Greenbank United 1-5 AS Airdrie

By C MacFarlane
August 27 2006

GREENBANK 1 AS AIRDRIE 5


Airdrie picked up their first 3 points of the season with an emphatic win at Muirend.Goals from K.Pardoe (2),Khorasani,Gray and one from debut boy Stuart Logan ensured 3 points were going back to Airdrie.

Despite losing last week Airdrie made only a couple of changes to the side with one being forced upon Neil. With Capaldi under the weather new boy Stuart Logan made his debut up front with Gray and Cooper came into the team after missing last week in place of Pardoe who moved to right wingback due to Hendrie covering in goals for the missing rowan.

Airdrie started the game in the same manner as they did against Tynecastle.Right from the off the passing and movement was sharp and for the first 10 minutes Greenbank were chasing shadows. Good play down the right almost saw Pardoe in then Gary’s cut back just missed Logan in the centre. This was followed up by Cooper having a header cleared off the line then Gray and Logan getting in each others way with the goal gaping. Logan was having an impressive debut with some nice touches and quickness with the ball to feet. With our midfielders getting forward to support Greenbank were under pressure constantly and it was no surprise that Airdrie took the lead. Good play involving R.Graham, Edgar and Khorasani saw Logan burst down the left and his ball across the six yard line was met by K.Pardoe who hammered the ball into the net. Airdrie’s defence with Cooper, R.Graham and Stewart were coping well but were always wary of the threat posed by the Dale who has played well any time we have met Greenbank.However their cause wasn’t helped when one of their players had to go off with a nasty cut on the eyebrow. Airdrie made it 2-0 when Neil Pardoe’s shot across the goal was met by Gray in a suspiciously looking off side position. However the ref ruled that the ball didn’t touch Gray and awarded the goal to Pardoe. After the second goal however Airdrie lost concentration for 5-10 minutes and Greenbank had their best spell of the half, However Airdrie restricted them to a couple of efforts outside the box that didn’t trouble Hendrie. Just as it looked like 2-0 at half time a quick break down the right involving Gray, Neil & Kenny Pardoe saw Gray’s centre met from 6 yards by Logan who finished off the move by slotting into the bottom corner.

Airdrie had to make an enforced substitution when new boy Logan had to come off suffering from blisters in the heel of the foot. Andy Clark took his place upfront otherwise it was a case of same again.

The start of the second half was nearly a disaster when slack play from midfield and defence saw the right winger cut the ball back for the number 9 to header against the post a let off for the team from Airdrie but they soon settled into their passing and chances came and went from Pardoe who fired just wide then Edgar had an effort blocked. However it was soon 4-0 when fine passing down the right found Gray all alone and following his cutback Khorasani slid in for his first of the season. At 4-0 the manager brought off Pardoe, who was struggling slightly with a thigh injury and Khorasani to be replaced by S.Graham and Arbuckle for the last 30 minutes. The game then saw Greenbank push forward and Airdrie happy to hit on the break. From a couple of breaks first Clark shaved the post then Andy Edgar had the miss of the game when he blasted wildly over the bar after good lead up work involving Pardoe and Clark. Number 5 arrived with 20 to go when Kenny fired high into the net following good play by Clark and smith. Credit to Greenbank who never gave up and hendrie had to look sharp to touch a fine effort from the number 10 over the bar. Airdrie responded and smithy fired in a rocket which shaved the bar. With 10 left the home team finally got their reward. A quick free kick wasn’t dealt with and a corner was conceded. From the ensuing corner slack marking allowed the Greenbank midfielder to bullet a header by the helpless Hendrie. That was the last real chance from the game and it finished with a scoreline of 5-1.

What a difference a week makes in the taking of chances department. Five goals from about fifteen good opportunities, unlike last weeks One in Ten and a good all round performance against a team who won 5-0 themselves last week and whenever we met the games are always close encounters. Good passing and movement again, plenty of talking, good discipline again (from both teams it has to be said).an excellent half for Stuart Logan who gave their defence lots of problems with his pace and quickness and who will prove to be a good signing. With Gray having a bit of pace himself our strikers today were sharp and our third goal brought that pace to light, Defensively solid for the most part with Stewart following his m.o.m last week with another good all round display and taking some of the pressure off Cooper for winning headers. With R.Graham providing nice touches with the ball and Hendrie talking constantly in goals we looked pretty tight at the back. However it’s only the second game and, although nice to have 3 points on the board already, there is still a lot more to come from our young side that again had 5/6 players aged 21 in the starting line up.

Greenbank will bounce back i'm sure. I have always said they are one of the best passing teams in our league and our games with them have been well played encounters with little to separate the two teams. Hopefully their player should be okay after a couple of stitches and we wish him and Greenbank all the best for the rest of the season

a final word to the referee who had to stand in at the last minute. an excellent game and hopefully the league can get him again as he did a good job which was made easier with the attitude from both teams

team

Hendrie
Stewart Cooper R.Graham
N.Pardoe Smith Edgar Khorasani
K.Pardoe
Gray Logan

Subs
Clark for Logan (45)
Arbuckle for Khorasani (60)
S.Graham for N.Pardoe (60)