Murray the hero as Queen’s Park climb into second tier
(aet. Queen’s Park win 3-2 on aggregate)
IT just had to be Owen Coyle. Airdrie’s greatest ever striker returned to New Broomfield to seal Queen’s Park’s Championship dream, ending the Diamonds’ own aspirations with it; there is a chance his next welcome will not be so warm.
But do not expect a return trip to be any time soon. The Spiders, now with money to burn, are a club with ambition and Coyle, Leeann Dempster and company will be demanding more than just a fleeting stay in the second tier.
Any lingering doubts over their ambitions can be put to bed by this near-dominant triumph. When it mattered, Simon Murray, Liam Brown and Charlie Fox turned up, wrestling promotion out of Airdrie’s hands. Murray, the best player on the pitch, kept his composure to slot a 112thminute penalty beyond Max Currie. It proved to be the winner.
At a time when a number of clubs could be accused of lighting up cigars with five pound notes, it has maybe gone a little under the radar that Queen’s Park could be the ones offering the light. But that decision to shift their 152year amateur status and sell Hampden has vindicated itself – and then some.
“It’s such a huge day for us,” said Murray. “I couldn’t be happier for everyone at the club.”
Even before a ball had been kicked in anger, there were the Spiders, defying their small numbers, giving the packed Excelsior as good as it got.
Perhaps this explained the uncharacteristically chaotic start to the game. Dylan Easton – a player who could be the poster boy for Airdrie’s recently discovered sensibilities – drifted inside, picked up Callum Gallagher’s fine cutback and stung Calum Ferrie’s palms. Then Queen’s were dragged up the other end by Liam Brown and only Connor Smith’s poor connection bailed out the Diamonds.
It was the hosts who fired the first shot across the bow, and what a shot it was. Like Easton, Rhys McCabe falls into that bracket of surprisingly sensible Airdrie signings and, as he had done with his late penalty on Thursday, he delivered.
This time it was a free-kick, struck into Ferrie’s far corner with such nonchalance that McCabe might as well have been picking up an extra milk from Tesco. His right boot sent the Airdrie fans into delirium, but it was quickly extinguished.
Back came Queen’s Park – shocked into action by the early goal – and when the Diamonds failed to deal with Murray’s trickery, Smith managed to squeeze the ball underneath Max Currie from the edge of the box.
With the Spiders’ tails now up, they appeared to have Airdrie spooked and there was something rather apt about seeing Brown, the first player the professional Queen’s splashed cash on, strolling through the game.
Murray and Smith were also having the run of the place and only Currie’s fine fingertips stopped Luca Connell’s curling effort making it two. Currie, arguably culpable at the goal, made an equally fine save from Louis Longridge to maintain parity.
Half time seemed to do little to hinder the visitors and the game soon fell back into a familiar pattern. Easton shimmied into the box and cried – wrongly – for a penalty. Connell left Brody Paterson for dead, but narrowly missed the far post with another delightful effort. Gallagher burst into the box and thought he had just Ferrie to beat, only for Michael Doyle to appear from thin air and block.
Finally, the relentless pace abated and so began the slow, inevitable march towards penalties. Or at least that is how it normally goes but Queen’s threw everything at Airdrie, and Murray had the final say.
“It’s hard to take at the moment,” said Ian Murray. “Our boys are down and rightly so.”