There was no May Day call for emergency reinforcements as the Pars opted to go with the same starting eleven as last week. However, Mason dropped out of the squad as did the transfer listed Higgins to be replaced by Willis and McGregor. Airdrie had suddenly put together a decent run in an attempt to avoid automatic relegation after their unexpected promotion at the start of the season, and also went with an unchanged side, a fairly traditional 4-4-2, albeit with Gemmill starting off wide, to compete with the Pars’ 4-5-1 of Smith; Ross, Dowie, Woods and McCann; Gibson, Bell, Burke, Phinn and Cardle; Graham.

The home team were understandably a little anxious and the game was scrappy to begin with, home keeper Hollis being the first keeper called into action when easily dealing with Graham’s seventh minute cross. Joe Cardle had the left wing in front of the home stand, and the chorus of booing in the ninth minute indicated that he had his first touch, an early cross meant for Bell which was defended, but only as far as Phinn who elected to chip the ball back, rather than shoot. This reluctance to shoot when given half a chance seemed to dog the Pars for much of the game, but not in the 10th minute when Graham got the break of the ball, went round the outside of Storey and seemed to have arrowed the ball in at the far post only for it to rebound off the upright and clear.

Neat play from Cardle and Phinn two minutes later set up Bell but his extravagant turn was easily defended as was Gibson’s follow-up cross, although at the expense of the game’s first corner. Gibson overhit it, and Hollis, under no pressure, dived and fumbled a ball that was going nowhere. The keeper looked even more dodgy when seeming to dive over the top of Cardle’s drive from 20 yards but the ball was off target.

The game was now settling into a pattern – the Pars using their majority in the midfield to move the ball around well, but the lack of numbers in the final third meant good chances were rare. Graham nearly got on the end of a teasing Phinn cross, before finding a yard of space and a yard of pace to set up a shooting chance for himself, but couldn’t keep the ball down. Gibson finally tested the keeper in the 28th minute after cutting inside onto his left foot, and Graham again had a chance on the half-hour having sprung the off-side trap, but his rolled effort beyond the advancing keeper was shepherded past the post by Storey. The only time Airdrie really threatened was when Cardle’s over-enthusiasm had led him to lose the ball to Gemmill but Woods athleticism had the situation under control.

The Pars finally broke the deadlock in the 37th minute. Storey wasn’t as tight as usual on Graham, who played a quick one-two with Gibson, hared for the bye-line with his marker in pursuit and chipped in a cross. Phinn dummied, Cardle was blocked but the ball broke back to Phinn who poked it home from 4 yards. 1-0 Pars, and entirely deserved.

Airdrie responded with rather more urgency, Smith having to punch clear a corner, but the Pars went in at the break with a single goal lead, that probably should have been more. A terrific move from their own penalty box in 41 minutes nearly ended with a goal – Cardle tracking back nicked the ball to Burke who drove the ball cross-field to Gibson, he fed Ross on the break whose perfectly weighted pass in turn sent Bell clear, but Storey just beat Graham to the cross. A couple of minutes later the Pars again broke but with 3 against 2, Gibson couldn’t find the killer pass.

Half time: Diamonds 0 Pars 1

It was no surprise when the home team came out much more fired up, and they seemed half a yard sharper after the break. Cardle had an early shooting chance, but chose square the ball to no-one in particular; not so Ryan McCann in the 49th minute, crashing a shot from 25 yards off the bar with Smith beaten. Airdrie had three early corners without creating anything much, but had more possession as well – the Pars were reduced to hitting on the break where they would have looked dangerous had the final ball been even half-decent.

Airdrie began to come closer – Gemmill found the target in 57 minutes, although Smith saved without much discomfort, and O’Carroll couldn’t react quickly enough when Airdrie won the header from another corner on the hour, before Austin McCann made a saving block, Gemmill again the man denied.

It being an Airdrie Dunfermline encounter you would expect the odd flashpoint. Sure enough, it arrived in 61 minutes, although it was team-mated Bell and Dowie who fell out. The Pars had broken again, Graham running at Storey, feinting one way then the other, but the defender kept his eye on the ball and put in the tackle, Bell and Lovering collided and as Baird broke, his skipper remained on the deck. Baird carried on playing, but not so Dowie when he mopped up the attack, steering the ball down the tunnel and incurring Bell’s wrath for not seeking to take advantage.

Holmes replaced Burke for a last hurrah in a Pars shirt, and after Baird had scuffed a good chance past the far post, the Pars had the ball in the net again. Woods had felt confident enough to advance from defence, although his flicked pass to Bell wasn’t the best idea. Bell hit a deep cross-field pass to Gibson, who casually laid it off first time into space for Ross to run onto and his cross to the back stick was crashed off the underside of the bar, when it seemed easier to score. The ball fell to Graham who dropped one shoulder and passed the ball the other way into the net, but the flag was up against Jo Jo.

In 78 minutes Cardle had a chance from a Phinn cross but again nodded backwards rather than at the goal – it was almost as if he didn’t want to score – but a minute later we saw his trade-mark cut inside and swerving right foot shot that bent too early and Hollis saved. That was Cardle’s last taste, Willis getting a rare 10 minutes, immediately hitting a 40 yard pass for Graham to run on to, but although he managed to hold off Donnelly (who had replaced Lovering) Smyth was one defender too many for the forward.

The Pars were once more looking the more likely to score, although Gemmill had a chance, but headed wide under severe pressure from Woods. Graham seemed to be about to go clear, but passed to Phinn who wasn’t as well placed; Gibson, who had moved to the left wing to accommodate Willis, had a direct run that was ended illegally by Parratt as he looked to have found his way through, Willie drilling the resulting free-kick wide, and right at the end Willis managed to regain the ball after a dreadful first touch, but fired past the far post from 18 yards.

Final Score: Airdrie United 0 Dunfermline Athletic 1

So that’s it for another season, and an unusual way to finish – a 1-0 win – the only such of the campaign. The Pars should really have won by more – there continues to be a frustrating profligacy amongst the front players, with a persisting impression that they want to score the perfect goal, rather than sully the performance with tap-ins – but it’s a win, a clean sheet, and a last minute leap of two places to third in the league. No stand-outs for me, but no weaknesses either. After his heroics last week Steven Bell was more Belly than Pele but decent none-the-less, Ross played well given the circumstances of his impending departure, but with a clean sheet you have to give the bouquets to the defence. Smith looked solid, as did McCann (again) Woods was good, but Dowie gets the nod.