Harry Stone believes Airdrie’s form will reap rewards – and the goalkeeper says the Diamonds can sparkle at Firhill on Saturday.

Airdrie travel to the Wyre Stadium to take on Mark Wilson’s title-chasing Partick Thistle after narrowly losing out to league leaders St Johnstone.

Ruari Paton’s first half strike was enough to separate the sides in last weekend’s televised fixture, but Stone says the Diamonds deserved more from the match.

“I think in the second half I was basically just standing on the edge of my box for most of it, watching them attack.

“We were frustrated not to score at least one, because we thought we played really well and had them for most parts of the game.

“There are positives to take, and from St Mirren the week before as well – I think that’s two really good performances that we’ve put in, and we are unlucky not to take anything from both of the games, so we’ll be confident heading into Saturday.”

Maryhill has not been a happy hunting ground for Airdrie in recent seasons, with the Diamonds struggling to overcome both Thistle and former tenants Queen’s Park.

Hearts loanee Stone spent some time with the Glasgow club earlier in his career, and is looking forward to his Firhill return.

“I think it’ll be a really good game for everyone. They’ve not played in two weeks so they should be fresh, and hopefully the pitch is a bit better as well. I’m looking forward to it, it’s always a good game up there.

“I was there on my second loan, I was just a young boy then. I have good memories – I liked it there, but I didn’t play in many games.”

Queen’s Park’s win over Ross County last weekend saw Airdrie slip back into ninth position in the table, so the importance of a win on Saturday goes without saying – but with Thistle currently five points off the pace at the top, Stone says both sides will be facing pressure.

“It’s a big game for them, they can’t really afford to drop any points.

“At the same time we’ve given St Johnstone a right good go, same as St Mirren, and we’re in a spot as well where we need to start turning these performances into points. We’re also under pressure a little bit to win, so we’ll both be trying our hardest.”

And Harry is keen to reiterate that the Diamonds are only looking up as they attempt to pick up the wins they feel they deserve.

“As long as we take care of ourselves, we should be climbing the table. We’ve got important fixtures coming up against Morton and Queen’s Park, so we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing and I’m confident wins will come.

“I think the St Mirren game was good for us, because that was more of a free hit than St Johnstone.

“We went out and played how the manager wants us to play, and I think from that we realised that actually we can just do that against everyone – if we get it right it’ll get us up the park and hopefully we can just be that wee bit more clinical.”

Head coach Aaron Taylor-Sinclair agrees that it could be a Firhill thriller as both sides chase the win for different reasons.

“I think from their point of view they’ll just be looking to win as many games as possible to catch the lead at the top.

“From our point of view, we want to continue that away record. Obviously last time out against Dunfermline we had a good result, so we’re just looking to continue that.

“It’s one we’re looking forward to, and it’s also a chance to rectify the last couple of weeks.”

The Diamonds boss confirmed that skipper Aidan Wilson will miss another 3-4 matches following a scan. Aaron Reid, Rhys Armstrong and Alex King remain sidelined, though the latter pair have stepped up their recovery programmes and expect to be back in contention soon.

Referee Euan Anderson takes charge of his first game involving Airdrie this season.

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.

Supporters travelling by car are advised to park at the city (south) end of the Wyre Stadium. Supporters buses should drop off and pick up at Hinshaw Street, parking at Panmure Street.

Wheelchair entry is via gate 12 on Firhill Road.

Supporters are reminded that pyrotechnic devices are not permitted, and anyone found in possession will be refused entry.