Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Og the top scorer in Airdrie draw
MONTROSE ............................................. 2 AIRDRIEONIANS .................................... 2
Airdrie manager Ian Murray insists their last-gasp equaliser at Montrose was huge for their promotion hopes - ina strange game that saw three of the four goals credited as own goals.
The Diamonds left it late at Links Park asthey came from 2-0 down to salvage a2-2 drawwith an equaliser in the fourth minute of stop page time, with an effort credited asan own goal from Montrose keeper Aaron lennox after he spilled sean Crighton’s cross into his own net.
Crighton a toned for earlier putting the ball into his own net down the other end to put the Gable Endies 2-0 infront after Cammy Ballantine’s opener.
Airdrie pulled one back when Calum Gallagher headed home, butthat was credited as own goal for Montrose's Russell McLean before the visitors grabbed their late leveller.
And Murray said: “it was a really, really strange game.
“In the first half there wasn’t much in it. I thought Montrose were the slightly better team, but not to a 2-0 scoreline.
“But second half we were excellent. There wasn’t too much wrong in the first half and that’s why nevert weaked it or changed personnel because weren’t faraway.
“We got the first goal at a great time, whichwas actually a Gallagher goal but down asan own goal. Gallagher has put itin. we’d loved to have scored earlier to make it 2-2 because we were so dominant in the match.
“It left usopen to the counter attack, but we knew that at half time that we would just had to gamble.
“The players kept going and it’s a crazy goalkeeping error, of course, that’s got us the goal, butthe players deserved that.
”It’s a huge, huge point to keep that gap from us to Montrose really small.”
Airdrie are sixth in league one but justa point off a group of three teams east Fife, Montrose and Partick- on 24 points going into the final two games before the split.
Murray praised his players for battling right to theend onceagain as he stressed every single point will be crucial.
He added :“that’ s the third game in a row we’ve scored really late, in the last 15 minutes, and it’s testament to the players’ character, commitment and work rate that they keep going right until theend.
“The players are working hard and we are battling right to theend of the game because we know the league is so tight and every single point is massive.”