THE Excelsior Stadium witnessed the glamour of European football in midweek, but it was back to league action as Dundee arrived in Lanarkshire.
While the ground had recovered well from the deluge which almost postponed Queen of the South's UEFA C
up debut, both sides found it heavy going in this rather error-strewn encounter. They both had their chances but an inspired display from home keeper Stephen Robertson secured a hard-earned point for the Diamonds.
There was one depressing passage of play which saw three free kicks in quick succession sent straight back to the opposition, Joe Cardle and Stephen Robertson of Airdrie and Dundee's Gary MacKenzie being the culprits.
The Dark Blues, though, were first to shake off the lethargy as they surged into the attack midway through the first half. In 18 minutes Colin McMenamin showed the skills which have made him one of this division's top performers in recent seasons, leaving Bobby Donnelly chasing shadows as he drove into the box. His shot was bound for the bottom corner until Robertson threw himself full length to save at the second attempt as Mark Gilhaney waited to pull the trigger.
Then Mickael Antoine-Curier took Chris Pozniak's pass in his stride and forced another fine stop from the Diamonds keeper. And Robertson completed a hat-trick of important saves moments later when Freddie Daquin seized on a poor pass and sent McMenamin through again. However, the Dundee striker's left-foot shot was brilliantly clawed behind by the busy goalkeeper.
The Diamonds suffered a setback when David Nixon limped off to be replaced by Scott McLaughlin, who slotted into midfield with Stephen McKenna dropping back to defence.
It was McLaughlin's crunching tackle that sparked a period of Airdrie pressure during which the Lanarkshire side threatened to break the deadlock. He emerged with the ball from a ruck of players and fed Kevin McDonald, whose 20-yard shot went just wide.
Then Simon Lynch was controversially flagged offside as he came from deep to latch onto Mark Smyth's long pass. Still feeling a sense of injustice, the Diamonds almost went ahead when Cardle's net-bound shot was turned behind by Eddie Malone's flying header. Then Lynch just failed to control Stephen McDougall's through-ball as the home side finished the half on a high.
Chances continued to flow after the restart with Robertson again denying Antoine-Curier with a reflex save, while Paul Di Giacomo twice caused Dundee problems down the right-hand side but couldn't find the decisive touch.
Rab Douglas was having a relatively quiet afternoon in the visiting goal and it was his opposite number who again produced heroics. This time McMenamin controlled Gilhaney's pass in an instant and drilled a precise 18-yard shot towards the bottom right-hand corner. However, Robertson's acrobatic dive enabled him to turn it behind.
The Diamonds keeper should have been beaten in 74 minutes when Paul McHale's flighted free kick found Antoine-Curier totally unmarked. However, the Frenchman put his header over the bar from just eight yards.
He was almost made to suffer for the error when McLaughlin linked with fellow substitute Stuart Noble and fired in a shot which had Douglas scrambling. The Dens keeper then had an anxious moment when he flapped at Matt Hazley's free kick and saw Di Giacomo head the loose ball goalward. However, MacKenzie hooked it off the line to ensure a blank scoreline.
The full article contains 585 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
