Kieran MacDonald says scoring first is key as the Diamonds prepare to face East Fife.

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Airdrie head to Methil looking to bounce back from last week's William Hill Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Cove Rangers, and defender MacDonald says the Diamonds should have been out of sight by half time.

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"I felt we were comfortable in the first half, we could have put them to bed with the chances we had.

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"In the second half we got the goal and I think we just sat off them and played into their hands a bit.

 

"When they hit the bar, it felt like a bit of a turning point and it gave them the belief to push on for the win."

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With the defeat ending Airdrie's involvement in this season's cup competitions, attention now turns solely to League One.

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MacDonald wants to use that focus to put things right.

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"Obviously you don't want to be losing to a Highland League team, and we're embarassed. But now obviously all we can do it concentrate on the league and start winning games and getting up the table."

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With the Fifers currently three ponits ahead of Airdrie in fifth place, MacDonald is looking forward to facing his old team - even though he doesn't have the happiest memories of Bayview.

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"I didn't really enjoy my time there, I was in and out of the team and I wasn't there for long.
 

 

"There are some really good people at the club though, so it wasn't too bad. Saying that, I'm hoping that we'll beat them on Saturday!"

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A win for the Diamonds would go some way to helping fans forget last week's result, and would signal important back-to-back victories after the recent home win over Stranraer.

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Kieran says it's all about self-belief.

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"We need to stick together and start believing that we can be a good team when we want to be. We showed that against Stranraer, we can play well and score goals. The main thing for now is keeping the ball out of our net, we need to start getting more clean sheets.

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"It'll be a tough game on Saturday, but we want to go at them and try to get the first goal - normally in this league whoever scores first goes on to win the game. We know we're capable of beating them and I'm confident that we can pick ourselves up and get the win on Saturday."

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First team coach Stephen Findlay added: "We're going to go there and be positive. We have to show that we're determined to pick ourselves up from last week."

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Marc Fitzpatrick (knee) and David Brownlie (hand) will miss out for the Diamonds.

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Gavin Duncan referees his first Airdrie tie of the season.