![[A HoD Production]](./images/hodtext.gif)
Match Reports 97-98
All reports are supplied by Kevin McClelland, unless otherwise stated.
All reports are supplied by Kevin McClelland, unless otherwise stated.
Ayr United 0 - 1 Clydebank (after extra time)
Att: 1281
Ayr's run of bad form continued with this extra time exit from the Challenge Cup at the hands of Second Division Clydebank. Despite controlling the match almost from start to finish, Ayr fell foul of the only shot on target that the visitors had all night and the fans at Somerset made their feelings known by venting their anger at the final whistle.
Neither side threatened in the opening skirmishes, only a Kristensen shot from a Bonar pass made either keeper move until Teale, who was the outstanding man on the park, fired a shot just wide of the post in the 16th minute.
Poor support play from midfield cost Ayr a 20th minute lead when Kristensen's high ball was collected by Bonar and he beat Wishart to cut the ball back but there were no takers for his effort. Two minutes later the scenario was repeated when Traynor headed back from a Kristensen cross but again the midfield were nowhere to be found when the ball fell in acres of space.
Ayr had Traynor to thank for a timely intervention on Teale after Cadette had set up his strike partner in the Ayr box and Brannigan was first into the book for deliberate handball after 26 minutes.
That was the sum total of the action in the first half but the second had a bit more in the way of excitement. Bonar sent a perfect pass over the defence toward goal and Kristensen beat McLaughlin to it. He flicked it over the advancing keeper but was unlucky to see his first time effort from wide on the left rise inches over the bar as he tried to hit the empty net. It sounds like he should have scored, but to be honest he did brilliantly to even get the shot in that he did.
Ferguson set up Traynor on the right wing after 56 minutes and his far post cross eluded everyone to fall kindly for Paul Bonar. The full-back struck it sweetly on the drop and it flew past McFarlane in the visitors goal only for Murdoch to throw himself across and clear it off the line. The rebound was sent to Smith but his right foot shot was well saved. Under pressure from the Clydebank midfield, Jamieson hoisted a high ball toward goal which McFarlane had to watch very closely as it landed just over the bar. The Ayr captain's next involvement was when he received a yellow card for kicking the ball away at a free-kick.
Ian Ferguson almost broke the deadlock in the 84th minute but his shot from wide left flashed across the face of goal , just beyond sub McDonald.
Graeme Connell tried a long range effort from a Cadette lay back with 5 minutes and it shaved the crossbar although Castilla had it covered.
Ayr pushed on their remaining sub in Hood for Agnew but the Bankies were content to boot the ball as far as possible and hold on for an undeserved victory. It was at some cost however as Teale was stretchered off with a couple of minutes left after a tackle by Jamieson.
Team:
Castilla, Robertson, Bonar (McDonald 76), Traynor, Jamieson, Love,
Agnew (Hood 111), Mainge, Ferguson (Kerrigan 101), Kristensen, Smith.
Ref: Ian Fyfe (4/10 - unable to use an ounce of common sense, if he'd had one)
Hamilton Academical 0 - 2 Ayr United
Att: 915
Memories of last season's triumphant campaign came flooding back on entering the ground for this match, but with the differing fortunes of the 2 promoted clubs, most Ayr fans went along with a certain amount of trepidation as Accies were flying and Ayr were bottom of the table.
Come 4:45, form books all over the country were flying out windows as Ayr had registered their first victory and with some considerable amount to spare.
Without a host of injured players, Ayr were reportedly down to their last 11 fit players and Gordon Dalziel brought in another foreign trialist, this time in the imposing form of Mohammed Syla, who came from the French First Division having spent 6 years with Willem II Tilburg in the Dutch League. He had to be content with a place on the bench as Steve Kerrigan started only his second match of the season.
