The Diamonds got their William Hill Championship campaign off to the perfect start with a deserved 1-0 victory over last season’s promotion play-off finalists Raith Rovers.

Coming into the game, Rhys McCabe made four changes from the Airdrie side which had dispatched Queen of the South with ease in the final game of the Premier Sports Cup group stage.

Kieran Wright was replaced by Murray Johnson between the sticks, while Cammy Bruce, Craig Watson and Chris Mochrie were swapped with Dylan MacDonald, Lewis McGrattan and McCabe himself.

Ian Murray’s Rovers team saw the inclusion of three former Diamonds in Callum Smith, Dylan Easton, and the more recent acquisition of Callum Fordyce, who slotted in next to Euan Murray in central defence.

Airdrie made a strong start to the game, with Mason Hancock leading a dangerous looking early attack down the left wing almost immediately, although his eventual low cross struck the side netting.

While Raith began to dominate possession, some intricate play forced Fordyce to poke away inside the penalty area to deny Terrell Agyemang a touch and an almost certain goal in the tenth minute.

What followed was a cagey first half with very few chances for either side, as the ball was seemingly stuck in a highly congested midfield.

The next real goalscoring opportunity came once again for the home side in the 41st minute, when Ben Wilson came close with a volley from the edge of the box after a sumptuous passing move.

Neither manager saw reason to make changes to their respective teams at half time, as both sides had largely cancelled each other out, despite the Diamonds controlling possession for the majority of the half.

The second 45 got off to a quick start, as an early break saw a superb ball played by Rhys Armstrong, behind the backtracking Fordyce into the path of Ben Wilson whose venomous strike smashed off the bar as he bounded towards goal.

The action soon switched to the other goalmouth, as Aidan Wilson was forced to head off the line as a Raith corner was directed goalwards.

Substitutions for the home side soon followed, as Lewis McGregor and Murray Aiken were introduced in the 63rd minute in place of McGrattan and Agyemang.

These changes seemed to inject new life into the Diamonds, who began to enjoy sustained periods of possession deep inside the Raith half, and they got their reward soon after.

The first and only goal of the match came in the 75th minute, when McGregor received the ball on the left touchline after a corner and swung in a teasing low delivery, allowing Dylan MacDonald to dive and nod home from close range.

Airdrie gained even more control of the match in the 83rd minute when Raith’s Jack Hamilton had to be withdrawn with an injury. As the visitors had already utilized their three substitution windows the striker was unable to be replaced, leaving Rovers to finish with ten men.

Despite an additional six minutes of play at the end, the Diamonds saw out their first league match of the campaign with great professionalism, extending their unbeaten run over their opponents to six games.

Rhys McCabe will now turn his sights towards Friday night’s clash with Ayr United at Somerset Park, with a superb three points in the bag to kick off the league campaign.