The Diamonds gave another sparkling account of themselves as they left Pittodrie with a narrow defeat against Aberdeen.

Jimmy Thelin’s side may have taken the points, but Airdrie left the Granite City with plenty of plaudits as they head into Saturday’s match against Queen of the South with a fighting chance of progression to the Premier Sports Cup knockout stages.

Manager Rhys McCabe made seven changes to the side which started against Dumbarton at the weekend, Murray Johnson, Murray Aiken, Rhys Armstrong, Adam Frizzell, Lewis McGregor, Ben Wilson and McCabe himself replacing Kieran Wright, Cammy Bruce, Craig Watson, Chris Mochrie, Terrell Agyemang, Lewis McGrattan and Aaron Reid.

The Diamonds took the game to their opponents from the off in what was Swedish manager Thelin’s first home tie in the Aberdeen hot-seat, with former Don Mason Hancock forcing a fourth-minute corner after a spell of early pressure.

Ex-St Johnstone keeper Dimitar Mitov claimed well from Armstrong’s delivery, and was down sharply a minute later to deal with a Hancock cross.

The home side replied with their own period of attacking play, and it took some composed defending from McCabe to break up a ninth-minute attack before McGregor was foiled at the other end after a missed defensive header.

Ester Sokler looked to be clean through on 13 minutes, but a perfectly-timed sliding challenge from Aidan Wilson averted the danger, and Johnson saved with his legs as Jamie McGrath did well to make space for a shot on the quarter-hour mark.

Shayden Morris saw an effort blocked over the bar as Aberdeen began to dominate, but Airdrie stood up well to the pressure and looked dangerous on the break, Adam Frizzell seeing a 22nd-minute effort gathered by Mitov.

The impressive Dylan MacDonald smuggled the ball back to Johnson with a timely intervention on 27 minutes, and the Diamonds keeper then made a good one-on-one save from Jack MacKenzie as Aberdeen broke despite protests that Mitov had handled outside his box.

Airdrie were beginning to find a route through to the Dons goal once again, and a 39th-minute Hancock cross was bundled behind after more good play from MacDonald.

The former East Kilbride man did well to keep the ball alive a minute later, and although Hancock’s effort was blocked, Ben Wilson was once again in the right place to accept the loose ball and send a lovely reversed finish into the bottom corner.

It was no more than the Diamonds deserved after a confident first-half display, but the home side should have been level on the stroke of half-time when Sokler raced through on goal, sending the ball inches wide of the post when the Pittodrie crowd expected the net to bulge.

There were changes for both sides at the break, Lewis McGrattan replacing McGregor for the Diamonds while Morris made way for in-demand striker Bojan Miovski for the hosts.

Aberdeen were a different animal after the break, and although Johnson easily claimed McGrath’s 48th-minute cross, it was a sign of things to come as Thelin’s team found a new lease of life.

A minute later the tie was level, captain Graeme Shinnie taking a pass from Miovski and driving in on the angle before slamming home a low effort, with a deflection leaving Johnson helpless in the Airdrie goal.

Aidan Wilson was a calm head at the back as the Dons pushed to take an immediate lead, getting in front of Miovski and allowing Johnson to gather on 51 minutes.

Seven minutes later Frizzell curled in a decent strike from a short corner routine, but a home defender got enough on it to send it over the bar.

Aberdeen’s winner came on 59 minutes, a Dean McMaster pass well intercepted allowing a rapid breakaway. As the Diamonds raced back, the ball was cleverly taken off Shinnie’s toes by Leighton Clarkson, who calmly finished from five yards out.

Hancock’s cross almost sneaked under the bar on 64 minutes, with Clarkson stabbing over three minutes later as the game opened up.

Ben Wilson was unlucky after some fancy footwork in the box with 15 minutes remaining, the ball breaking kindly for the home defence to smuggle back to Mitov, and Shinnie fired well over after Johnson had done well to punch clear.

The Diamonds upped the pressure in the final few minutes, Mitov saving well from Hancock after a flowing Airdrie break, and McCabe forcing an 89th-minute corner after substitute Chris Mochrie had seen a shot cannon off his own player.

The final chance of the match saw Aaron Reid challenging for a curling cross, but Slobodan Rubezic showed good composure to head back to Mitov.

The final whistle saw the points stay in the north-east, but Airdrie can be proud of another good display as the group stage heads into the final set of fixtures. Queen of the South are next up for the Diamonds, and a win should be enough to see Rhys McCabe’s men safely through.