Kicking into the wind in the first half, Ayr and their fans would probably have been content with keeping the score level till half-time, but after a couple of long range efforts which failed to trouble Castilla, Ayr took the game by the scruff of the neck and banged in 2 goals in a 7 minute period. Kerrigan was fouled in the centre-circle and the resulting free-kick was aimed at the in-form Ian Ferguson. His blocked shot fell kindly for Kerrigan and he scored with a right foot shot from 16 yards which nestled in the bottom right corner of Ferguson's net.
Agnew was yellow-carded by the referee for a foul on Cunnington in the 20th minute and at this point I should mention the official was Mr John Fleming. Remember that name, for you will surely have cause to mutter it amongst oaths and profanity worthy of a docker, should you ever have the misfortune to have to endure a performance from the aformentioned 'referee'.
Hillcoat tried another long-range effort after Cunnington had set him up but that was fortunately the extent of Hamilton's tactics. Ayr, on the other hand were tactically brilliant, with every player aware of his role in the team and, defensively in particular, Ayr were never in danger.
Ayr stretched their lead in the 24th minute ( it feels good typing that ) when McCulloch was caught dithering on a long ball by Ferguson and was robbed. The big striker strolled towards goal and squared for Kerrigan to neatly chip the diving keeper and send the Ayr fans in the refurbished shed wild.
Ferguson was really on song now and another great run saw him cut along the bye-line and slip the ball past Thomson, only to be flattened as he tried to round the defender. Unbelievably, Fleming waved play on as the Ayr fans and players sought a penalty or at least a free-kick.
Ayr had the ball in the net again after Agnew's long clearance was collected by Ferguson and he weaved past 2 defenders before setting up Kerrigan again. The striker's shot was cleared off the line by Sherry to Smith and he sent a looping cross to Kristensen at the back post. The Great Dane netted with a powerful downward header which bounced into the roof of the net but the celebrations were halted by the sight of the raised flag. A minute later Fleming booked McCulloch for an offence which no-one in the ground appeared to see but him.
Willie Jamieson proved his worth to the team when he cleared Geraghty's header off the line early in the second half as Hamilton tried to get back into the game, but with their playmaker Quitongo superbly stifled by John Traynor, the service to the front men bordered on the non-existant.
Willy Mainge replaced the off-form Kristensen after 57 minutes and his presence further strengthened Ayr's midfield of Smith and Agnew who were having by far their best games for the club. 3 minutes later, I knew it was going to be Ayr's day. Love made a mess of a clearance and it was blocked by McFarlane toward Quitongo but 'Wee Bunty' somehow managed to scoop the ball over the bar from only 6 yards. With luck like that, we had to win.
With 20 minutes left, Kerrigan was replaced by Syla and the big man almost became an instant hero with the travelling fans with a fierce left foot shot which flashed into the side netting. Ferguson was next to be booked although the ref amazed the fans by not booking Renicks after both players indulged in a little 'handbags at dawn' confrontation off the ball. Tom Smith was also booked minutes later after winning the ball with a perfect tackle in the midfield. Fleming motioned that he thought it was a two-footed lunge but the yellow-card baffled even the Hamilton players.
Ayr were content to play out time in control and managed another couple of efforts, notably from Syla who again tested Ferguson from 25 yards, and a Love cross which McCulloch was forced to clear from under his own bar.
The final act just had to fall to the referee. A stray pass aimed for Quitongo was running out of the park near where we were standing. As Quitongo went to try and stop the ball and turn, he stood on it and fell on his backside. The derisory jeers from the Ayr fans turned into groans as Fleming awarded a foul against Graeme Love who was 3 or 4 feet behind the Hamilton man. The man's ability to get even the simplest decisions wrong was staggering.
Team: Castilla, Robertson, Love, Hood, Jamieson, Smith, Agnew, Traynor, Ferguson, Kerrigan (Syla 70), Kristensen (Mainge 57) sub not used McDonald.
