Raith 1, Airdrie 3: Diamonds showed no fear as they boost promotion hopes

Airdrie boss Rhys McCabe says they had no fears as they embarked on a run of games that would make or break their season, leaving them in pole position for a play-off slot.

The Diamonds left a huge dent in Raith Rovers’ Championship title hopes with a 3-1 win at Stark’s Park last night.

Two stunners from captain Adam Frizzell set the scene, with Lewis McGregor putting the seal on the three points after Raith Josh Mullin had pulled a goal back for the Fifers.

That’s no fluke, either, with four wins and a draw from their five meetings this season.

But it's a sequence of games since February that has also seen them beat Dundee United, Dunfermline and Morton.

Airdrie are in fourth spot, two points behind third-placed Partick Thistle, and six ahead of Saturday’s visitors Dunfermline, with 14 wins and six draws from 32 games this season.

McCabe said: “The play-offs were always the target.

“Supporters and individuals want to stay in the league, but I’m a glass half-full kind of guy.

“I knew after the first round of fixtures that gave us a gauge of what we were up against.

“After the first round of fixtures, there was nothing that jumped out, who were miles ahead of us, it was just finding a level of consistency at us.

“We’re a young squad and a group of young coaches. We have young players who are showing a sense of maturity at just 18-years-old.”

It was one of Airdrie’s more senior players that grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck last night.

Former Kilmarnock star Frizzell opened the scoring in 26 minutes in some style, taking Dean McMaster’s pass in his stride and turning past Keith Watson before thundering a shot into the top right corner with the outside of his boot.

Four minutes later Frizzell got on the end of a