Partick Thistle defeat was tough, we need a win, admits Airdrie defender

Lewis Strapp reckons three points next weekend can get the Diamonds firing again

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Lewis Strapp says Airdrie aren’t stuck in a rut, but need a win to get their season going.

The 25-year-old defender was frustrated to see Airdrie’s lead at Partick Thistle evaporate with 13 minutes left of the game, as a Dan O’Reilly header and a strike from Alex Samuel saw the points stay in Maryhill.

Airdrie are still looking for their first Championship win of the season, with Danny Lennon having taken over earlier this month after Rhys McCabe decided to step down as boss.

Strapp says there’s not a lot wrong at Airdrie, but a win would help, and hopes that comes at home to Raith Rovers next Saturday.

The former Morton hero said: “It’s another tough game, they’ve got some boys who are on fire, Dylan Easton is playing well.

“You know the league by now, everybody should know the league by now, and we know every game is tough, there are no easy games.

“It’s not a rut we’re in but we need to get some points on the board and get a feel of a win, and see if that will spur us on.

“It happened last season where we got one and just kept digging away, so hopefully it will be the same again.

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“I’ve seen it at a lot of clubs you’re at, that once you get that first win you get something in the changing room that gets you going.”

Strapp thought that might have happened at Firhill, as Airdrie looked reasonably comfortable on their lead for much of the game.

He said: “In the first half we go 1-0 up, a brilliant strike from Cole. We’ve gone in and spoken about how well we’ve played in the first half. I think we were on top of the game, and might have looked the better team.

“Going into the second half I was happy with the performance, but we’ve come out and it’s gutting.

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“I think the first five or 10 minutes were a bit scrappy, and that has led to it dwindling on into the game.

“They got a bit more pressure and you could probably see it coming.

“They’ve got a really good team, even boys they’re bringing off the bench like Steven Lawless and stuff like that. They’ve got Logan Chalmers, Aidan Fitzpatrick, Tony Watt.

“In the first half we went in and said ‘we’ve dealt with them’.

“Even in the second half, we did deal with them.

“It’s a corner kick, somebody’s not picked up their man, and the second goal is a bit scrappy.

“But it’s still not good enough from us, we invited the pressure on, and that’s the sort of thing that we need to get better at.”