Ref: Mr John Fleming [2/10 - intelligent, knowledgeable - just 2 of the adjectives you won't see applied to this man, ever]
Ayr United 1 - 2 Dundee
Att: 2180
Despite the fact that the headline to this match shows that Ayr lost the points, they perhaps won several small battles during the course of the 90 minutes. By that I mean that many of the people who doubted the home side's ability to 'cut it' in the First Division, had their eyes opened to the potential of a side which, given even a semblance of luck, could have destroyed their lacklustre opponents. The Dens Men arrived amidst much hype, and unbeaten in the league, but they were made to fight all the way and it's all the more frustrating to note that both goals they claimed were virtually handed to them by calamitous defensive errors. If Ayr sort out their defensive frailties and when their horrendous injury list lessens, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for the fans who left the ground shattered after the final whistle.
The opening quarter was evenly balanced, save for the first Dundee corner which Maddison flicked onto the face of the bar and a Traynor cross which Kerrigan fired over. An excellent period of neat passing play by Ayr ended when Smith chipped the ball back across the face of goal but Ferguson, Kerrigan and Henderson all failed to connect. Their was all the makings of a solid home performance in the making when the inevitable disaster struck. A harmless looking cross from the left was headed straight up by Robertson in the 6 yard box. It looked to be Castilla's ball all the way, but the keeper hesitated and when it was headed back across again, there was the perennial thorn in the flesh, Annand, to nod home from 4 yards. A shocking goal to lose and one for which Castilla must shoulder much of the blame. Straight from the kick-off, Robertson was short with a pass-back to Castilla and Grady intercepted. It looked odds on another goal, but Castilla brilliantly clawed the ball off his toes and then away from Annand who was following up. Both these saves coming on the edge of the box.
Stand-in ref Allison finally produced a yellow card after 33 minutes when Adamczuk was booked for barging Henderson to the ground. Most in the ground felt Jim McInally was more deserving of a card for his persistant fouling.
Castilla was again called into action when Anderson made space for himself and fired a 25 yarder which the keeper touched around the post. In first-half injury time, he repeated the feat, leaping high to his right to catch a chip from the same man. Seconds later Tom Smith forced a good save from Douglas after his free-kick was deflected.
Ayr emerged after the break with a new look to them, literally. The ref was having trouble distinguishing between a white shirt and a blue shirt (I'll resist the temptation to pose the obvious question here) and requested that Ayr change. So it was that they played in the away tops and the home shorts and a god-awful sight it is too. However, it seemed to work. With a strong wind at their backs, they set about Dundee and for long spells they dominated the play. Tom Smith finally seems to be getting some level of consistency and when Paul Agnew finally gets there as well, we could be looking at a very creative midfield. As it is, the final piece of the jigsaw of partnership is still missing.
In the 51st minute, Ayr almost equalised with a freak clearance by Adamczuk which whistled past his own post as he tried to hoof it up the park. From the corner, Kerrigan chested it down to Traynor and from a tight angle, he rifled in a shot which Douglas brilliantly touched over. Douglas again pulled off a great save in the 57th minute when Smith set up Robertson from 25 yards for a fierce shot.
The goal Ayr deserved wasn't far away though and when Ferguson's neat backheel set up Traynor, the cross was cleared as far the striker, he chipped the ball over to Henderson at the back post and he netted with a powerful header.
Dundee reawakened and Castilla made an excellent one-handed save from a Grady shot after he had wriggled free in the box. Then a throw-in was punted aimlessly into the box where Gregg Hood had all the time to clear it but swiped at fresh air. Grady picked up the loose ball again, but again Castilla was equal to the task, blocking the shot out for another corner. The aftermath of the corner brought about Dundee's second goal. It wasn't properly cleared and when the ball was slipped through to O'Driscoll, he stepped across the path of Graeme Love and went down in the box. It looked accidental, and the fact that the ref didn't book Love concurs with that. Anderson stepped up to take the penalty which Castilla saved, but the 'wunderkid' followed up to tap the rebound home and give Dundee an undeserved lead.
Ayr threw on McDonald for Agnew in the remaining minutes having already replaced Henderson with Kristensen but it was to no avail. Despite constant pressure on the visitor's goal, there was little to trouble the giant figure of Douglas and the final scoring chance fell at the other end where Annand contrived to hit the edge of the Railway Shed from 8 yards out.
