Stenhousemuir vs Airdrieonians

Match Report

The Warriors battled hard to a sold-out home end, but it proved to be a tricky night for the Stenny boys.

Stenny knew the task ahead of them on Tuesday night and the supporters rallied around the boys, with Ochilview packed, but the Warriors couldn’t outrun a dominant display from Airdrie. Three cracking Airdrie goals made all the difference for the visitors, although Aitken’s penalty late on handed the Warriors a route back in the second leg.

Airdrie dominated much of the possession in both halves posing questions of why they were even in the play-offs? The Warriors did their utmost to match the tempo of the game, however they found it difficult to find their rhythm with The Diamonds breaking down every opportunity they had.

The visitors could easily have opened the scoring after 90 seconds as Mochrie watched his shot roll inches wide of the post- this was an early warning shot from Airdrie.

The away support became more boisterous as their team looked to possess a threatening attack, with the support growing louder as McGratten netted an opener from 20 yards out. After being afforded time and space just outside the 18-yard box, McGratten let his volley fly-with it pinging into the top right corner. 0-1. 

Airdrie were relentless after their first goal and bombarded the Stenny box, with McGratten firing the visitors even further ahead in the 29th minute- and in the process bagging himself a brace. This time, the Airdrie man found space in the penalty area and rifled his effort into the opposite top corner this time leaving Deejay with little to do. 0-2.

The Warriors nearly pulled themselves back into the game just before the close of the half as Alston drilled his effort towards the bottom corner, though the ball had other ideas as it dragged wide.

The second half proved to be a repeat of the first with Airdrie displaying their dominance; the only difference being the Warriors were handed a lifeline back into the game.

Airdrie didn’t take long to find the back of the net, this time through Mochrie, who fizzed his effort low into the bottom corner, giving the visitors what looked to be an untouchable advantage. 0-3.

The Warriors continued to probe and showed that they wouldn’t be giving up on their place in the second round of the play-offs as Kelsey Ewen nabbed a penalty for the Warriors. After playing 87 minutes, Ewen found the accelerator and knocked himself straight to sixth gear as he rampaged towards the Airdrie goal- his tireless effort forced Strapp to bring him down in the box, handing the Warriors a penalty. Though he didn’t see much sight of goal throughout the game, Aitken stepped up and slotted his penalty home, reducing the deficit to two goals. 1-3.

All is still to play for in Airdrie on Saturday with the Warriors eager to book themselves a place in the play- off finals. Aitken’s goal has certainly paved a route back for the Warriors and we hope as many of you can join us to assist the boys over the line.

Match Report by Louise Davidson 

Photographs by Thomas Gorman and Kristopher Dowell 

Preview

The Warriors are full of belief as they gear up for their first ever play-off place for the Championship.

After booking ourselves a well-deserved place in the play-offs, we face Airdrie on Tuesday night as we aim to take one leap further towards the Championship. As the only part- time team in the play-off positions, the Warriors are eager to show the opposition exactly what they are made of.

Airdrie have experienced a turbulent time in the Championship this season, dragging themselves out of the automatic relegation zone. They were without a number of first team players throughout the season which contributed to their problems.

The North Lanarkshire side will aim to pull out all the stops to maintain their place in the Championship next season. However, this could prove tricky for them given Stenny have a solid back line and a burst of energy when going forward.

Airdrie will also be wary of our golden boot winner, Blair Alston, and his keen eye for goal. Given they have coincided 62 goals this season, could we see another few additions from the Warriors?

Will the 40th match between these two sides bring the fire?

Given the high stakes of this fixture, it is only right to take a trip back to 2019 when the Warriors last defeated Airdrie at home. Thomas Halleran netted the only goal of the game back when we took the Diamonds on in League 1- a 74th minute free-kick that would have seen Ochilview rocking. This is a sensation that one of our players may be hoping to recreate this time around.

This is another longstanding fixture for the Warriors that has produced some cracking goals over its piece and with over 100 scored already, this fixture could prove to be a firecracker.

Warriors as always, your support is essential so please make sure you join us at Ochilview tomorrow night to get the stadium bouncing, as the boys look to take a step further in their hopes of Championship football. Remember to stay up to date via all our social media channels.

Kick off: 7:45pm 6th May

Location: Ochilview Park

Match Preview by Louise Davidson