Airdrie 1 East Kilbride 1: Diamonds fight back for late derby draw

Airdrieonians battled back from a goal down to hold Lanarkshire rivals East Kilbride in a drab derby draw at New Broomfield.

Match Summary

There was little to write home about in this scrappy contest until Kilby skipper Sean Fagan grabbed the opening goal of the game in 65 minutes with a free header to turn home a corner from ex-Diamond Lewis McGrattan.

With EK looking like they would take all three points, Jamie Hamilton brought down Liam McLeish in the penalty box and the Diamonds man dusted himself down before burying the equaliser from the spot.

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It made it back-to-back draws for the Diamonds to start League One, while EK remain unbeaten with four points from their first two outings after winning League Two last term.

Team News and Early Action

The Diamonds named an unchanged line-up from last week's stalemate at Cove Rangers, while Kilby made just one alteration from their thumping 5-1 win at home to Queen of the South, as Andrew Kyle dropped out with an injury picked up last week and was replaced by Owen Calder.

There were a few players in action against their old side with ex-Diamonds Rhys Armstrong and Lewis McGrattan in the Kilby squad, while Dylan MacDonald lined up for the hosts after joining from EK two years ago.

It took 20 minutes for a clear sight at goal and when it came, it fell to the hosts. A bit of jostling on the edge of the box saw the ball break to Matty Yates. The forward showed great skill to take two defenders out of the game on the edge of the box and get a shot away, however he curled his strike over the target.

Down the other end, great work from Sean Fagan got him to the byeline and when his cutback found Finlay Gray, the Kilby man saw his strike six-yards out blocked as his effort looked destined to find the back of the net.

First Half Incidents

In Airdrie's next attack, Jamie Hamilton's late tackle on Airdrie midfielder Ewan Simpson sparked a melee in the middle of the park. Amid the pushing and shoving that followed, Hamilton and Matty Yates saw yellow for their actions and even Diamonds gaffer John Rankin was booked for his protests. Kilby boss Mick Kennedy also went into the book five minutes later as he showed his frustration with referee Grant Irvine's performance.

The best chance of the half fell to the Diamonds five minutes before half-time when Mebude was played through one-on-one with Kilby keeper Shay Kelly. The visitors backline claimed in vain for offside and with only Kelly to beat, Mebude was denied by the outstretched leg of the 19-year-old goalie.

Second Half and Goals

In the second half, there wasn't much football being played in the early stages as a game regularly halted by Grant Irvine's whistle somehow got even more scrappy.

However, in 65 minutes Kilby found the opener. Substitute Lewis McGrattan swung in a corner from the left and Fagan was given the freedom of New Broomfield to rise unmarked and power home a header.

Six minutes later EK almost scored an identical goal when a McGrattan corner was met by Hamilton, but his header was straight at Jamie Sneddon in the Diamonds goal.

Finlay Gray was next to go close for EK in 76 minutes when he headed just over from a whipped free-kick delivery by Owen Moffat.

However, Airdrie were handed a lifeline seven minutes from time when Hamilton stuck out a leg in the box and brought down Liam McLeish. The striker dusted himself down and buried his penalty with aplomb into the bottom left corner, sending Kelly the wrong way.

As the visitors frustrations grew, an East Kilbride coach then saw red, but neither side could find a winner despite Moffat's mazy run late on for EK and Robbie Mahon being denied in stoppage time by a good stop by Kelly.

Both sides are now in Challenge Cup action on Tuesday night as Airdrie visit Dumbarton and EK host Kilmarnock B.

Teams

AIRDRIEONIANS: Sneddon, Devine, MacDonald (Boateng 76), Ross, Fisher, Bridge (Iserhienrhein 76), G Gallagher (McLeish 66), Simpson, Taylor, Yates (Mahon 72), Mebude.

Scorers: McLeish 82 (pen)

Bookings: Yates, Simpson, Fisher, Boateng

Subs not used: Adams, James, D Gallagher, Easton, Williams.