Airdrie leveller leaves play-off in the balance
The final of the cinch Championship play-off is finely poised after Airdrieonians battled back to draw 1-1 away at Queen’s Park in the first leg at Firhill.
Ian Murray's men showed all their mettle by overcoming a 4-1 deficit at one stage of their semi-final against Montrose and, while the mountain they had to climb in Maryhill was far more surmountable, Rhys Mccabe's penalty just minutes from full- time was just as important and means that they are now the favourites for promotion to Scotland's second tier.
In what was a cagey match for large parts, Queen's Park took the lead after a drab first half when Simon Murray – the hero in their semi-final win over Dunfermline Athletic last weekend – drove the ball past Max Currie in the Airdrie goal.
It looked like the Spiders would hold on to take a slender lead to Sunday's return match at the Excelsior Stadium but with, just four minutes remaining, their goalkeeper Calum Ferrie brought down Celtic loanee Jonathan Afolabi and a spot-kick was awarded. Mccabe stepped up and held his nerve to draw the Diamonds level.
The match on Sunday kicks off at 1.10pm and is live on the BBC Scotland channel, with Airdrieonians hoping to avoid a repeat of last season when they lost in the final to Greenock Morton.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh City are taking "nothing for granted" when they head to Galabank tonight to face Annan Athletic in the League One play-off final protecting a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
The capital outfit, who knocked out Dumbarton in the semi-finals, suffered play-off final heartache last year against the Sons and are hoping to go one step further this time around.
"The 2-0 lead makes a massive difference but they are a good team," said City chairman Jim Brown. "We've had a couple of scary moments down there. We are not taking anything for granted at all.
"It would be an unbelievable achievement. We've bumped into Cove, Queen's Park and Kelty Hearts in previous years. It would be a game-changer financially – both in terms of revenue but also expenditure so we can compete."