John Rankin accused his Airdrieonians side of being 'toothless' as they were held to a goalless draw by Cove Rangers in their League One opener at Balmoral Stadium.
Neither side managed to find the net and clear-cut chances were rare, but both teams had pivotal moments. Airdrie goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon produced a fine first-half save to turn Jordan White's thumping strike onto the post, while Adam Devine somehow poked wide from two yards on the hour mark.
New boss wants more ruthlessness
Rankin, taking charge of his first league game with the Diamonds, admitted the result was not good enough. "The result is not ideal. We wanted to come up here and get three points to start the season with," he told the club media.
"When you look at the overall performance, it was relatively decent in our own half. I don't think we gave a lot of chances away or lost a lot of possession, but in and around their box I felt we were a wee bit toothless, reluctant to shoot at times, wanting to take an extra touch, try to be safe rather than just taking the chance when it was on.
"And that's all down to confidence in the final third. I thought we got into some really good positions but didn't take our chances when they came."
Defensive resolve praised
Rankin acknowledged the challenge posed by Cove's physical forwards, saying: "We knew this was going to be a difficult game. Cove have got two absolute monsters at the top end of the pitch - two big, physical guys and good players at the same time - and we had to try and be on our toes for that. Defensively, we looked solid and the two centre backs dealt with the threat quite well, albeit it was hard for them at times."
On the key moments, he added: "The first half, Snedds does make a great save, getting a good strong hand to it and getting it onto the post and past. I didn't think we got into any good areas in the first half. We had some shots, headers going over the bar. But in the second half we got into really good areas."
"We maybe didn't test their goalkeeper but we had a tap-in from two yards and put it past the post - which is criminal. You have to score those opportunities because you work so hard to get them. That's just down to concentration. We hit the bar as well and we weren't there to pick up the second ball, so it is just about sharpening up that top end of the pitch."
"We are getting into those areas and the build-up play to get into those areas is fine. We have bodies in the box but we are just not reacting quick enough. We didn't have that bit of quality and ruthlessness we needed."
Home opener awaits
Airdrie's first home league match of the season comes next Saturday, when they entertain East Kilbride, who started their campaign with a 5-1 victory over Queen of the South.
