Quitongo's teammates lack that finishing touch

Airdrieonians 0-0 St Mirren

AIRDRIE were removed from the summit of the First Division table after a battling but ultimately uninspiring draw with St Mirren. Partick Thistle now find themselves occupying top spot.

It's early days, but after only five matches Tom Hendrie's St Mirren now sit seven points adrift of their Glasgow rivals. "We did everything but score the goal that would have won the game," he said.

There was plenty of enthusiasm early on as the players showed no signs of lethargy after a fortnight with their feet up.

Jose Quitongo was as slippery as a bar of soap, twice confounding his markers in the opening quarter to provide precise crosses.

A combination of poor finishing from Mark Yardley and good defending from Allan McManus kept the sides level. Soon after Airdrie's Owen Coyle and Mark Roberts combined, but the veteran's lob was too ambitious. Ian McCall appears to be aiming for a potent combination of young and old up front for Airdrie, but there were few scraps for his front men to feed on in the first half.

The visitors were having similar problems with only the Angolan creating any opportunities. Ten minutes from the break he slithered past two defenders, but his shot was pitifully wide and as arguably the Buddies most influential player he was far from impressing the travelling faithful. A corner near the break provided his side with a solid chance for the opener, but Hugh Murray failed to properly connect with either attempt and the danger was quickly cleared.

Hendrie appeared to have awakened his players from their slumber during the half-time break as they purposefully strode forward with far greater intent after the restart. Only four minutes had elapsed when an edge-of-the-box scramble culminated in a Ricky Gillies swipe that bashed off Alan Ferguson's left-hand post.

Quitongo, the most entertaining player in the First Division, was reminiscent of a carefree skipping child when he was on the ball. And he provides a breath of fresh air in matches that are continually dominated by long hopeful balls and crunching tackles.

His teammates may have been inspired by their winger's boundless energy such was their control of possession.

The Lanarkshire side found it impossible to breach even the halfway line as first Tommy Turner unleashed a ferocious drive which Ferguson gratefully clutched before Gary Bowman fluffed an excellent chance from a scrambled corner and Gillies shot straight at the keeper after battling for the ball.

A cumbersome Mark Yardley brought the away support vociferously to their feet in the 75th minute after a dazzling 30-yard run which saw him drift by three defenders before stabbing the ball just wide of the goal.

Saints searched in vain for that elusive winner, but it was never going to arrive. Quitongo burst down the left one final time and cut the ball back, but defender Sandy Stewart cleared for a corner.

If only wee Quitongo was a finisher.

Copyright 2001
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