By Ian Steven
Airdrie manager Rhys McCabe feels luck may finally be on the side of his beleaguered Diamonds after a battling performance in a 2-2 draw against an in-form Morton at Cappielow.
Striker Ben Wilson took advantage of a lucky ricochet to open the scoring for the Diamonds, leaving McCabe to conclude that his side’s hard work and persistence is finally beginning to bring about good fortune.
Wilson’s early strike was countered in the first half as Filip Stuparevic deftly chested the ball into the path of Nathan Shaw to rifle into the back of the net.
The Diamonds took the lead once again in 68 minutes with Ricco Diack scoring his first for the club with a header, but the visitors fell asleep, as the Ton scored straight from kick off, failing to mark Jack Baird at the back post from a set piece.
That leaves Airdrie now 10 points adrift at the bottom of the table from nearest rivals Dunfermline.
“I think the way that we’ve performed, especially for, for large parts of that game, in terms of our enthusiasm and energy levels, we’ve started to kind of get the rub of the green on a few occasions,” McCabe stated.
“I think that naturally comes with confidence, with forwards scoring goals and getting positive results naturally, but like I said to the boys in there, it’s never been a question of enthusiasm, intensity or anything that .
“But I’m proud because we had really, really good chances, especially that early part of the game and the goals that obviously that Morton score are probably ones that we’ll look back with a wee bit of frustration things that we could have done better.
“The conditions and stuff are difficult to play on. The pitch was bobbly and probably lacked a wee bit of quality, if I’m honest.
“With both sides, it was very difficult to get into your rhythm and normal flow of the game. But on the flip side of that, I think the boys battled well and showed the other side of their game and did really well.
“There’s a lot of positives to take from the game. Morton have got a really, really good home record here, so we knew coming into the game that regardless of performances, we had to more than match the kind of physical side and make sure we were prepared for what they were going to throw at us.”
Despite his side picking up a valuable point away from home, McCabe was still frustrated with decision making in the opponent’s area which could have led to more goals for the Diamonds.
He added: “It’s hard to kind of reflect on the game right away, I think, especially the first half.
“I think Adam Frizzell tries to lob the goalie and there’s an easy pass, which we’ll shout for the side of the pitch. If he squares Ben Wilson, he’s a one-on-one. And Ben also has a header from a corner that you’d expect Ben to put in the back of the net.
“We scored a good goal. And on the basis of the chances, you’re probably looking at coming away from home with three points. So we’re disappointed to come away with the point.
“There’s a wee sense of frustration in there because we certainly would have been kind of value for the three I think. “