2008–09 Airdrie United F.C. season

Airdrie United
2008–09 season
Chairman	Jim Ballantyne
Manager	Kenny Black
Stadium	Excelsior Stadium
Scottish First Division	Ninth place
Scottish Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Third round
Challenge Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: ; Simon Lynch (10); All: ; Simon Lynch (14)
	← 2007–08 2009–10 →

In association football, season 2008–09 was Airdrie United's seventh competitive season. They competed in the First Division, Challenge Cup, League Cup, and the Scottish Cup.

Summary

Airdrie United finished ninth in the First Division,^[1] entering the play-offs losing 3–2 to Ayr United on aggregate.^[2] Despite losing in the playoff, they regained their first division status due to Livingston's forced relegation due to going into administration.^[3]^[4] They reached the fifth round of the Scottish Cup,^[5] the third round of the League Cup,^[6] and clinched the Challenge Cup beating Ross County in the final.^[7]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
6	Greenock Morton	36	12	11	13	40	40	0	47
7	Livingston (R)	36	13	8	15	56	58	−2	47^[a]
8	Ross County	36	13	8	15	42	46	−4	47
9	Airdrie United	36	10	12	14	29	43	−14	42^[b]	Qualification for the First Division Play-offs^[c]
10	Clyde (R)	36	10	9	17	41	58	−17	39	Relegation to the Second Division

Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Demoted to 3rd Division for Financial Irregularities
^ Spared Relegation as Losing Finalist in the playoff due to Livingston
^ The 9th placed team will be entered into a play-off with the Second Division's 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2009–10 First Division.

Results and fixtures

^[8] Win Draw Loss

First Division

2 August 2008 SFL1	Queen of the South	0–0	Airdrie United	Palmerston Park
		BBC Report		Attendance: 2,914 Referee: Richmond

9 August 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	0–1	Partick Thistle	Excelsior Stadium
		BBC Report	Gray 74'	Attendance: 2,165 Referee: Collum

16 August 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	0–0	Dundee	Excelsior Stadium
		BBC Report		Attendance: 1,787 Referee: Finnie

23 August 2008 SFL1	Dunfermline Athletic	0–0	Airdrie United	East End Park
		BBC Report		Attendance: 3,334 Referee: Charleston

30 August 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	5–0	Greenock Morton	Excelsior Stadium
	McLaughlin 13', 26' Di Giacomo 36' Nixon 58' Lynch 63'	BBC Report		Attendance: 1,793 Referee: Muir

13 September 2008 SFL1	Livingston	1–2	Airdrie United	Almondvale Stadium
	Elliot 90'	BBC Report	Lynch 34' McLaughlin 64'	Attendance: 1,710 Referee: Smith

19 September 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	0–2	Clyde	Excelsior Stadium
		BBC Report	Waddell 27' Brown 59'	Attendance: 1,489 Referee: Winter

27 September 2008 SFL1	Ross County	2–0	Airdrie United	Victoria Park
	Smyth 10' (Own Goal) Craig 77'	BBC Report		Attendance: 2,259 Referee: McKendrick

4 October 2008 SFL1	St Johnstone	3–1	Airdrie United	McDiarmid Park
	Swankie 4' Milne 56', 90'	BBC Report	Nixon 48'	Attendance: 2,259 Referee: McDonald

18 October 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	2–0	Queen of the South	Excelsior Stadium
	Cardle 7' Lynch 44'	BBC Report		Attendance: 1,524 Referee: McCurry

1 November 2008 SFL1	Dundee	1–1	Airdrie United	Dens Park
	Antoine-Curier 66'	BBC Report	Lynch 11'	Attendance: 3,456 Referee: Boyle

4 November 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	1–3	Dunfermline Athletic	Excelsior Stadium
	Di Giacomo 9'	BBC Report	Woods 4' Glass 29' Phinn 55'	Attendance: 1,099 Referee: Collum

8 November 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	0–0	Livingston	Excelsior Stadium
		BBC Report		Attendance: 1,201 Referee: Conroy

