Lewis Gibson hammered home an unstoppable finish to mark a debut to remember – and now the latest Airdrie recruit is gunning for Hamilton Academical.

Former Queen of the South and Raith Rovers ace Gibson made the move from Kirkcaldy on Tuesday afternoon, and just hours later was pulling on the Diamond shirt for the first time as Airdrie took on Dumbarton in the KDM Evolution Trophy.

Catching the eye immediately with some powerful wing play and a willingness to get shots away, the 21-year-old saved the icing on the cake for the second half when he made perfect contact with Dapo Mebude’s cutback to slam the Diamonds into a 2-1 lead.

The match finished 3-1 in Airdrie’s favour after Matty Yates added a spectacular third, and Gibson says it was the perfect debut as he immediately felt part of things.

“The lads were brilliant as soon as I arrived at Dumbarton, they were very welcoming.

“I felt like I understood them on the pitch as well, so it wasn’t so much that I had to settle in, I felt that understanding was there straight away.

“It was good to get going with a decent performance and a goal!”

The match was Airdrie’s second three-goal haul this season, having beaten Annan Athletic 3-0 last month.

Gibson revealed that he was the subject of conversation between Diamonds head coach John Rankin and Galabankies boss Willie Gibson – Lewis’s father.

“The gaffer had spoken to my dad previously, and said that he liked me as a player.

“It took a wee bit longer while we waited to see what Raith would say to it, and when they agreed to let me go it was done quite quickly, so I’m really happy to be here.”

Airdrie make the short journey to New Douglas Park on Saturday with their sights set on three points after drawing both of their first two fixtures.

After an impressive cup debut, Gibson now joins his team-mates in focussing on the League 1 campaign.

“The main aim is to get the club back to the Championship, that’s the ambition shared by everyone here.

“I feel like we’ve got a good enough squad to go and do that, so it’s just about putting that into practice and making sure we’re staying up at the top end of the table.”

And having spent time on loan with Montrose, Lewis knows exactly what to expect from Darian McKinnon’s side.

“They’ll be physical, Daz will have them playing with aggression.

“They’re a very good side, very good quality on the wings, so they’ll bring a lot to the game.

“Hopefully we can keep that at bay and go and do the business at the top end. If I can play a part in that with another goal, that would be nice!”

Speaking after the KDM cup tie at The Rock, head coach John Rankin played down the significance of facing his old side.

“I look forward to every game, it’s no difference to me where we go! We’re at the bit now where we’re building a whole new team and it’ll be a really good challenge for us to see where we are on our journey.

“Hamilton will be competitive, they’ve got a hugely experienced squad, they’ve got very good players within it – it’ll be a tough game, a competitive game, and it’s one where we need to be at full throttle and make sure we’re at the top end of our performance levels.

“We know how difficult it’s going to be. It’s a derby, one that we’re looking forward to and one that the fans are passionate about. We’ll go there on Saturday and be fully committed to it. I’m looking forward to it.”

Mason Chisholm, Cole McKinnon and Zac Butterworth are still sidelined for the Diamonds, while Dapo Mebude will face late checks after pulling up with a muscle strain on Tuesday evening.

Referee Sean Murdoch is in charge of the match at New Douglas Park.

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.

Visiting supporters will be located in the north stand and should enter via turnstiles 10, 11 and 12. A cash gate will be available on the day, and there will be no front-door access for this fixture.