Airdrie defender sets sights on Cove Rangers after breaking Diamonds duck
It took Alex Bannon 14 games to grab his first Airdrie goal, and now the defender is looking to add to that against Cove Rangers.
Bannon, who in February joined on loan from Burton Albion until the end of this season, has their League One challengers in his sights, as they head to the Balmoral Stadium on Wednesday, and host Paul Hartley's side on Saturday, for a place in next season's Championship.
Former Queen's Park kid Bannon, 21, struck in 38 minutes of Saturday's 2-1 semi-final second leg win over Stenhousemuir, which earned a 5-2 aggregate, and is looking for more.
He said: 'I wouldn't mind some goals against Cove Rangers – it took 13 or 14 games, whatever it was, to score my first, but I wouldn't mind two in two.
'It was a good time to get my first goal. It was getting frustrating for us, we had a game-plan, but they had set out a little bit more compact than on Tuesday night.
'We knew that was going to happen, because with us being 3-1 up in the tie they didn't want to concede another goal.
'But the goal calmed the nerves, because the boys were getting frustrated with little chances, and I think going into half-time was probably a perfect time to score.
'We went in, reset, came out and got the other goal.'
Bannon's goal came from Adam Frizzell's corner on the right that was swung in to the back post and he powered a header past Darren Jamieson.
But he reckons Airdrie could have made life easier for themselves.
He said: 'The corner was practiced, it was something we worked on with me, Sam Graham and Ben Wilson, and the block makes it a lot easier.
'There was one I should have scored in the second half but I gave away a foul instead, so it feels good to score.
'Nit-picking, there were a couple of things we could have done that would have meant we saw the game out a wee bit better, and that's something we can take forward to the next two games.
'If we are in that position again we need to see the game out a bit more professionally.
'There were a few times when we let them in and gave them a few more chances than we should have – but again, that's me just picking out little things.
'The play-offs aren't a nice place to be, but any chance is a good one to have.
'Stenhousemuir came here with nothing to lose, that's what happens in the play-offs, and stranger things happen.
'I've played in a few that have been end-to-end and it's just teams trying to get a goal at any point in the game, which is quite tough.
'So I'm glad that we got it over the edge.'
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