Cinch Scottish League One: Three Things we Learned as Airdrie Hold on to Top-Spot
It was another drama-filled weekend of action in League One with 16 goals scored across the division…
Frizzell rescues point for Airdrie in top-of-the-table clash against Dunfermline
Nikolay Todorov broke the deadlock for the Pars’ in the 68th minute after a goalless encounter in the first period before Frizzell equalised 10 minutes later to ultimately rescue a point for the Diamonds.
The draw means there is nothing to separate both teams who remain neck-on-neck at the top of the early standings, with Airdrie clinging onto first place on a goal-difference of three.
Dunfermline travel down to Palmerston Park to face Queen of the South next weekend, while Airdrie welcome FC Edinburgh to North Lanarkshire.
Dunfermline Athletic assistant manager, Dave Mackay: “It feels like a bitter defeat, but the response after their [Airdrie’s] goal was really good, we created a lot of chances and on another day we could’ve won by one or two goals. Airdrie are a good team, to be fair to them, both teams had spells in the game and overall we could’ve and probably should’ve won.”
Airdrieonians player-manager, Rhys McCabe: “I think giving the manner of being a goal down and showing good character to come back into it, the second-half performance maybe merited a bit more, but all in all, we’ll take the point. In my opinion, we weren’t brave enough to break through in the first-half and it’s a test of character to how you respond, so I thought the second-half performance was excellent.”
Five-star Alloa demolish Peterhead to leave the Blue Toon rock-bottom
Conor Sammon opened the floodgates for the hosts in the first minute before George Stanger doubled their advantage shortly after. Bradley Rodden added a third in the 37th minute to take the Wasps into a commanding lead at the break. Sammon then ensured he would come away with a brace in the 52nd minute while Luke Rankin compounded further misery on the Blue Toon in injury time to wrap up a resounding performance.
The win for Brian Rice’s men ends a run of back-to-back defeats and means they jump to seventh ahead of next Saturday’s trip to face Clyde at New Douglas Park.
Meanwhile, it’s grim reading for Peterhead, who are still on the hunt for their first three points, having shipped 16 goals so far this season and only scored three. The Aberdeenshire side welcome Montrose to Balmoor next week.
Alloa Athletic manager, Brian Rice: “We really kicked on and created a lot of chances. I couldn’t ask for anymore that what we got today and I feel for Jim, he’s a good pal of mine, but I thought we were exceptional.”
Peterhead manager, Jim McInally: “We shot ourselves in the foot from the very start of the match and we never really recovered. At Peterhead, we do not have a blame culture and I have the responsibility of getting things right. Today we were not good enough, we need to improve, and I am sure we will.”
Three wins on the bounce for Falkirk as they climb to third in win over QOS
Calumn Morrison was the first to get on the scoresheet for the Bairns in the 12th minute before Juan Alegria hit home their second on the verge of the half-hour mark. A spot-kick from Ruari Paton saw Queen’s pull one back in the 61st minute, however, Oluwasegun Lawal put the score beyond doubt with seven minutes of time remaining. Paul McKay was dismissed in the 84th minute to cap off a miserable afternoon for the visitors.
The win for John McGlynn’s charges sees them replace Clyde in third-place, with the Bully Wee having dropped to sixth, meaning they are now a mere one point behind Airdrie and Dunfermline.
For the Doonhammers, they slip back down to eighth, having yet to find their groove in the third tier and challenge at the top end of the table.
Meanwhile, both teams are on a circuit-breaker from league action with Falkirk away to Scottish Championship side Dundee on Tuesday night in the last 16 of the League Cup, while Queen’s are in front of the TV screens against Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers at Ibrox.
On their return to league duties next Saturday, the Bairns visit Kelty Hearts in Fife and Queen’s welcome Dunfermline to Palmerston.
Falkirk manager, John McGlynn: “I was so pleased with the first-half performance. After the break we did lose out grip of the game and they made chances that impacted the match. We gave away a soft penalty, and it was a penalty, I have no gripes about that at all, but it was just so poor to give away. What I am delighted to say is that our mentality stood strong and we turned it around.”
Queen of the South player-manager, Willie Gibson: “Obviously disappointed, we spoke all week about what we were going to face and the boys didn’t perform. I feel we panicked and didn’t turn up in the first-half, it’s as simple as that. In the second-half, we reacted and got that goal, but we conceded a terrible goal and it wasn’t good enough.”
Scottish League One Results:
Alloa Athletic 5-0 Peterhead
Dunfermline Athletic 1-1 Airdrieonians
Falkirk 3-1 Queen of the South
FC Edinburgh 2-0 Clyde
Montrose 3-0 Kelty Hearts
Scottish League One Table: As It Stands