21 November 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	0–2	Ross County	Excelsior Stadium
		BBC Report	Higgins 33' Brittain 67'	Attendance: 939 Referee: Muir

25 November 2008 SFL1	Greenock Morton	2–0	Airdrie United	Cappielow Park
	Wake 34' Jenkins 90'	BBC Report		Attendance: 1,642 Referee: Allan

13 December 2008 SFL1	Partick Thistle	2–1	Airdrie United	Fir Park
	Harkins 19' McLaughlin 61' (Own Goal)	BBC Report	Lynch 13'	Attendance: 2,296 Referee: McCurry

16 December 2008 SFL1	Clyde	1–0	Airdrie United	Broadwood Stadium
	Trouten 74'	BBC Report		Attendance: 864 Referee: Boyle

20 December 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	1–1	St Johnstone	Excelsior Stadium
	Maguire 89'	BBC Report	Craig 80' (pen.)	Attendance: 1,175 Referee: Norris

27 December 2008 SFL1	Airdrie United	1–0	Greenock Morton	Excelsior Stadium
	Lynch 45' (pen.)	BBC Report		Attendance: 1,663 Referee: Murray

3 January 2009 SFL1	Livingston	1–1	Airdrie United	Almondvale Stadium
	Elliot 86'	BBC Report	Lynch 68'	Attendance: 1,462 Referee: O'Reilly

17 January 2009 SFL1	Dunfermline Athletic	1–1	Airdrie United	East End Park
	Loy 49'	BBC Report	Lynch 15'	Attendance: 2,915 Referee: Somers

24 January 2009 SFL1	Airdrie United	1–0	Dundee	Excelsior Stadium
	Di Giacomo 68'	BBC Report		Attendance: 1,303 Referee: Winter

31 January 2009 SFL1	Airdrie United	0–1	Partick Thistle	Excelsior Stadium
		BBC Report	Buchanan 43'	Attendance: 1,988 Referee: MacDonald

14 February 2009 SFL1	Queen of the South	4–0	Airdrie United	Palmerston Park
	Dobbie 35' (pen.), 67' Harris 52' Weatherston 84'	BBC Report		Attendance: 2,443 Referee: Muir

22 February 2009 SFL1	Airdrie United	1–0	Clyde	Excelsior Stadium
	Di Giacomo 4'	BBC Report		Attendance: 1,189 Referee: McDonald

28 February 2009 SFL1	Ross County	0–0	Airdrie United	Victoria Park
		BBC Report		Attendance: 2,290 Referee: MacKay

7 March 2009 SFL1	Airdrie United	4–4	Livingston	Excelsior Stadium
	Baird 8' (64) Di Giacomo 54' Cardle 60' Smyth 66'	BBC Report	Griffiths 42' (57) One 43' (51)	Attendance: 1,100 Referee: Nicholls

10 March 2009 SFL1	Greenock Morton	0–0	Airdrie United	Cappielow
		BBC Report		Attendance: 1,865 Referee: Norris

14 March 2009 SFL1	Airdrie United	2–0	Queen of the South	Excelsior Stadium
	Smyth 50' McLaughlin 58'			Attendance: 1,320 Referee: Thomson

21 March 2009 SFL1	St Johnstone	3–0	Airdrie United	McDiarmid Park
	Samuel 13', 36' Sheerin 90'	BBC Report		Attendance: 2,561 Referee: Winter

4 April 2009 SFL1	Airdrie United	1–1	Dunfermline Athletic	Excelsior Stadium
	Smith 83'	BBC Report	Ross 90'	Attendance: 1,136 Referee: Richmond

11 April 2009 SFL1	Dundee	0–1	Airdrie United	Dens Park
		BBC Report	Lynch 18'	Attendance: 2,870 Referee: Boyle

18 April 2009 SFL1	Clyde	3–0	Airdrie United	Broadwood Stadium
	Waddell 5' MacLennan 61', 74'	BBC Report		Attendance: 1,614 Referee: McLean

