The young Diamonds snatched a point after a miraculous late comeback against group leaders Queen’s Park.

Airdrie U17 boss Scott Craig opted to make two changes from the side that defeated Alloa Athletic last week, with David Ruddy and Lewis Lindsay coming in to replace Aaron McDonald and Jayden Creer. Trialist Antoni Bialkowski was named in his first matchday squad.

The Diamonds almost got themselves off to a flyer, when Darryl McMutrie curled over the bar inside the opening seconds.

Kayden Reid managed to clear a dangerous delivery five minutes in, as the hosts begun a period of dominance.

14 minutes in, Spiders forward Daniel Edzii scooped an effort over the bar – but the visitors found the net just a minute later. Caiden Wright capitalising on some slack defensive play to fumble the ball home from close range.

Wright doubled his tally six minutes later, after receiving a defence splitting pass and slotting home leaving Lindsay with no chance in the Airdrie goal.

The game looked to be dead and buried just after the half hour mark, when Queen’s Park scored a third. This time, the away side capitalised on a loose Reid pass before finding Cole Goldie who finished off the move.

Airdrie struggled to get a foothold in the match, and the only remaining piece of action came when Edzii was cautioned for blocking the Diamonds’ goalkeeper from taking a free kick quickly.

The Diamonds made two substitutions at half time, as McDonald replaced Cole Lyon in defence and forward Kaleb Donnachie replaced Kyzer Fealy as Airdrie opted for a more attacking setup.

Donnachie was heavily involved in the first ten minutes of the second half, nodding wide from a delivery before being controversially flagged offside after he appeared to be through on goal.

The Diamonds substitute then had Airdrie’s best chance of the match, but Queen’s keeper Kai Stephenson managed to block his snapshot before the referee waved away strong penalty claims after a mistimed challenge in the box.

Bialkowski was introduced on 58 minutes for his Airdrie debut alongside Sean Dempsey and Cole McCafferty in a triple change.

The match seemed to be fizzling out after the hour mark, with Queen’s Park passing up a couple of half chances to increase their lead further.

Skipper Guy Bainbridge won possession before sliding the ball to Donnachie, who saw his effort cleared from the line.

The Diamonds finally found the net with 11 minutes to go – Stephen McKay’s persistence paying dividends when he nicked the ball and rounded the goalkeeper for a tap in.

Edzii was given his marching orders after a trivial foul inside Airdrie’s half, allowing the Diamonds to pile pressure on the ten-man Spiders as the match drew nearer to a close.

Substitute Bialkowski found himself the right side of a defender with three minutes on the clock, and was awarded a spot kick after tumbling to the ground inside the penalty area.

Bainbridge stepped up to slam home for his 15th competitive goal of the campaign, setting up the sides for a grandstand finish at the Albert Bartlett.

Defender Dempsey got his head on a delivery from deep in stoppage time, but the Queen’s Park stopper managed to flick the ball behind for a corner.

After four minutes of added time, Airdrie made their set piece count. McKay’s initial delivery finding its way back to him, before curling into the box where McMutrie plucked the ball from the sky and thundered into the roof of the net to complete Airdrie’s comeback.

McKay very nearly sent the match into utter chaos in the dying seconds, when his effort from distance curled inches past the top corner with the last kick of the ball.

A point wasn’t enough for the Diamonds to qualify for the semi-finals, however a second half performance to be proud of against the leaders of both the league and group gives Airdrie plenty of confidence going into a duel with the Doonhamers in Dumfries on Thursday evening.