Blair Spittal hit the bullseye to send Dundee United through to the last 16 of the William Hill Scottish Cup.
It is thanks to his fabulous freekick that United’s name will be one of the those pulled out of the hat by world darts champion Gary Anderson when the fifth round draw is made at Hampden this evening.
The Flying Scotsman became the pride of his country once again when he successfully defended his presitigious PDC title at the Alexandra Palace in London by beating England’s Adrian Lewis just eight days ago.
However, it is questionable whether any of Anderson’s arrows were as accurate as the shot fired in by Spittal with 11 minutes to go at the Excelsior Stadium on Saturday.
The most remarkabkle thing about Spittal’s strike was that it was a carbon-copy of the goal he scored against Dundee in the Dens derby the previous weekend.
While the Dark Blues hit back to win that game there was no answer from Airdrie as the Tangerines clinched what was a throroughly deserved victory – their first since beating Ross County in the Premiership on October 31.
Spittal’s teammate Coll Donaldson was quick off the mark to congratulate him and couldn’t hide how happy he was for his colleague.
Donaldson said: “Blair has now scored two freekicks in as many weeks.
“It’s a confidence thing for him and he has carried it on from the derby.
“I’m absolutely delighted for him.”
The great hope for Spittal, Donaldson and the rest of the United squad is that this cup success helps them improve their league form.
They face the toughest of challenges on Friday night when Celtic visit Tannadice but manager Mixu Paatelainen insists there is plenty of confidence within the United dressing room, even though his side are 11 points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership.
He believes spirits will be even higher when they face the Hoops now that they have ended a nine-match streak without a win.
Asked if he thought this result could give them a boost for the league campaign, Paatelainen said: “I hope so.
“The spirit is high.
“The spirit hasn’t been too low at any point.
“Credit to the players because they have been really good and (have been) believing.
“You can see that in our performances, with the way we pass the ball with confidence.
“It is there.
“I thought it was a very professional performance from us and the attitude was spot on.
“We always knew Airdrie would test us but I thought we handled them well.
“We didn’t score in open play but that wonderful free-kick was enough for us.”
However, Airdrie boss Eddie Wolecki Black claimed his players at least deserved a replay.
He said: “Disappointed doesn’t really cover it right now.
“I’m more disappointed for the players because they put so much into the game and I really didn’t think we deserved to lose.
“I thought we were worthy of a replay but it was a great free-kick that killed us.”
He also revealed teenage goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson, who produced a fine display in place of the suspended Neil Parry, was the subject of an offer before the game.
He declined to name the club who made the bid but local reports suggest it was United.
Wolecki Black said: “He’s 18 and has probably put another few thousand pounds on the bid that was made before we went into the game.
“We will see where that goes.
“We are determined to keep our best players here but if other clubs come in and make bids that suit this club, we will sit down and talk to them.”
United made two changes to the line-up that started against Dundee.
Out went suspended duo Gavin Gunning and Ryan McGowan to be replaced by Mark Durnan and Donaldson.
New striker Riku Riski, just signed on the eve of the match, had to make do with a place on the bench.
The same went for Robbie Muirhead as he returned from his loan spell with Partick Thistle, while there was a welcome return from long-term injury for Paul Paton as he was also named as a sub.
Chris Erskine had a decent effort from distance for United but the ball flew a foot or so over the Diamonds’ bar.
Skipper Sean Dillon then did well to clear at the back post as Airdrie threatened United goalie Eiji Kawashima’s goal on 15 minutes.
Two minutes later, Paul Dixon rattled the home bar with a shot from outside the box then Spittal pounced on the rebound only for Ferguson to save his low strike.
United tried again from long range on 30 minutes, this time Scott Fraser having a go, but the first half finished goalless.
With just a couple minutes of the second period gone, the Tangerines cut the Diamonds wide open.
Dixon started the move off by finding Fraser, who bobbed and weaved before sliding a pass right to Billy Mckay.
The striker looked certain to score but pulled his shot to the side of the goal when he should have at least hit the target.
On 55 minutes, United were on the attack again and Fraser’s volley went into the ground then over after he was found by a Dixon cross from the left.
Donaldson wasn’t far away with a shot from 30 yards then Erskine had another low strike saved as the Tannadice men continued to dominate without scoring.
Riski made his debut when he replaced Erskine on 67 minutes before Fitzpatrick saved the Diamonds with a great save to keep out a Fraser shot from just outside the box.
A foul on Fraser just outside the area on 79 minutes gave the visitors a great opportunity and Spittal produced his magic again to send the fans wild, with some even spilling on to the trackside to celebrate.