
January 31, 2025
Airdrieonians vs Queen’s Park
Flynn Duffy wants more of the same from Airdrie as the Diamonds aim to make it three wins on the bounce when Queen’s Park visit on Saturday.
Back-to-back wins over Dumbarton and Dunfermline Athletic have lifted the mood around the Albert Bartlett Stadium, and defender Duffy was pleased with two impressive results.
“I would say Dumbarton, even though they’re a division down, is a hard place to go – so the fact we scored five goals gave us a lot of confidence.
“The game on Saturday was crucial. We knew we had to win it, there was no hiding away from that, and we scored three good goals.
“We started with a lot of energy in the game, I thought we defended really well and limited their chances, so it was a positive day all round.”
With striker Ben Wilson and midfielders Lewis McGrattan and Chris Mochrie all finding the net in both victories, the Diamonds could be hitting form at a crucial time.
The gap at the foot of the table was reduced to ten points with Saturday’s win over the ninth-placed Pars, who have played a game more.
Callum Davidson’s Queen’s Park are the visitors this weekend as Airdrie look to further lessen that distance, but the Hampden side already have two wins over Airdrie in the bag.
Jack Turner and Zak Rudden were on the scoresheet as the Spiders won 2-0 in Airdrie back in August, with Ben Wilson having a goal controversially disallowed before Calum Ferrie was dismissed for tripping the striker late on.
There was a repeat of the 2-0 scoreline at Hampden in December, with Louis Longridge and the recently-departed Dom Thomas getting the goals.
Airdrie will be hoping to end the sequence with a second successive home win, and Duffy expects a similar approach to their two recent wins.
“I think every game until the end of the season is going to be like that, we’re going to be looking for maximum points. It’s another home game, which is a positive. I thought the fans were really good on Saturday, being that 12th man.
“We’re just going to look to replicate what we did last Saturday. Even though it’ll be a different game, different players, new challenges, we’ll be right up for it.
“They’re a decent team – we have to give them credit, they’ve beaten us twice. On Saturday it’s a clean slate. Any team in this league can beat anyone, so we just need to win our duels and be on it on Saturday, and I’m confident we can go and take maximum points.”
Airdrie’s recent turnaround can be credited in no small part to the return from injury of a number of key players, allowing the luxury of an almost full-strength matchday squad for the first time in a long time.
With Liam McStravick making his first appearance since March, things continue to look up for the Diamonds, and Flynn wants to translate that positivity into results.
“Ever since I came in we’ve been light on bodies. We’ve not had a lot to come off the bench and impact games.
“We’ve got a really healthy squad now, with competition for places, which ultimately ups people’s games.
“I think the last thing we’re going to be doing is getting carried away, we’re still right at the bottom of the league, but what we’ve got now is a lot of bodies coming back and a lot of quality. We’re a side with a bit of momentum, so long may that continue.”
Manager Rhys McCabe echoes his player’s sentiments on momentum, but is prepared for the usual tough test from the Spiders.
“It’s a game that we’ll be looking forward to, because we’re coming off the back of a positive couple of results.
“You can start to see the confidence that comes naturally with good performances and good results.
“It’ll be a tough game regardless. Being at home we’d like to think that we can build on the last two performances. We’ve been working on things all week, and being able to get boys back and implementing our ideas, we’re looking forward to the game on Saturday.”
The Diamonds boss described the usual “bumps and bruises” sustained against Dunfermline, while defenders Mason Hancock (hamstring) and Aidan Wilson (knee) and striker Aaron Reid (ankle) continue to progress with their rehabilitation.
Referee Iain Snedden still only has one match featuring Airdrie (October's 2-1 defeat at Partick) to his name this season, having been scheduled to officiate the postponed tie against Falkirk earlier this month.
Match tickets are available using the link below, and our DiamondsTV video (subscribers outwith the UK and Ireland) and audio (pay-per-match worldwide) streams are available.
Please be aware that behaviour deemed unacceptable will result in ejection from the stadium. Issues arising during the match can be reported anonymously - see the posters around the stadium for more information. Our unacceptable conduct policy can be viewed using the link below.


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Saturday February 1, 2025

3:00pm

The Albert Bartlett Stadium, Airdrie

Referee
Iain Snedden
Assistants
Paul O’Neill, Michael MacDermid





