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Airdrieonians v Morton preview

13th March 2015

John Boyle is keen to get back in first team contention - by firing Airdrie towards the play-offs.


The Club captain has mostly featured from the bench this season, but his contribution as a hold-up striker was instrumental in taking the pressure off the Diamonds defence as Ayr United rallied in the dying stages of Tuesday night's vital showdown. 

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Airdrie recorded a narrow 1-0 victory on the night, and Boyle is quick to point out the importance of the win. 

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"The result against Ayr was massive, because we need to keep the run going to push for the play-off places." 

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Marc Fitzpatrick scored the only goal of the game, and the Diamonds face the midfielder's last club, Morton, on Saturday. 

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The Greenock side have the upper hand over the teams' five meetings so far this season - winning twice in the league and once in a Scottish Cup replay after the first tie finished goalless. 

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However, Airdrie were victorious the last time the sides met, a Jim Lister strike securing the points at Cappielow in January. 

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Jim Duffy's men have gone on to top the League One table since then, but they hold no fear for Boyle. 

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"Of course we can beat Morton - we're more than a match for any team in the league." 

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Confidence is clearly high in Gary Bollan's squad, and rightly so - Tuesday's win at Somerset made it eight games unbeaten for the Diamonds. 

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An important factor in that run has been the form of strikers Jim Lister and Bryan Prunty - form which has meant Boyle and others have had to bide their time on the substitutes bench. 

"It's been tough not playing as much as I would have liked. 

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"Hopefully I can get a chance in the next few weeks to show what I can do." 

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Strength in depth will be important as Airdrie aim to continue their good form and push towards a top-four finish, but with several teams aiming for the play-off spots, results elsewhere are important. John insists the Diamonds squad can only worry about themselves. 

 

"We're taking it one game at a time and concentrating on us and only us". 

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With the next of those games coming against the league-leaders and bookies' favourites, Airdrie will have to dig deep to continue their unbeaten streak.

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