Airdrie 2
Dundee Utd 1
League (Premier Division)
Airdrie |
2 - 1 |
Dundee Utd |
 |
League (Premier Division) |
 |
| Goalscorers | |
|
Sandy Clark (20) Sandy Clark (pen) (88) |
Graeme Payne (29) |
| Team Managers | |
| Bobby Watson |
Jim McLean |
| Starting Eleven | |
|
John Martin Harry Erwin Jim Rodger Colin Walker Jim March Pat McCluskey Brian McKeown Sandy Clark Willie McGuire Ian Gordon John Flood |
Hamish McAlpine Paul Hegarty Dave Narey John Holt Iain Phillip Frank Kopel Ralph Milne Billy Kirkwood Eamonn Bannon Davie Dodds Paul Sturrock |
| Bench | |
|
Norrie Anderson Colin Campbell |
Richard Gough Graeme Payne |
| Substitutions | |
| None. |
Richard Gough for John Holt Graeme Payne for Paul Sturrock (25) |
| Cautions | |
| None. | None. |
| Red Cards | |
| None. | None. |
| Match Officials | |
|
Alan Ferguson (Giffnock) (Referee) |
Match Report
After the midweek success in Monaco, manager Jim McLean stuck with the same starting eleven, with Richard Gough and Graeme Payne keeping their places on the bench.
Airdrie took a shock lead in the 20th minute when Hamish McAlpine missed a John Flood corner, and Sandy Clark sneaked in at the back post to tuck the ball away. Five minutes later United were dealt a further blow when Paul Sturrock had to go off injured, replaced by Payne. However not long after they pulled level; after an impressive run down the wing, Eamonn Bannon's cross was met by substitute Graeme Payne as he headed in the equaliser. Davie Dodds and Davie Narey both missed chances to put United in front before the interval, but the teams went in all square.
United's lethargic performance in the second half created little, and with the players seemingly happy to play out for a point, disaster struck with two minutes to go. As concentration lapsed, Narey gave the ball away inside the area, and Willie McGuire was brought down by Iain Phillip. The referee awarded a penalty, and Sandy Clark grabbed his second of the afternoon from the spot, to give Airdrie their first win of the season.
Squad Statistics (as at September 19th, 1981)
| 1981-82 | All Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Nat |  |
 |
|
|
|
| Hamish McAlpine (GK) | 33 |
|
12 | - | 479 | 3 |
| Dave Narey | 25 |
|
12 | - | 350 | 22 |
| Frank Kopel | 32 |
|
10 | - | 400 | 13 |
| Paul Hegarty | 27 |
|
8 | - | 301 | 49 |
| Iain Phillip | 30 |
|
10 | - | 108 | 1 |
| John Holt | 24 |
|
12 | 3 | 157 | 14 |
| Ralph Milne | 20 |
|
9 | 1 | 63 | 14 |
| Billy Kirkwood | 23 |
|
8 | 2 | 178 | 42 |
| Eamonn Bannon | 23 |
|
12 | 9 | 98 | 26 |
| Paul Sturrock | 24 |
|
12 | 6 | 288 | 84 |
| Davie Dodds | 22 |
|
10 | 4 | 128 | 49 |
| Richard Gough (sub) | 19 |
|
7 | 1 | 11 | 1 |
| Graeme Payne (sub) | 25 |
|
4 | 1 | 271 | 18 |
League Table (as at September 19th, 1981)
| Pld | W | D | L | +/- | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Celtic | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | +8 | 8 |
| 2. | St Mirren | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 3. | United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | +4 | 4 |
| 4. | Hibernian | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| 5. | Dundee | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 6. | Rangers | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
| 7. | Morton | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 4 |
| 8. | Aberdeen | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 4 |
| 9. | Airdrie | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 3 |
| 10. | Partick Th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -6 | 0 |
| League results since United's last match |
|---|
| 19th September 1981 |
|---|
| Aberdeen | 1-0 | Hibernian |
| Airdrie | 2-1 | Dundee Utd |
| Dundee | 3-0 | St Mirren |
| Morton | 1-0 | Partick Th |
| Rangers | 0-2 | Celtic |