25 April 2009 SFL1	Airdrie United	1–0	Ross County	Excelsior Stadium
	McKenna 65'	BBC Report		Attendance: 927 Referee: Conroy

2 May 2009 SFL1	Partick Thistle	0–1	Airdrie United	Fir Park
		BBC Report	Lynch 90'	Attendance: 3,255 Referee: Allan

11 May 2009 SFL1	Airdrie United	0–4	St Johnstone	Excelsior Stadium
		BBC Report	Swankie 49' Anderson 80' May 86' Barrett 90'	Attendance: 633 Referee: Law

First Division play-offs

14 May 2009 Play-offs SF R1	Peterhead	0–2	Airdrie United	Balmoor
19:45		Report	Baird 9' McLaughlin 47'	Attendance: 1,364 Referee: C MacKay

17 May 2008 Play-offs SF R2	Airdrie United	2–1	Peterhead	Excelsior Stadium
15:00	Smyth 61' Baird 85'	Report	McKay 45'	Attendance: 1,008 Referee: Finnie

20 May 2009 Play-offs Final R1	Ayr United	2–2	Airdrie United	Somerset Park
19:45	Roberts 48' 67'	Report	di Giacomo 30' Baird 43'	Attendance: 3,378 Referee: Smith

24 May 2009 Play-offs Final R2	Airdrie United	0–1	Ayr United	Excelsior Stadium
15:15		Report	Stevenson 29'	Attendance: 3,303 Referee: I Brines

Challenge Cup

26 July 2008 Challenge Cup R1	Airdrie United	3–2	Dumbarton	Excelsior Stadium
15:00	Noble 53' Cardle 58' di Giacomo 75'	BBC Sport	Clark 25' Carcary 43'	Attendance: 808 Referee: Murray

13 August 2008 Challenge Cup R2	East Fife	0–2	Airdrie United	Bayview Stadium
19:45		BBC Sport	Lynch 10' Smith 84'	Attendance: 606 Referee: Tumilty

7 September 2008 Challenge Cup QF	Cowdenbeath	1–2	Airdrie United	Central Park
15:00	Fairbairn 79' Baxter 84'	Report	di Giacomo 53' 75'	Attendance: 643 Referee: Finnie

12 October 2008 Challenge Cup SF	Partick Thistle	0–1	Airdrie United	Firhill Stadium
14:00		Report	di Giacomo 4'	Attendance: 2,761 Referee: Somers

16 November 2008 Challenge Cup Final	Airdrie United	2–2 (a.e.t.) (3 – 2 p)	Ross County	McDiarmid Park
15:00	McKenna 80' Dowie 103' (o.g.)	Report	Nixon 59' (o.g.) Higgins 113'	Attendance: 4,091 Referee: Murray
	Penalties
	Lynch McLaughlin Hazley McDonald Smyth		Winters Higgins Hart Morrison Scott

League Cup

5 August 2008 League Cup R1	Ross County	2–3 (a.e.t.)	Airdrie United	Victoria Park
19:45	Dall 43' Hart 76'	BBC Sport	di Giacomo 23' 112' Noble 86'	Attendance: 869 Referee: Allan

27 August 2008 League Cup R2	Heart of Midlothian	2–3 (a.e.t.) (3 – 4 p)	Airdrie United	Tynecastle Stadium
19:45		BBC Sport	McDonald 107'	Attendance: 6,844 Referee: Smith

23 September 2008 League Cup R3	Dundee United	2–0	Airdrie United	Tannadice Park
19:45	Goodwillie 33' Robertson 42'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 3,444 Referee: Tumilty

Scottish Cup

29 November 2008 Scottish Cup R3	Airdrie United	3–0	Cove Rangers	Excelsior Stadium
15:00	Cardle 20' Lynch 38' 41'	BBC Sport		Attendance: 821 Referee: Salmond

10 January 2009 Scottish Cup R4	Airdrie United	2–1	Spartans	Excelsior Stadium
15:00	di Giacomo 26' Lynch 43'	BBC Sport	Malin 54'	Attendance: 1,460 Referee: Muir

