The 'mental' Airdrie cup final coincidence as Liam McStravick pays tribute to 2009 hero

Emotional Airdrie hero Liam McStravick has revealed how his path to cup glory was laid back in Northern Ireland - by the last man to win silverware for the Diamonds.

The Belfast born teenager struck a sensational equaliser for Rhys McCabe’s side as they fought back to dump Welsh champions TNS in the SPFL Trust Trophy Final on Sunday. And in a remarkable turn of fate McStravick told how his mentor coming through the ranks at Cliftonville was Marc Smyth - the Scot who struck the winning penalty when Airdrie last lifted the trophy in 2009. The diminutive forward, who moved across the Irish Sea from Linfield last summer, was overcome with emotion as he joined in the party with thousands of supporters at the Falkirk Stadium.

He said: “I’m buzzing. Unbelievable, the highlight of my career so far. It's incredible. My old Cliftonville reserve manager Marc Smyth scored the winning penalty the last time Airdrie won this trophy. "That's mental, isn't it! It was obviously meant to be. I was texting him before the game. I thank him so much for what he's done for me so far.

"He's given me the platform to achieve what I have so far and show what I can do. I then moved on to Linfield and kicked on from there. I can't thank him enough.”

McStravick took the roof off the Falkirk Stadium when he stepped onto Adam Frizzell’s pass and hit a dipping half volley into Connor Roberts’ net to cancel Ben Clark’s early opener. It set up a storming fightback as Nikolay Todorov slammed home the winner from the penalty spot in the second half.

And the 19-year-old Northern Ireland youth international said: “It’s up there with the best goals I’ve scored. It was a brilliant ball from Frizz, it fell right on my foot and I just hit it and hoped for the