Match Preview – Airdrieonians v Forfar Athletic
[Thursday, 21 March 2019 12:18]
Ladbrokes League 1
Venue – Penny Cars Stadium
Date – Saturday, March 23rd – kick-off 3 p.m.
Admission Prices – Adults £16 Concessions £10 Under 17’s £7
League Positions – Airdrieonians 7th – 34 pts from 28 games Forfar Athletic 2nd – 50 points from 29 games
Previous Results this Season – Forfar Athletic 1 Airdrieonians 3 at Station Park on 4.8.19
Airdrieonians 0 Forfar Athletic 1 at Penny Cars Stadium on 3.11.19
Forfar Athletic 2 Airdrieonians 0 at Station Park on 9.2.19
Summary – The ‘Loons’ head west on Saturday to face Ian Murray’s ‘Diamonds’ no doubt in confident mood following last week’s victory over Raith Rovers and also on the back of their overall form since Christmas.
That optimism will, however, be tempered with a sense of realism. The Excelsior Stadium now renamed, is never an easy place to visit and the home side will be desperate for the three points that victory would bring them to help maintain their slim hope of a fourth-place finish.
In that regard, Airdrie currently sit ten points adrift of East Fife with a game in hand, following the postponement last weekend of their clash with Dumbarton at the C&G Systems Stadium.
Only a collapse of gigantic proportions would now see the Athies fail to reach the play-off stage, fifteen points now the gap between Jim Weir’s troops and fifth-placed neighbours Montrose.
There were no serious injuries to report following last week’s win over the Rovers and consequently the manager will have all nineteen players in his squad fit and raring to go. With the league campaign now well into the final quarter, Jim Weir must be without a doubt delighted with the fact that he has strong options in all departments of his squad, as witnessed by the strength of the bench in last weekend’s fixture.
The home side have had a mixed bag of results in recent times, a 3-2 defeat at Arbroath after having been 2-1 up, being followed by a 1-0 win at home to Montrose, then a reverse by the same score line at Kirkcaldy.
Darryl Duffy who scored the winner against the ‘Gable Endies’ is the club’s leading marksman with nine league goals to date, while both of their January acquisitions Josh Campbell signed on loan from Hibs and Declan Glass who arrived on a similar arrangement from Dundee United were in the starting line-up two weeks back.
It would appear that a larger than normal contingent of the Station Park faithful will be making the trip to Lanarkshire. The more the merrier as their backing will be ‘music to the ears’ of Michael Travis and his colleagues as they strive for a continuation of their unbeaten run, prior to the visit of league leaders Arbroath to Station Park next week.
Match Officials – Referee – Mike Roncone Assistants – Chris Phillips & Jonathan Bell
Supporters Note – Seats are still available on the Supporters Coach to Airdrie which will depart the Myre Car Park at 12 noon. The cost is £12 with a reduced price of £8 for Under 17’s.
To book a seat, e mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or text 07803208502. Please advise when booking whether an adult or under 17.
