Airdrie v Clyde - 26/2/22

[Chapelhall chap]

If I were a neutral I would say that was a fairly good watch in that Clyde did begin the game with a much more assertive style than I had seen in the previous matches. However as I am biased I found it a frustrating performance by us. We could well have been a goal down inside the first two minutes and Clyde had much more of the open play while we were too narrow and unwilling it seems just to shoot. Hard to tell if any of our penalty howls were more from desperation than good eyesight. With 5 minutes to half time I was glad to be drawing so it was a real sickener to concede even if it was a cracking shot.

At least Murray made one change as McGill had toiled but the flaring error was to keep Agnew . I can't remember him passing the ball forward, and his free kicks , although going forward, were gash. 

Clyde ought to have made it 2 and that nightmare looked on but he sckaffed ( this was a spelling error but sclaffed a kick might be better) it. Too late in bringing on Gabby McGill but it did work and with a bit of composure some other free kicks should have been converted. 

I don't blame Clyde for their approach in that last period  It's up to us to get through the barrier. We do look to have a bit of a dip and it will be hard to pull Cove back. Pity Alloa didn't hold out and we will need to be much better next week. The Afolabi guy I remain puzzled by his contribution but what do I know?

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by Chapelhall chap
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[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds]

Worth mentioning that on his first game back from a long injury, Gabby McGill looked our best goal threat. Perhaps a bit obvious since he scored our only goal but he had another effort go just wide of the post as well. Would quite like to see him and Smith start up top together as I think Smith is probably our best forward in terms of actual ability and McGill looks like the closest thing to a natural goalscorer we have.

[The clean living guy]

Airdrie were woeful in the first half and only slightly better in the second half.

I reckon Clyde will be disappointed with only a point. 

The ref had little control of the game and clyde certainly played on that. 

[dextermorgan]

27 minutes ago, ShineOnYouCrazyDiamonds said:

Worth mentioning that on his first game back from a long injury, Gabby McGill looked our best goal threat. Perhaps a bit obvious since he scored our only goal but he had another effort go just wide of the post as well. Would quite like to see him and Smith start up top together as I think Smith is probably our best forward in terms of actual ability and McGill looks like the closest thing to a natural goalscorer we have.

The game, in my opinion is best summed up with the Airdrie stats of 57% possession and 21 shots with one goal. Agreed that Gabby McGill is probably the most potent of our strikers and I would play him ahead of the others for that single reason. He may not be the easiest on the eye to watch but he delivers when it matters. Smith should find a place in the side for his pace alone and the fact that sides are careful in pressing too high. I said at the start of the season that the league would be won by the side with quality in the forward line. This is looking like the case just now, but who knows what will happen when form, suspensions and injuries come into play in the next few weeks.

Clyde it must be remembered have strung together a fair few results since Christmas and but for a bit of good fortune we could easily have lost today.

[Diamond diehard]

To say that Clyde would be disappointing with a draw is just daft. Have a look at the stats and the fact that they couldn't get out their own half in the second half. Agreed Airdrie not at best but should have won the game. At least 2 or 3 good shouts for a pen.

[Diamond8]

Clyde got what they came for. We weren't at our best which has been the case against them this season. f**k watching Clyde every week though.

[Clyde85]

Another point that I wasn’t expecting to get. Yeah we aren’t the best to watch but we have to play like that with the players we’ve got at our disposal. It’s up to the opposition to break us down and beat us and Airdrie couldn’t to that today.

[David W]

14 minutes ago, The clean living guy said:

Airdrie were woeful in the first half and only slightly better in the second half.

I reckon Clyde will be disappointed with only a point. 

The ref had little control of the game and clyde certainly played on that. 

I'm not disappointed with a point but I'm disappointed with that we've drawn the last four away games and not manage to turn one of them into a win, especially given that we took the lead in three of them. Still, we go to Cove in a fortnight having not lost an away league match since our last trip there in mid-October, which is a fair record.

If you had told me 21 minutes into the Dumbarton game that they'd only gain a point on us by this stage (with them having Alloa/Peterhead, and us heading to Montrose/Airdrie), I'd have been delighted with that. I still think they're the team we need to finish ahead of. If there is any positive to enduring that game, it is that we've tried to play a bit more football in the games since and more importantly jettisoned Jones out of the picture.

We got our tactics spot on in the first half and bar a spell in the middle of the half when Love for some reason stopped tracking Frizzell, going man to man in midfield worked a treat. Gomis kept Easton really quiet and the other aspect of playing like that is that Splaine had too much pace for Agnew and McAllister found space away from McGill going the other way. The front two caused a decent amount of bother and Jamieson's finish was a cracker.

The second half, Airdrie kept throwing on attacking players and we struggled to clear the ball (Rumsby was shocking today) or retain it. We really should have had more about us to threaten more on the break against a team leaving only a couple of players back. Cunningham stayed on far too long and Love had his weekly stinker, whilst Gomis and Splaine noticeably tired and messed up a couple of counter attacks. That said, Jamieson should have made it 2-0. Need to see the goal again to see if Livingstone was to blame but there's no doubt at that stage of the game he was being left 1 v 2 too often.

I thought Airdrie had one good penalty shout when JBH came out and completely missed a cross, though it's always a bit of a lottery about whether a referee gives that. I think the back-up goalie played well today but also showed why he's only a stand-in with his decision making; he came for a couple of crosses he got nowhere near and he was far too slow coming out for the Afolabi dive. Similar to Wilson last season; he's good for a one-off appearance but you wouldn't want him to be in for a run of games.

