Match: Airdrieonians v Alloa Athletic
Date: 14/09/2021
Venue: Penny Cars Stadium, Airdrie
Competition: SPFL League One
Entry Fee: £18
Travel: £5.80
Miles completed today: 42
Total miles remaining: 41799
There’s something peculiar about middle aged men wearing a shirt that has ‘holemasters’ printed across it. In fairness, it’s about the only shirt sponsor I can confidently name from all the clubs I’ve visited so far. Jokes aside, Airdrieonians aren’t actually a phoenix club of the original Airdrieonians as many believe. After going bust, Clydebank (who were inevitably facing the same fate) were bought over and the club re-located and had the name changed to Airdrie United. The name was again changed to Airdrieonians in 2013 and this is the club we see today.
Despite this, Airdrieonians’ fans widely accept that they are a phoenix of the original club and the Clydebank club that was formed after the buyout feel the same way about theirs. All is well that ends well.
Preview
Airdrieonians Last 5
DLWLD
Alloa Athletic Last 5
WLDWW
Odds:
Airdrieonians 11/10
Draw 12/5
Alloa Athletic 19/10
Airdrie sat 9th in the league whilst Alloa were 6th – 2 points ahead of their opponents. Both clubs were in a ‘false position’ in my eyes. Alloa had been relegated from the Championship and have a good squad for League One level. Airdrie finished 2nd in the league last season ahead of the well fancied Cove Rangers and Falkirk. They’d endured a tough start but both sides had a game in hand over the rest of the division going into this one and 3 points for either side would help them to stay in touching distance of the play-offs. Granted it’s still way too early to be talking about play-offs, but it’s a big game between two sides that have ambitions to be in the mix come the end of the campaign.
The Ground
The Penny Cars stadium is absolutely massive in terms of capacity. Over 10000 can take in a game here. Although Airdrie’s average attendance is just over 1100, these are good numbers. They comfortably boast the second highest average attendance in League One behind Falkirk.
The pitch is a synthetic surface and is available to book on non-matchdays for 5/7/11 a side.
Only the main stand was open for this game (otherwise known as the West Stand) and home/away supporters are housed at opposite ends of it. Despite having plenty of seats available to choose, someone sat directly next to me pre-match. Around 5 minutes later he moved a few seats along leaving me wondering how I’d suddenly became the weirdo of that situation.
The Game
The first half was a rather drab affair, but we did see a goal! Alloa saw plenty of the ball but Airdrie were more than happy to let their defenders have it as they struggled for any kind of penetration. Airdrie took the same approach but did look more of a threat.
I’ve attended many lower league professional games in Scotland. The typical tactic over the years has been a long ball up to the forward players and see what sticks, however both teams deserve praise for ‘playing football’ the modern way. I was impressed with Airdrie supporters’ patience with this approach too. There were no panicked cries to ‘get rid of it’ or ‘get it up the park’ that you hear throughout Scotland and this was refreshing to see. They took the lead in the 12th minute when Callum Gallagher’s header from an excellent Watson cross was saved by Hutton but the rebound was blasted home from close range. There wasn’t really much else to get excited about in the first half but I’m sure the home fans didn’t mind.
They doubled their lead early in the second half when Adam Frizzell’s outside of the boot effort from 18 yards found the top corner. This goal displayed excellent technique and it’s worth a watch if you get the chance.
Barry Ferguson’s Alloa changed personnel which swung the momentum of the game a little and were rewarded when Conor Sammon’s curling effort from the edge of the box found the bottom corner. Alloa put Airdrie under some late pressure but the home side hung on for a deserved 3 points to end an entertaining second half.
Full time: Airdrieonians 2-1 Alloa Athletic
MOTM
I’ll pick a MOTM each game I attend. This isn’t the official MOTM, just who I feel was the standout player.
I read on the pie and bovril forum before the game that Callum Gallagher shouldn’t be starting off the back of recent performances. He then proceeded to score his teams first and assist the second thus winning my MOTM award. Gallagher worked hard and didn’t see much of the ball but he produced two moments of quality when it counted, helped his side to a massive 3 points and answered any critics he may have had.
A special mention for midfielder Rhys McCabe. He filled in at right back yet was faultless and vocal throughout.
Afterthoughts
Airdrieonians surprised me in a good way. I wasn’t expecting much, which is entirely my own fault for not doing my usual research before the game. I wasn’t expecting a crowd of over 1000. I wasn’t expecting two teams to play football on the deck led by young, hungry managers and I wasn’t expecting to leave as impressed as I was.
I sincerely hope Airdrieonians do well this season and push for the play-offs once more. For their modern style of play and their supporters who turn out in strong numbers, it’s the least the club deserve.
GroundhopScot 