Airdrie (A)  Bells League Championship - Friday November 12th 1999  Match report by Roving Ross Lafferty Final Score   Airdrie     0      Saints    2 For the majority of the 90 minutes, this game was as dull and lifeless a Saints game as there has been all season with there very rarely being an attack of any great thought or execution by either side. It was possibly Saints’ worst performance this season and at times Airdrie were even made to look like a half decent outfit but never did the visitors look like not winning a game which would send them eleven points clear at the top of Division One. That fact quite clearly wasn’t lost on the supporters with over 2,500 making the trip to the away end of the Shyberry Excelsior and ensuring that kick off was delayed by ten minutes to allow them all time to get in. They craved an early goal, hoping for a repeat of September’s 5-0 thrashing at Love Street, but the only efforts anyone in black and white could muster either ended up well wide or were easily dealt with by Scott Thompson in the Airdrie goal. Mark Yardley first of all sent a left foot curler from just outside the box both high and wide, then Tom Brown came close with a first time shot from 25 yards. The best chance though went to Barry Lavety when a high ball in the area fell at his feet 12 yards from goal but his volley bobbled straight into the hands of Thompson. Not long after, Airdrie came close for the first time when Austin McCann beat Iain Nicolson on the left before forcing Ludovic Roy to parry his powerful drive round the post. This was as exciting as the game was to be, on the pitch, with the biggest cheer of the first half coming when Saints’ new signing Gary Bowman replaced Junior Mendes after 36 minutes. Although he could do little to change the way of the game before half time, he was to play an important part in the games opening goal on the hour mark. He played in Scott Walker on the left wing before Walker floated the ball to the edge of the area for Yardley to beat Thompson in the aerial challenge. His header came rebounding off the post but with the Airdrie defence seemingly static Yards turned home the loose ball from the tightest of angles. Two minutes later, when the Airdrie players were just trying to work out a way back into the game, Saints added the second, killer, goal. Iain Nicolson picked the ball up on the right and, as he has so often done this season, he picked out Yardley at the back post with a cross of pinpoint accuracy. Unselfishly Yardley knocked the ball back across goal to Barry Lavety to bullet a header past Thompson from close range. It was in keeping with the overall Saints performance that Lavety had been anonymous for the entire game. It’s been said that to be in with a chance of winning the league, you need to win games where you play poorly so looking at it in that context, this was a tremendous, and hard fought for, three points overshadowed, only by Hugh Murray’s sending off seven minutes from time. Murray was running alongside Paul Jack in a tussle for the ball when the Airdrie man seemed to swing an arm out. Shuggie was clearly unhappy with the incident and squared up to Jack only for the defender to fall theatrically - to say the least - to the ground. A yellow card to Jack, who recovered amazingly well for a man who had supposedly been headbutted, and a red for Murray with a likely five match ban to follow. Airdrie: Thomson, G Farrell, Stewart (McCormick 27), Jack, D Farrell, Sandison, Evans, Johnston, Thompson, McCann, Moore (McKeown 64)  Sub Not Used: Forrest St.Mirren: Roy, Nicolson, Ross, Turner, Baltacha, Walker, Murray, Brown, Lavety, Mendes (Bowman 36 (Robinson 69)), Yardley  Sub Not Used: Rudden Sizzling Saint:  Defenders are forever going on about how it doesn’t matter what they do, it’ll always be the strikers who get all the glory. On a night when the back three of Turner, Baltacha and Walker, especially, were outstanding I should really go against that statement and give one of them the nod for the award. Alas, it’s not to be and once again a striker is to get the glory. So step forward Mark Yardley - one goal, one assist and the big man steals the limelight from the heroes at the back.