Cuddihy had a good game and Page had a much better second half than first. Plenty of positives to take regardless; if we get Parry and Elsdon back in and avoid any more injuries, then that team will stay up. I'd be even more confident if we managed to recruit a player or two. The difference it makes having a bit of pace in the team surprises no-one.

Airdrie had a good spell at the start of the second half, definitely deserved a point, but I thought they were a bit of a rabble by the end, probably one attacker too many. Understandable though given that they likely knew Cove were dropping points.

[Diamond diehard]

17 minutes ago, Clyde85 said:

Another point that I wasn’t expecting to get. Yeah we aren’t the best to watch but we have to play like that with the players we’ve got at our disposal. It’s up to the opposition to break us down and beat us and Airdrie couldn’t to that today.

Fair comment mate. Good luck to you and try and take some points off Cove please  

[Rhys McCabe Hype Train]

2 hours ago, Passionate said:

I thought Afolabi was decent did his job holding the ball up, linking up play that was the issue with Gal he struggled to do it , is Afolabi and Gall the right mix. ??? Up front, not sure.. 

 

Agree about the midfield, that's a couple of games we have struggled,  Easton is a wonderful player, is he a midfield ball winner though.....he never shirked a tackle or a header,  We need to get a better shape and personnel in there, Agnew , has done well previously but is playing a bit in no man's land just now. ..

 

A very panicky performance, was a must win,  as a team we struggle to meet expectation,   we need to calm down and let our ability win us games,  that has got us to this position,  No need to change....

McCabe into midfield and Kerr back into the back line is logical but there must be a reason why Josh was sitting on the bench today. 

[SLClyde]

1 hour ago, Diamond8 said:

Clyde got what they came for. We weren't at our best which has been the case against them this season. f**k watching Clyde every week though.

We came for 3 points btw, it’s a myth that you need to play attacking football for 90 minutes to be seen as going for a win. Airdrie are better than us, if we played that way we’d get beat quite simply. 

[Fast_Action]

1 hour ago, Diamond diehard said:

To say that Clyde would be disappointing with a draw is just daft. Have a look at the stats and the fact that they couldn't get out their own half in the second half. Agreed Airdrie not at best but should have won the game. At least 2 or 3 good shouts for a pen.

The good shouts for a penalty were well sussed by the ref.  That it took three for a player to be booked for simulation shows his kindness towards the Diamonds.  Had he been consistent, he would have shown a second yellow and red to your no13 for diving yet again.  Saw all of the first half claims.  Blatant cheating.  

That said, I still think that Airdrie are the best team in the league, and I would have taken a point before a ball was kicked.  The game was well changed when your no23 came on (McGill?).  IIRC, he was injured at the game the was abandoned at Broadwood, so good to see him come on and make such an impact on the game.  Dylan Easton was anonymous during the game (usually a stand out for me, if he does often get caught in possession).  

All in all, a good point again a good Airdrie side.  They will accuse us of time wasting in the second, perhaps with some merit, but a team as good as they are should not have to resort to the cheating that we saw today.  The ref could have and should have been harder on them. 

 

[GoalForAirdrie]

1 hour ago, Dylan Easton Fanclub said:

McCabe into midfield and Kerr back into the back line is logical but there must be a reason why Josh was sitting on the bench today. 

Kerr was hobbling in the 2nd half up at Peterhead last week. 

[Stevo1968]

4 hours ago, GoalForAirdrie said:

Kerr was hobbling in the 2nd half up at Peterhead last week. 

Seemed fine today, Agnew is a waste of a jersey

[Jack Reed]

6 hours ago, Stevo1968 said:

Seemed fine today, Agnew is a waste of a jersey

Today yes, but has been doing OK in recent weeks, think stats show that we have not solved our striking problem, last 2 games we have not  looked good enough to challange Cove, 

[dextermorgan]

I was convinced yesterday that Airdrie's claims for penalties were dubious to say the least. I just watched Leigh Griffiths go down in the box for a penalty decision and it  reminded me that the refereeing at this level is a pure lottery.

[Rhys McCabe Hype Train]

7 hours ago, Stevo1968 said:

Agnew is a waste of a jersey

That patter is pish.

[Brian Carrigan]

A fair amount of blatant diving from Airdrie yesterday, which is something I’ve not seen for a very long time. Started with Afolabi two or three times then spread to Gallagher and a few others. Pretty bizarre moments in what I thought was a good game to watch.

[Passionate]

2 minutes ago, Dylan Easton Fanclub said:

That patter is pish.

I think we all need to settle down ffs, the old Airdrieis seeping out, Cove have been riding there luck for weeks and to be honest so have we,   are both sides struggling with the pressure, I would say so,  9 games to go we are 11 unbeaten, with our best side arguably in over 25 years......I

 

What ever happens in the remaining games the support has to sick together ,  one thing this bunch of players have shown is they will go down swinging..

[Rhys McCabe Hype Train]

1 minute ago, Passionate said:

I think we all need to settle down ffs, the old Airdrieis seeping out, Cove have been riding there luck for weeks and to be honest so have we,   are both sides struggling with the pressure, I would say so,  9 games to go we are 11 unbeaten, with our best side arguably in over 25 years......I

 

What ever happens in the remaining games the support has to sick together ,  one thing this bunch of players have shown is they will go down swinging..

Could hear the usual on the stream yesterday. When the ball went backwards it was booing.