The final whistle brought a mixed response. The fans who recognised the efforts put in, stayed mainly silent, but the usual empty-heads made their feelings known by shouting incredible abuse at the players. Around the area of the halfway-line their is a group who make it their life's work to abuse Ayr players and Love, Agnew and Smith seem to evoke considerable hatred. What makes it harder to listen to is that they all wear Ayr United colours and would profess to be supporters. Sad....
Team:
Castilla, Roberston, Love, Hood, Jamieson, Smith, Agnew (McDonald 81),
Traynor, Ferguson, Kerrigan, Henderson (Kristensen 72) Unused sub. Burns.
Ref: Mr G Allison (6/10 - Not quite fawlty-less, but probably the best performance I've seen from our very own John Cleese lookalike. That not really saying much though..)
Ayr United 1 - 0 Raith Rovers
Att: 1987
It was no happy Rover's Return for Jimmy Nicholl as he saw his lacklustre side despatched with considerable ease by a patchwork Ayr side who recorded their first home league victory after a battling performance. It was a combination of ex-Raith personnel who inflicted the damage with the tactics of Dalziel and Munro and the striking abilities of Ian Ferguson asking questions of the Kirkcaldy side that they just couldn't answer.
The odds were stacked heavily against Ayr as they lost Jamieson and Agnew before the match and although Willy Mainge was free to return in the midfield, Jamieson's absence caused more concern. Dalziel gambled and handed a starting debut to former YTS kid Gordon Burns in the heart of the defence. It's something I have long advocated that players should be given the opportunity to shine at an early age and 18 year-old Burns did just that with a cool performance against Keith Wright that earned him Man of the Match awards in the newspaper reports. People who don't have the chance to see reserve games should not believe that the talent ends with Burns, there are at least 3 or 4 others who have the potential to emulate him and perhaps Gordon Dalziel should put the brakes on his spending and look to the home-grown talent when injuries cause problems.
Raith fielded ex-Ayr target Guido Van De Kamp in goal and it took Ayr only 7 minutes to test his aerial prowess as he leapt to punch clear a dangerous Robertson cross off Kerrigan's head. 3 minutes later it was Castilla's goal which was being threatened when McEwan's nearpost cross was turned over by Duffield from 6 yards out. Castilla made a good block in the 19th minute when Smith was slack with a pass out of defence and Lee Dair pounced to crack in a 20 yarder but the keeper, who is being tracked by French U-21 bosses, excelled with a superb save.
A minute later Love was caught in possession on the edge of the box and Jason Dair chipped the loose ball to the back post where Hood conceded a corner under pressure. This was a rocky spell for Ayr and Kirkwood fired in another 25 yarder which Castilla fisted away and eventually the danger was cleared.
Ayr stormed back; Ferguson was guilty of holding the ball too long when he had support from Kerrigan and Smith, and lost out to Thomson at the bye-line.
In the 26th minute, Ayr broke clear with a 3 on 2 advantage. Mainge took the ball through the middle, fed Ferguson on the right and chipped to the back post, where Smith's volley was touched over by Van de Kamp.
The balance of play was shifting somewhat: Henderson fed Mainge in the centre-circle; he held off several challenges on his run to the edge of the box where, with 4 men around him, he squeezed the ball to Ferguson, who rifled the ball into the net from 16 yards to give Ayr a 34th minute lead. From the whistle, Ayr went upfield; Ferguson chipped the keeper only for Fotheringham to head off the line. With the loose ball bouncing toward the penalty spot and Kerrigan steaming in, bedlam broke out as he was chopped by a reckless lunge by Kirkwood. It looked a stonewall penalty to everyone, well everyone except the official who decided it was a fair challenge, but then had to stop the play while Kerrigan received lengthy treatment and had his boot retrieved after it ended up 15 feet away. This was just one of a number of totally baffling decisions by John Young, who got worse as the game went on and had fans, players and managers completely bewildered with some shocking decisions.
