 58

A SPIRITED second-half display earned Airdrie three points to haul themselves off the foot of the table.

The home side almost used the blustery conditions to their advantage in the opening minute when Scott McLaughlin's wind-assisted free-kick was flicked on by David Nixon. Lee Robinson made a smart save on the line.

The Diamonds suffered a setback in 19 minutes when Paul Di Giacomo was stretchered off with an ankle injury following a collision with Andy Aitken.

Queens began to look the more likely and they created two excellent chances to break the deadlock before half-time. In 39 minutes a deep cross by Bob Harris was flicked on by Stewart Kean to Paul Burns, who badly miscued at the back post. Then Stephen Dobbie pounced on a mistake by Bobby Donnelly and made a bee-line for the home box. The striker's 18-yard shot was heading for the bottom corner until Stephen Robertson pulled off an excellent save.

Airdrie made a storming start to the second half with McLaughlin, Darren Smith and Simon Lynch all going close.

They finally got their reward when Marc Smyth managed to bundle the ball home from six yards.

The Diamonds doubled their lead in 59 minutes when McLaughlin curled a delightful left-foot shot into the far corner.

Doonhamers manager Gordon Chisholm committed all three substitutes in an effort to salvage something from the game, but Airdrie eased to a crucial win without alarm.