This game meant everything to Clyde and Airdrie United. Or perhaps it was completely meaningless. We will find out this week.

If a Saturday deadline set by Gretna's administrators passes with no buyer found to take over the club, they will fold. That much at least is certain.

It is understood that the consequent vacant place in next season's first division would be awarded by the Scottish Football League to Airdrie United, even though they lost this play-off 3-0 on aggregate. Stranraer, who lost the second division play-off, would also be pro-moted and an ambitious club from outside the senior set-up would be elected to fill the place left in the third division.

Airdrie United know about profiting from the demise of other clubs, having been reborn from the ashes of Airdrieonians by taking over Clydebank. A club could similarly take over Gretna and with it their place in the first division, but with debts of £4m, that seems unlikely.

But that's all speculation. Saturday's teams could not play as if they had a get-out-of-jail card and this game was contested with the requisite commitment and hunger. Airdrie, 1-0 down from the first leg, were the better team in the first half, their players keen to settle their futures without any help from Gretna.

Alan Russell, who knows what division he'll be playing in next season after agreeing a pre-contract with Kilmarnock, failed to put his team in front with any of three excellent chances and Clyde made them pay as the second half started.

Gary McSwegan, the veteran striker, has proved to be an astute signing by his former Rangers team-mate John Brown. He scored a vital goal in the play-off semi-final against Alloa, turned the first leg of this final after coming on as substitute and put Clyde in front here with a deft touch after a long ball eluded Airdrie's back four.

Airdrie still had a chance, but were denied a definite penalty and seemed to fade from the game. "The referee said he felt Bryan Prunty went down too easily," said manager Kenny Black of Chris Higgins' 51st minute foul. Pat Clarke's superb overhead volley in the 64th minute finally killed off their hopes of reaching the first division . . . well, until Saturday.

Clyde's players, at least, can go on holiday knowing their future is settled. In fact, some of them already have.

"It was a tense few months," admitted their midfielder, Marvyn Wilson, who missed the first leg of the play-off final. "I had holidays booked for Disneyland and I knew I was going to miss one of the play-off games, so for me it's even more of a relief.

"It was just bad timing. I did not forget, I'm a professional footballer. I booked them back in January, my contract was up and I didn't really know if I was going to be a Clyde player or not. My family needed a break and I just said, Stuff it, when's the last game of the season?' "I was checking my phone the whole time. Watching what I was doing, going for runs in the morning before the kids were up . . . it was brilliant!"

There were some incongruous scenes at the end as Clyde's players celebrated on the pitch as if they'd actually won something other than the right to finish second last in the first division. "The cup's irrelevant," admitted Wilson, "it's just that we're guaranteed a place in the first division next year and we're not waiting for news from next week with what's going to happen with that situation."

Airdrie, meanwhile, await developments with interest to guage the importance or otherwise of this defeat.