Airdrie United Football Club

Airdrie United crashed out of the Scottish Cup last night after a disappointing 2-0 defeat by Kilmarnock. Although there did not appear to be two divisions of quality between the sides, Airdrie did not register much of a goal threat and in truth went down without much of a fight against their SPL opponents. With the carrot of a £200,000 next round vs Celtic at stake, it was a frustrating night for the Diamonds fans.

Airdrie United fall short against Killie.

Hmm. I’m not sure what I’m feeling right now. Naturally I’m disappointed as a victory last night would have prompted a huge turnaround in our fortunes by getting us the Celtic money. It’s a big missed opportunity and it has hurt the club but at the same time, we have to be realistic. Kilmarnock are two divisions above us. They left David Fernandez (the best Airdrie player in the last 10 years in my opinion) on their bench and Aime Koudou wasn’t even in their squad.

Quality wise, Kilmarnock weren’t anything special but what they were was well organized and disciplined. Jim Jefferies has made his side hard to beat and in truth Airdrie never really looked like scoring, they didn’t get themselves into the game and they didn’t put Killie under any significant pressure.

Although I don’t think we played well on the night, I find it hard to criticise the team. I don’t think any individual can hold their hands up and say “I played well” but at the same time, I thought we started both halfs with the right attitude. I don’t think we lost this game because the players weren’t up for it, but I think we just didn’t have enough quality in the midfield to cause a well organized Killie team any problems.

Our midfield has been the problem all season and it’s no surprise that our best run of form came when Steven McDougall has been playing. Our current midfield is too slow, too static and too flat and as a result, there’s a huge gap between midfield and strikers, meaning Russell and Noble have no support and it’s difficult to put opposition under pressure.

First of all, anyone who doesn’t rate Kevin McDonald really needs to stop fast forwarding the analysis part of Match of the Day and spend a bit more time trying to understand how football works. KMac is by far and away our best midfielder and the only one looking to take some responsibility and make things happen for us. The fact this doesn’t always come off is inevitable and not always his fault but given the tactic of the rest of the team can at best be described as hit and hope, I find it unbelievable the criticism he takes.

The rest of the midfield are passengers, no doubt about it. The only thing that disappointed me about Darren Smith’s red card is that I don’t think it will rule him out for Saturday - he offers absolutely nothing and is a complete waste of a jersey. On the left hand side Ricky Waddell, while I think is decent as a left back / wing back, is not a winger and proved that again last night. In Marco Andreoni, if that’s the best Kenny can come up with then goodness knows where we are going as he just doesn’t have it for me. One paced and too dithery, he was awful last night and I really hope we can bring someone else instead of him in to fill the huge gap vacated by Dosser.

Up front, our strikers are good enough - Allan Russell put in another good shift last night and was unlucky not to score with a shot that rattled the bar and Stuart Noble is a useful player with Kevin Watt to come off the bench.

Defensively, I think we’re reasonable - I like McKenna and I like Smyth and I think our fullbacks are decent enough for this level. In goals - Robbo was definitely at fault for the first goal last night. Last season I (justifiably so in my opinion) slated him constantly as I thought he was dreadful but I’m not going to criticise him for last night as I think he’s been outstanding all season and everybody is entitled to a few mistakes.

Midfield is definitely the problem. I don’t know what money is left in the pot to bring players in but I do know that every last penny of it should be spent on improving the midfield. The rest of the team is decent enough but games are won and lost in the midfield and of the 4 who started last night, only one of them is good enough.

First and foremost, we need someone in there in the Marv / Doc / Hardie roll to give us a battler who is going to win the ball for us. If we can’t afford to bring someone in, maybe move McKenna in there. McDonald can be our playmaker if we give him that freedom but we need to play him high up the park - at the moment he is sitting far too deep and he’s not in a position where he can play the killer pass. Holmes coming back will be a boost, but only if we give him a license to attack as he’s never a defensive minded midfielder in a million years.

I do think we are slowly making progress but we’ve still a long way to go. An overhaul of the midfield could see that progress quicken but I fear last night’s defeat may make that impossible.

Airdrie United 0 - 2 Kilmarnock

Player Ratings:

Robbo - At fault for the first goal but made a few good stops and unlucky for penalty (6/10)

Smyth - Not great, not bad (6/10)

Lovering - was left exposed time and time again but I thought he coped well and his experience shone through (7/10)

McKenna - conceded penalty but didn’t have a bad game (6/10)

Donnelly - coped well with arieal threat of Nish (7/10)

Smith - adds absolutely nothing to the team and foolishly sent off. Also conceded needless free kick for 1st goal (3/10)

Andreoni - dreadful (4/10)

McDonald - never hides, tries to make things happen but being stifled creatively (7/10)

Waddell - not a left midfielder (5/10)

Noble - didn’t really happen for Noble and subbed early (5/10)

Russell - battled for the cause again, but a tough shift against an organized Killie backline. Unlucky not to score. (6/10)

SUBS:

Prunty - was he playing? (3/10)

Watt - his movement gives us a much needed lift and setup our only chance (6/10)

Man of the Match - Kevin McDonald

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