Preview Airdrie United

Last match of the season and Airdrie have it all to play for

For the final match of this season Dunfermline travel to face Airdrie United.  Dunfermline are one up on Airdrie In all their guises, with 34 wins to 33 wins. 29 games have been drawn. Jim McIntyre and his players want to finish as good as they can with third place a possibility but only if they win and Queen of the South and Ross County currently in third and fourth respectively fail to win. Dunfermline have 55 points from their 35 games while the other two contenders have 56.  Queen of the South are away to Partick thistle and Ross County visit Starks Park.

Since they became Airdrie United the Diamonds have won only once - a 4-3 win in the very first meeting in the Scottish Cup on 2006.  Dunfermline won 2-0 in the first meeting earlier this season and by the same margin when the teams met at East End Park on Saturday 6th March. In the first match this season at New Broomfield on 9th March the bottom of the table club held the promotion hopefuls to a 1-1 draw.

Airdrie sit on 33 points 22 behind Dunfermline and while the Pars will be playing for the three points that might secure them as good as a third place finish.  Some might say this match is all about Airdrie and their attempts to avoid relegation for the third successive season.  The plights of Gretna and then Livingston have saved the Diamonds the drop on the last two occasions but this time a defeat at home to the Pars coupled with a 3-0 win for bottom placed Ayr and Kenny Black`s men would be down.

In a typical twist of fate Ayr United play Morton on Saturday at Cappielow and if Airdrie United avoided defeat against Dunfermline Athletic the Lanarkshire club would be safe if Morton lost in any way. A Morton win would mean Airdrie United would be in the play offs for a First Division place next term.

Airdrie United have lost only two league games at home in 2010 and they were against champions Inverness and a good going Queen of the South team. They have taken 17 points out of the last 24 available.

The Pars have not won back to back games since mid March but they will be hoping to add to their seven away league wins.

Last Time Out

DUNFERMLINE (v Morton):  Chris Smith; Greg Ross, Calum Woods, Andy Dowie, Austin McCann (c); Willie Gibson (Graeme Holmes 80), Steven Bell, Alex Burke, Joe Cardle (Ross Campbell 61), Nick Phinn (Gary Mason 80), David Graham,
SUBS NOT USED: Chris Higgins, Greg Fleming (GK).

AIRDRIE UNITED (v Raith Rovers): Lee Hollis; Tom Parratt, Paul Lovering, Marc Smyth, Simon Storey, Ricky Waddell, Ryan McCann, Scott McLauchlin, Diarmund O`Carroll, Scott Gemmill, John Baird (Kevin McDonald 86).
SUBS NOT USED: Paul Keegan, Stephen Robertson; David Nixon, Darren Smith.

Referee for the match will be Crawford Allan.