Raith didn't alter their tactics in the second-half and seemed content to fire in hopeful shots on Castilla from long-range, despite having the bulk of possession. Ayr should have exploited bad marking in the 53rd minute when Robertson's cross found Kerrigan all alone, but his header was too close to the keeper and easily saved. Poor refereeing almost gave Raith an undeserved equaliser after Robertson was clearly fouled by Wright. The ref waved play on and Duffield collected the ball and shot across the six yard box without any takers.
About this point Mr Young had his biggest brainstorm. A bouncing ball is coming toward Kirkwood, he hesitates and Mainge steals it off him but is fouled in the process. The ball continues to Ferguson who breaks through the defence only for his run to be halted by the whistle. The ground erupts as Young has awarded a free-kick to Raith. Both players require treatment and the remaining players move back to the Ayr end and take up positions for the impending high ball. The physios leave the park and Mr Young chooses this point to inform us that in fact he has given the free-kick to Ayr. I don't care what ANYONE says, Scottish refs are by and large inconsistent, incapable and just plain incompetent. And it's getting worse...(please note that although the above is a personal opinion, it was shared by those around me on Saturday who, at times, simply could not believe the decisions that they were witnessing)
Around the hour mark, Hood fouled Duffield twice in 30 seconds and so became the first booking of the match. The free-kick was easily taken by the impressive Castilla and Ayr swept into attack with Ferguson and Henderson combining to send the ball toward Kerrigan, only for Van De Kamp to claw it away at full stretch. Raith began to get more frantic in their attempts but this only served to create panic in their own attacks. Any chances they had were well snuffed out and it's a measure of the composure of the defence that Raith were restricted to only 3 shots on target in the whole game. Duffield was subbed and he was followed by Millen and Jason Dair as Raith piled on forwards. Ayr responded by taking off Kerrigan, who had suffered a couple of knocks, for Sylla whose long legs took him past defenders with ease. If only he could control the ball...
Castilla made further saves from a Thomson 30 yarder and a deflected Dair effort but play was quickly swept upfield where Sylla attempted a fancy flick which did little to impress the punters. Robertson and Sylla were both booked within a minute of each other and both could be classed in the doubtful category. Robertson's was for jersey pulling, which seemed strange as his own appeared to be a wee off-the-shoulder number when the ref waved play on and Sylla's was for ... well, a very soft foul, and his first at that.
Castilla capped a fine display with a superb save from a Cameron shot after Hartley laid it back and in the last minute McEwan was cautioned for a foul on Smith.
Ayr had the final chance of this match when Henderson went clear down the left and fired a high ball which Robertson met at the back post. The defender was stretching for it though and could only volley it past the post from 8 yards.
Team:
Castilla, Robertson, Love, Hood, Burns, Mainge, Smith, Traynor, Ferguson,
Kerrigan (Sylla 68), Henderson. Subs not used: McDonald, Kristensen
Ref: Mr J Young [2/10 - and I'm being generous. A quite shocking second half]
Airdrieonians 1 - 0 Ayr United
Att: 1297
Ayr's yo-yo form continued and after the sublime of last week's disposing of Raith, we had the ridiculous in this outing against one of the teams in the First Division that was expected to be challenging at the top rather than lying at the foot. The match itself was devoid of any football, but had the usual undercurrent of niggling and petty fouling and when you combine this with the predictably awful display by referee George Clyde, you have a recipe for disaster. Clyde has already made a name for himself as someone who hands out more cards than Paul Daniels and he did little to endear himself to the visiting fans with some truly awful interpretations of events.
Ayr sat too deep initially and allowed the home side to dictate play without really threatening. The first shot which troubled Castilla was a deflected Lawrence effort which shaved the post in the 9th minute. Ayr broke upfield from the corner and when Henderson's cross fell to Robertson, the defender squandered a good chance for a shot by chipping the ball back into the box and wasting the opportunity. Ayr kept pushing and Traynor fed Robertson again but the cross to Ally Graham was picked off the striker's head by on-loan keeper Myles Hogarth.
