News

Manager Paul Hartley and midfielder Fraser Fyvie spoke to the media following our 1-1 draw with Airdrieonians on Saturday.

Gabby McGill gave the hosts a perfect start, knocking the ball over the line from close range within just two minutes.

It was a game of few chances, with Airdrie defending resolutely for the remaining 88 minutes.

With 94 minutes on the clock, it looked like we were set to taste defeat for the first time since October, however, Fraser Fyvie smashed a sensational volley beyond the diving Currie from 25 yards out to salvage a point late on, sparking wild celebrations on the pitch and in the away stand.

Fraser Fyvie was happy to leave the Excelsior Stadium with a point, despite not playing our best: “We didn’t play particularly well today, but thankfully we are coming away with a point. 

“I thought in general Airdrie were very good for the full 90 minutes, they kept us at bay for most of the match.

“We let ourselves down with the way we started.

“Airdrie are known for starting quick, they done that and got their goal and put us on the backfoot.

“We struggled to create any real opportunities throughout the match.

“It looked like they were going to take all three points, but we managed to get that goal in the dying minutes.

“I think it’s really important as a side to never give up, we have scored a few late goals throughout the course of the season.

“We managed that again on Saturday, and we are delighted to get another point on the board and keep the gap at the top at five points.”

When asked about his unbelievable strike, Fraser said: “I just saw the ball dropping towards me.

“I knew the gaffer would have been thinking just get it back in the box, but I just tried to make decent connection with the ball and get my shot back across the goal towards the right hand corner.

“Thankfully I managed to do that, and snuck in under the bar.

“The celebration shown at the end show what it meant to the boys – we are close group, we’ve a real togetherness and camaraderie, so it was a good moment.”

Manager Paul Hartley said: “I thought Fyvie’s goal was the one bit of quality we had all game, our quality wasn’t what it should be.

“We made a bad start to the game.

“Sometime when you have a bad start you can’t quite recover it.

“First half I didn’t think we were particularly good, and the second half we knew they would maybe start to drop a bit deeper, so we had a bit more control of the game, but we didn’t create too many good opportunities. 

“But when you need a goal in the dying minutes that’s what you want.

“It was an outstanding goal by Fyvie, we know he’s got that in his locker – I actually turned my back when I seen the ball being headed clear and I thought it was just one of those days where we might not score.

“To get that goal was an outstanding feeling for the group and the staff.

“They are a good group to work with.

“I’ve always told them to keep going to the end, and when you are at the top end of the table you know you have got to fight for every point, and we did that.

“I’m really pleased for the players, they put a lot of effort into the game, to get the goal was a brilliant feeling for everyone in the camp.

“When you see the celebrations, that’s what football is all about.”

“We’ve got five games to go now, so we’ve got to just keep it going.”

Article Copyright © 2022. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to www.coverangersfc.com.

Next Up | Queen’s Park (A) »