Scottish League One: Three Things we Learned
It was another action-packed week in League One with six games left to go…
Airdrie see off Queen’s Park to ensure a promotion play-off spot
Callum Smith opened the scoring for the Diamonds in the 38th minute before Dylan Easton fired the hosts into a two-goal lead on the stroke of half-time. Victory for the North Lanarkshire club extends their unbeaten run to 14 matches ahead of next Saturday’s title-defining match against league leaders Cove, where a win would see them cut the deficit at the top to two points…
The result also sees Ian Murray’s men ensure that they will at least be in the promotion play-off positions come May for the third consecutive season.
Queen’s Park, meanwhile, remain in fourth position in the table, however, courtesy of Falkirk’s win at Dumbarton, are now only three points clear. The Spiders are set to play the first of three home matches next Saturday as they welcome Glasgow derby rivals Clyde to Firhill.
Airdrieonians manager, Ian Murray said: “A fantastic three points for us in a really difficult game, but I’ve got to congratulate the players and staff for a great win, especially at home.”
Queen’s Park Director of Football, Marijn Beuker said: “It was a very disappointing game, we came up short in what was a poor team performance, so very disappointed.”
Cove defeat Montrose to maintain five-point gap at the top
Mitch Megginson struck in the sixth minute to have the league leaders in control during the early stages of the match, before Fraser Fyvie doubled Cove’s advantage just after the half-hour mark. Craig Johnston pulled a goal back for the Gable Endies in the 38th minute.
The win caps off a remarkable 20 game unbeaten run for Paul Hartley’s Toonsers who remain firmly in the driving seat for automatic promotion to the Championship. They travel to Airdrie next Saturday, a game where only victory will suffice in their quest to move a step closer to clinching the league trophy.
Defeat for Montrose sees them remain comfortably in third position and maintain an eight-point cushion over Queen’s Park. Cove Rangers manager, Paul Hartley said: “It was a hard fought win. I felt we were comfortable in the game, especially in the first half. We scored two really good goals.”
Falkirk get the better of Dumbarton to narrow gap on fourth
First-half goals from Jaze Kabia and Charlie Telfer within the opening 30 minutes of the match proved to be enough as Falkirk eased past Dumbarton at the Rock. The win for the Bairns eases the pressure on Martin Rennie after fans vented their anger after last Saturday’s chastening defeat against Airdrie. However, this weekend’s win sees them cut the gap on fourth place to three points as they continue to battle for the remaining promotion play-off spot.
Meanwhile, it is a fifth consecutive defeat for Dumbarton whose alarming slide in form sees them remain just three points in front of bottom club East Fife in ninth- who also lost to Clyde by the same score-line.
Dumbarton boss, Steve Farrell said: “There was absolutely nothing in it, just nothing, apart from those two goals. There are no excuses.”
Falkirk head coach, Martin Rennie said: “It was pretty difficult conditions to play on today, but I thought we
handled it really well and played some good stuff in Dumbarton’s half- so, overall a really good performance and result for us.”
Elsewhere in Clackmannanshire, Alloa pulled themselves further away from relegation danger with a
narrow 1-0 victory over Peterhead.
Scottish League One Results:
Airdrieonians 2-0 Queen’s Park
Alloa Athletic 1-0 Peterhead
Clyde 2-0 East Fife
Dumbarton 0-2 Falkirk
Montrose 1-2 Cove Rangers