Kenny Black became the first booking when his second bad challenge on Mainge inside the first 15 minutes incurred the wrath of Clyde. Just as the Ayr fans felt that at last we had a ref who would clamp down on Airdrie's notorious hard-men, he stumped us all by awarding a penalty for Hood's challenge on Cooper as they both went for a high ball. To say it was soft would be an understatement and the official appeared to react to the 'dying swan with sound effects' display from the striker. There was no raised arms, no holding and no pushing but Black wasn't complaining as his poorly struck penalty was partially saved by Castilla but trickled over the line.
Cooper almost doubled the lead on the 24 minute mark when he volleyed Wilson's header just over. Henderson was next into the book after he needlessly chopped down Johnston from behind and he was swiftly followed by Tony Smith of Airdrie for another foul on Mainge. Castilla was called into action in the 33rd minute when he safely held a Cooper header from another Smith cross and a minute later the same striker headed past from Johnston's cross with Ayr appealing for offside. After 36 minutes the Airdrie fans were celebrating again after Henderson smashed the ball past his own keeper. Thankfully their joy was cut short when the goal was ruled out for a push by Johnston.
Tom Smith's booking in the last minute for a foul on Wilson was the last act of a dire first half.
Sean Sweeney had the first opportunity of the second half when Ayr's defence was posted missing at a corner kick and the big defender's shot whistled past the keeper's right post from 20 yards. Ayr replaced Ally Graham with Mohammed Sylla after 55 minutes and went in search of the equaliser. Robertson was chopped down near the corner flag but when the free-kick was played short to him, he shot high and wide. Ferguson ran onto a Robertson pass minutes later and sent a great cross toward Tom Smith at the back post but Johnston managed to get a touch on it to send it to safety.
After 63 minutes a surging run out of defence by Burns saw him feed Ferguson. He exchanged passes with Robertson on the touchline before firing a great cross into the box which was worth better than Sylla's poorly controlled finish. Three minutes later, Ferguson picked up a costly booking for dissent after he moaned too much when he was bundled in the box. He did seem to have a case however as the ref had already awarded a penalty for less. Ayr threw on Kerrigan for Hood a minute later and went for it with three strikers. This was by far the best period of the game and Ayr's pressure was worthy of some reward but a combination of poor finishing, bad distribution and lack of understanding cost dear.
Mainge robbed Stewart at the byeline and drove in a cross which somehow eluded Ferguson's dive at the front post and went behind Kerrigan at the back post with Airdie's defence in disarray. Cooper finally made it into the ref's book with 10 minutes left after an off-the-ball altercation with Love. Quite how a player can raise his hands and stay on the field is worthy of at least some explanation however. The answer to that question was provided with 4 minutes remaining when Ferguson led with the arm in a challenge with Sweeney and was ordered off for a second yellow card. I'm not condoning that sort of challenge but surely a little consistency isn't too much to ask for.
All in all this was a poor performance, probably the worst of the season. It had few redeeming features, excepting Burns and Castilla in defence. Too many players were off the boil and the service to the front men in the first half was non-existant. Ally Graham did little to impress in his 55 minutes but his replacement, Sylla, was even worse and with Ferguson banned for the visit of Stirling Albion, the task of picking up league points looks harder than ever. Gordon Dalziel has already used 23 players in the campaign, an almost unbelievable number, and he is actively seeking more changes for next Saturday. Two seasons ago, Ayr used 52 players in the league and cups, at this rate, he'll have exceeded that by Christmas...
Team:
Castilla, Robertson, Love, Hood (Kerrigan 67), Burns, Smith, Mainge, Traynor,
Ferguson, Graham (Sylla 55), Henderson Sub: Jamieson
Ref: Mr George Clyde [1/10 - it's hard to emulate Willie Young for all-round inability, but he came close]
