Airdrie's six-game winning league run came to an abrupt end courtesy of Stenhousemuir.

The Diamonds started well with Andy Ryan shrugging off David Marsh's sixth minute challenge then firing in the ball for Adam Brown, but the visiting defence cleared the ball away for a corner.

On nine minutes a cross from Brown was deflected by Marsh and visiting keeper Colin McCabe dived low to turn the ball away.

Three minutes later the keeper grabbed a high effort from Iain Russell just under the crossbar.

The visitors' first threat came in 14 minutes when former Diamond Alan Cook fired a low 25-yard effort on target with Rohan Ferguson gathering the ball.

With quarter of an hour gone Ryan forced McCabe to dive low to his near post to save well.

Daniel Boateng picked up a yellow card in 22 minutes for a poorly timed challenge with Colin McMenamin firing the free kick into the wall.

Events in the last half hour of the first half gave Stenhousemuir a terrific opportunity for all three points. In 32 minutes Ciaran Summers cross from the left saw an outstretched Joe Gorman deflect the ball across goal and Willis Furtado had an easy job to side foot the ball into the net.

Three minutes later poor defending by the home side from a free kick into the penalty box saw Marsh given time and space to add the second goal.

Airdrie were shell-shocked with Furtado given time to fire another 25-yard shot for goal after beating Kieran MacDonald, though he was off target on this occasion.

With three minutes of the half remaining a through ball saw Alistair Roy race in behind the home back line and Ferguson forced him wide before blocking the shot and collecting the ball.

A minute from the interval Boateng headed the ball clear but was adjudged to have committed a foul by referee Mat Northcroft. The defender was given a second yellow card, then sent off. Cook curled the resultant free kick over the wall into the net.

11 minutes after the restart the visitors added a fourth goal with Marsh once again being given time in the box from a free kick, while the Warriors made it five in 66 minutes after substitute Carlos Mazana-Martinez was able to weave his way into the box before blasting a shot past Ferguson.

Iain Russell struck the post with an effort in 69 minutes that struck the keeper then went past the post.

Substitute Robbie Leighton went close on a couple of occasions when he headed a Ryan Conroy free kick for goal only to see McCabe make the save in 76 minutes and four minutes from time his headed effort from a corner was knocked over the crossbar by a team mate.

The defeat was the first of this quarter and sometimes as much can be learned from a defeat as it can from such an impressive winning run.

With Livingston winning at Stranraer, a real top of the table clash lies in wait next week.