Airdrie’s under-19s put Kelty Hearts to the sword on a crisp Sunday morning at the Albert Bartlett.

Mason Chisholm missed out due to injury, as did Michael McQueen. Lewis Burchill filled in at left-back, meanwhile Anthony Harris kept his place in midfield.

Two chances in the first ten minutes fell to Adam Smith, but his initial shot was saved before his attempted cutback was intercepted inside the penalty area.

Both sides headed over the bar from corners in the next two minutes, as they looked to break the deadlock.

The Diamonds did break the deadlock in the 15th minute – Burchill and Dylan Williams interchanging down the left before Williams laid the ball to Burchill, who curled into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Ten minutes later, Adam Smith had another sight of goal, but this time he screwed the ball wide of the goal.

The match quietened down for most of the first half, until the 42nd minute when Dylan Williams was first to a loose ball – but his strike left the crossbar reverberating with the goalkeeper rooted to his line.

Gianniluca Gradini was forced to make an early change just before the break, with goalscorer Burchill unable to continue after a collision – Szymon Walczak his replacement at full-back.

The Diamonds came out swinging at the start of the second half, scoring an absolute screamer through Dylan Williams. The Airdrie midfielder picked up the ball 30 yards from goal, and shifted onto his right foot before cannoning into the roof of the net via the crossbar.

Kelty Hearts showed a reaction in the minutes proceeding Williams’ goal, forcing Liam Prunty into two good stops to maintain Airdrie’s two-goal cushion.

The visitors had their best chance in the 53rd minute, but former Diamond Bailey Campbell nodded over the bar from the penalty spot.

Dylan Williams grabbed his second and Airdrie’s third on 55 minutes, receiving the ball on the left from Cole Williams, before he chopped in and finessed the ball into the top corner.

Prunty was called into action on the hour mark, reacting brilliantly to parry wide after a shot from the edge of the box had deflected towards the bottom corner. Dylan Baldwin replaced Robbi O’Brien a minute later.

Adam Smith thought he had snatched a goal in the 62nd minute, but the referee ruled out his strike for a foul on the goalkeeper in the moments before.

Ten minutes later, Smith was replaced along with Divine Iserhienrhien, as Jacob Bonad and Ronald Nimyel entered the fray.

The Diamonds scored the first of three late goals with ten minutes to play, when Walczak dinked the ball to the back post where Baldwin was situated, and the Airdrie man headed into an empty net for his first goal at the club.

Euan Hamilton used his engine to drive through the midfield and into the box, before smashing against the woodwork straight from Kelty’s kick-off.

A minute later, Airdrie made it five through Cole Williams – a bursting run from Nimyel into the box saw the ball ricochet towards Airdrie’s captain, who controlled and finished off the crossbar with ease.

Walczak thought he had a goal of his own to go with his earlier assist on 88 minutes, but his curler whistled millimetres beyond the post from distance.

Harris capped off a fine display in the dying minutes, controlling a good pass from Dylan Williams and passing into the far corner with his left foot in a replica of his first goal for the club a few weeks ago.

The referee blew his whistle after a minute of stoppage time to conclude a resounding Airdrie victory as the Diamonds continue their quest to climb the table and make a challenge for the league title.