Saints destroy Airdrie

St Mirren................. .5 Airdrie ..................... 0 Gordon Dalziel admitted Airdrie were lucky to get away with a five-goal defeat at the hands of St Mirren.

The Buddies were in top form as they demolished the Diamonds at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

Kieran McDonald opened the scoring for the home side after putting a cross into his own net after nine minutes and Gavin Reilly’s thundering shot doubled their lead at the break.

Airdrie came out for the second half with renewed optimism and they won a penalty for their efforts. However, Andy Ryan dragged his strike wide.

Saints were also awarded a penalty, with Reilly’s shot well saved by Rohan Ferguson. However, it was soon three as Reilly bundled the ball home after meeting a cross.

Lewis Morgan unleashed a stunning half-volley to make it four and Cammy Smith rounded off the scoring with a terrific solo-effort, comfortably striding past the Diamonds defence.

Dalziel admitted it was a hard day for the players – but hoped it would help them in the long run.

“It’s been a real valuable lesson for the youngsters,”he said.“We made a lot of mistakes – but good teams punish you. We were lucky to get away with five and the goalie (Rohan Ferguson) was terrific.

“Against Partick at home we were great and the fans loved it but away against St Mirren we saw young boys being naive. It was men against boys.”