Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
A cup shock is on the cards
Airdrie hero Andy Smith doesn’t believe there is a better time for the Diamonds to play Hearts.
Smith was part of both squads when Airdrie beat the Jambos in the Scottish Cup semi-finals and doesn’t feel like the current crop have anything to fear going to Tynecastle.
Daniel Stendel’s men have only picked up one win in their last 10 games and went into the Premiership winter break rock bottom of the table.
The retired striker reckons there is no pressure on the visitors and the Edinburgh crowd will turn on the home side if they don’t impress early on.
“There is no better time for Airdrie to go there and cause an upset,”he told the Advertiser.
“Airdrie have done very well in the league and the full-time and part-time mix seems to be working well for them.
“Colin Cameron has also come in and really helped in my opinion. He has great experience at a high level.
“It’s basically a free hit for Airdrie. If they go and win they are heroes, but if they go and lose they can focus on the league.
“When you are at a bigger club the crowd can get on your back.
“If they don’t score early there can be a bit of a domino effect and they lose the crowd.
“The same works against Airdrie if Hearts score.
“If they can avoid losing an early goal there could be a big shock.”
Having been watching from the sidelines during the 1992 semi-final, Smith feels like the achievements of the 1995 squad give the League One players something to strive for.
“The second one I got a game and was played in midfield,”added Smith.
“It was a bit of a strange one for me but Alex MacDonald has said Hearts would be strong in the midfield and that is where he wanted me.
“I ended up playing out wide which was a strange one for me but we had to play well to beat a very strong Hearts side.
“Even though we had done well in the first one the second semi-final was bigger for me.
“Not just because I was playing, but we were the lower league team. It’s similar to the current team in that regard.
“For a small club to come up against a top flight team and go all the way to the cup final was brilliant.
“It was a bit of a shock at the time but it just comes down to who you are playing on the day.”