Lanarkshire derby
| Locale | Lanarkshire |
|---|---|
| Teams | Motherwell, Airdrieonians, Hamilton Academical and Albion Rovers |
The Lanarkshire Derby is a football rivalry that is based in Lanarkshire, Scotland, and matches are contested between any two from Motherwell, Airdrieonians, Hamilton Academical and Albion Rovers,
Traditionally known as the 'north-south' derby (even though both towns now come under the North Lanarkshire Council area) The most recent meeting between the two teams was when they met in the Scottish Cup in 2007.
The pair memorably met in the semi-final of the 1975 Scottish Cup when Motherwell were going through a golden spell under then-Manager Willie McLean. Airdrie caused an upset by winning and going through to the final.
This match was always a regularity when the now-defunct Lanarkshire Cup was evident in Scottish football, and in some instances, this match would be the final. As of the close of the competition in 1996, Airdrie had 33 cup wins compared to Motherwell's 32 in the 127 years of the competition being in place, emphasising at the time how big the two clubs were in Lanarkshire.
After the original Airdrieonians were dissolved in 2002, and were then reborn as Airdrie United (now again referred to as Airdrieonians), the clubs have only met once in a competitive match, the Scottish Cup Third Round tie on 7 January 2007 at New Broomfield, with Motherwell winning 1-0 and Richie Foran the scorer. The crowd that day were 5,924, a current record-attendance for a match at New Broomfield involving the new Airdrieonians. However, many think that the attendance of this match would have been a lot higher had the original Airdrieonians not gone under.
Owen Coyle, Alan Gow, Lee Hollis and Kenny Black are examples of players that have played for both clubs. Coyle and Black are also part of only a handful of players to have played for both the original Airdrieonians as well as the new Airdrieonians.
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