17 February 2009 Scottish Cup R5	Airdrie United	1–2	Dunfermline Athletic	Excelsior Stadium
19:45	McLaughlin 14' (pen.)	BBC Sport	Holmes 2' Bayne 73'	Attendance: 1,772 Referee: Murray

Player statistics

Squad

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		First Division		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Other^[a]
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	SCO	Stephen Robertson	48	0	33	0	3	0	3	0	9	0
	GK	SCO	Lee Hollis	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	SCO	Stephen McKenna	49	2	35	1	3	0	3	0	8	1
	DF	NIR	Matt Hazley	27	0	19	0	3	0	2	0	3	0
	DF	SCO	David Nixon	43	2	32	2	1	0	3	0	7	0
	DF	SCO	William McLachlan	23	0	18	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
	DF	SCO	Bobby Donnelly	36	9	31	0	2	0	3	0	0	9	0
	DF	SCO	Jamie Bain	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	SCO	Liam Sloan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	SCO	Paul Lovering	18	0	11	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	DF	SCO	Marc Smyth	46	3	33	2	3	0	2	0	8	1
	DF	SCO	Paul Byrne	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Fraser Keast	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	David Taylor	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Patrick McCabe	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Darren Smith	35	2	22	1	1	0	3	0	9	1
	MF	ENG	Kevin McDonald	44	0	32	0	2	0	2	0	8	0
	MF	SCO	Scott McLaughlin	49	6	34	4	3	1	3	0	9	1
	MF	AUS	Michael Brown	17	0	11	0	1	0	2	0	3	0
	FW	SCO	Paul Di Giacomo	48	13	33	5	3	1	3	2	9	5
	MF	ENG	Simon Lynch	45	14	33	10	3	3	2	0	7	1
	MF	SCO	Joe Cardle	34	3	24	1	3	1	3	0	4	1
	FW	SCO	John Baird	17	4	13	2	0	0	0	0	4	2
	FW	SCO	Steven McDougall	45	0	30	0	3	0	3	0	9	0
	FW	SCO	Stuart Noble	23	2	16	0	1	0	2	1	4	1
	FW	SCO	Stephen Maguire	17	1	11	1	3	0	2	0	1	0
	FW	SCO	Kevin Watt	8	0	6	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	SCO	Stefan McCluskey	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	Ryan Donnelly	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	Kieran Donaghy	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

a. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including playoffs and the Scottish Challenge Cup.

References

^ "2008–09 First Division". Scottish Football Archive. Retrieved 6 December 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Airdrie Utd 0-1 Ayr Utd (2-3)". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
^ "Livi relegated to Division Three". BBC Sport. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
^ "Relegation 'death knell' for troubled Livingston". The Scotsman. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
^ "Airdrie Utd 1-2 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
^ "2008–09 League Cup". Scottish Football Archive. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
^ "Airdrie Utd 2-2 Ross County". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
^ "Airdrie United results 2008/2009". Airdrie Mad. Retrieved 7 December 2011.

[table_hth_LIV0.86201754951012-8] Demoted to 3rd Division for Financial Irregularities

[table_hth_AIR0.86201754951012-9] Spared Relegation as Losing Finalist in the playoff due to Livingston

[table_note_res_RP0.86201754951012-10] The 9th placed team will be entered into a play-off with the Second Division's 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2009–10 First Division.

[1] "2008–09 First Division". Scottish Football Archive. Retrieved 6 December 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[2] "Airdrie Utd 0-1 Ayr Utd (2-3)". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2011.

[3] "Livi relegated to Division Three". BBC Sport. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2020.

[4] "Relegation 'death knell' for troubled Livingston". The Scotsman. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2020.

[5] "Airdrie Utd 1-2 Dunfermline". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2011.

[6] "2008–09 League Cup". Scottish Football Archive. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2011.

[7] "Airdrie Utd 2-2 Ross County". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2011.

[11] "Airdrie United results 2008/2009". Airdrie Mad. Retrieved 7 December 2011.

[1]