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RORY McAllister was just inches away from giving us a slender advantage to take into the second leg of our Championship Play-Off Semi-Final against the Diamonds on Tuesday night.

The veteran striker battered a shot off the woodwork, with just three minutes to go, in what was a tense tussle played in blustery conditions at Balmoral Stadium.

Despite the wind and rain, both sets of players served up an entertaining match that was as keenly contested as all of the others between the two clubs were this season.

Airdrie took the lead early in the second half, in extremely fortunate fashion, when Calum Gallagher saw his shot take a wild deflection off the unfortunate Ross Graham before looping into the net.

We equalised when former Airdrie striker Leighton McIntosh was in the right place at the right time at the end of an impressive passing move.

The Airdrie goal was put under intense pressure after that, but we just couldn’t get the second goal that we wanted, despite the best efforts of McAllister and a few others.

It was always expected the semi-showdown would go right to the wire, so we can expect the second leg to be just as tight and close fought.

We showed four changes to the line-up from the previous week’s clash with Airdrie, with Scott Ross, Leighton McIntosh, Fraser Fyvie and Kieran Ngwenya all in from the start.

It was clear by the low count of scoring amount of opportunities created in the first half that the side’s were evenly matched.

Our first came after just two minutes, when Mitch Megginson and McAllister combined to get the ball to McIntosh and his eight yard shot was deflected wide by an Airdrie defender.

Airdrie’s Kyle Connell was booked in the 16th minute, for a foul on Connor Scully.

Ryan Strachan took the free-kick and sent his low drive under the visitors’ defensive wall but Max Currie dived to his right to grab the ball.

Defender Graham then went of a great surging run forward from the back before passing to Megginson and his 20-yard effort was deflected wide for a corner.

Fyvie took the corner and when the ball came back out to him his second cross was knocked away from Graham, at back post, by a defender.

Airdrie’s first real chance came in the 26th minute, when Gallagher found space in the box to send a volley wide.

Leon McCann also saw a 20-yard shot swerve away from goal as the visitors became more adventurous.

Paul Paton was the second Airdrie player to be cautioned, for a foul on McAllister on the half hour.

Within a minute, Megginson was playing a great one-two with McAllister as he darted into the Airdrie area, but his cut back from the right was cleared before McIntosh got to the ball at the edge of the six yard box.

There were plenty of chances in what was a far more entertaining second period.

We began it with McAllister firing a powerful shot wide from 25-yards.

Yule broke down the right in the 50th minute and his driven cross just evaded McIntosh at the edge of the Airdrie six yard box.

Scott Ross strode forward a minute to try his luck from 25-yards, but his shot went over the crossbar.

We kept the pressure up with Megginson crossing from the right and Leon McCann rescued Airdrie with a perfectly timed last gasp challenge to prevent Yule from tapping home at the far post.

Airdrie took the lead in the 55th minute when GALLAGHER tried his luck from the edge of the area and his shot took a wicked deflection off Graham, as he attempted to block, and that sent the ball spinning high into the air and over keeper Stuart McKenzie’s head into the net.

Kieran Ngwenya was unlucky not to bring us level in the 58th minute.

The on-loan Aberdeen defender made a great run in from the left, into the Airdrie area, but then saw his powerful 16-yard shot beaten to safety by keeper Currie.

Airdrie missed a glorious opportunity to go two up in the 61st minute, when Dale Carrick poked his close range shot wide after a cross from the right had fallen into his path.

Paton was fortunate not to pick up a second booking a moment later for a late challenge on Megginson that left the striker requiring treatment before he was able to continue.

Our equaliser came in the 65th minute, and it was a real team effort.

Scott Ross fed the ball down the right to Megginson and he used his strength to get away from his marker before firing a cross towards the front post.

McAllister did his best to get on the end of it, but when the ball broke back to McINTOSH he lashed it high into the net.

Currie was the Airdrie hero again in the 72nd minute when he dived to push a 20-yard shot from McAllister wide of his goal.

The Airdrie keeper was then booked by referee David Dickinson, for which we could only assume was dissent.

Currie followed that by racing 10-yards outside his penalty area to clear from McAllister after opposite number McKenzie’s long ball had gone over the top of the Airdrie defence.

The Airdrie keeper also held Strachan’s ambitious hit from fully 40-yards as we pushed for a second goal.

McAllister was involved again in the 78th minute with a pass to McIntosh, who sent his 16-yard shot over the bar.

Graham was booked in the 80th minute, for fouling Kyle Connell.

We were desperately unlucky not to go ahead in the 87th minute after a great move down the right involving Megginson and Yule.

The latter’s cross was met by McAllister and his shot beat Currie but rebounded to safety off the keeper’s left post.

Airdrie threatened to snatch it in the last minute, when Connell fired a decent 25-yard shot wide of McKenzie’s left post.

The game ended with Ngwenya’s cross from the left being nodded out by Airdrie defender Callum Fordyce into the path of Megginson but his powerful shot from the edge of the area flew off target to ensure it’s still all to play for in Tuesday’s rematch in Airdrie.

COVE RANGERS: McKenzie, Scully, Scott Ross, Strachan, Yule, Megginson, McIntosh, McAllister,  Graham, Fyvie, Ngwenya.

Subs: Watson, Higgins, Livingstone, Seb Ross, Smith, Logan, Demus.

AIRDRIEONIANS: Currie, Paton, McCann, P McKay, Fordyce, Walker (J McKay 70), Kerr, Turner, Gallagher (Roy 86), Carrick (Ritchie 82), Connell.

Subs: McNeil, Robert, Thomson, Crighton.

Referee: David Dickinson.

Airdrie Reaction: The Manager & Leighton »