Airdrie 2 Partick Thistle 2: New Broomfield for thrills as Diamonds boss hails character in dramatic first leg

Gabby McGill helped fuel Airdrie’s hopes of back-to-back promotions as a chaotic first leg teed up another thriller back at Firhill.

A cracking quarter-final saw little between the sides as an almighty battle looms in Friday's second leg. Nikolay Todorov opened the scoring with an early header for the Diamonds but Luke McBeth and Scott Robinson looked to have Partick Thistle cruising by the half-time break. However, Airdrie hit back through McGill five minutes into the second half to keep the tie on a knife-edge.

Player-boss Rhys McCabe said: “It was a fairly competitive game with both teams trying to win, which is pleasing to see – especially when there’s still so much football to be played. We were a wee bit too open in the first half but we tweaked a few things and dominated the second half.

“We looked like the team that would’ve won that game. The boys showed great character to get themselves back in the game and we stuck to our game plan. This was never going to be won or lost tonight. It’s about recovery now and we look forward to it.”

Fans were barely settled when Todorov headed in Charlie Telfer’s pinpoint cross to the back post, outjumping Harry Milne for the opener. Thistle tried to force a quick response and defender Craig Watson was forced into a great block from a Ben Stanway effort inside the box. The Jags pushed as Airdrie sat off and the away side’s efforts were rewarded when McBeth drew them level in the 28th minute with a stunning 30-yard belter that beat Robbie Hemfrey.

Their joy could have been short-lived when Telfer’s effort through a sea of bodies forced Jags keeper David Mitchell into a sharp reaction stop. A lapse at the other end then almost saw Airdrie go behind as Hemfrey spilled Milne’s