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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 2 - 1 Stirling Albion
Att: 1773
Gordon Dalziel again rang the changes through his side before this match and surprised the home fans with another 3 new faces in the starting 11. Early on Saturday, he secured the signature of Andy Millen from Raith Rovers and he was joined in the team by French trialists Luc Sonor and Laurent Djaffo. Many of Dalziel's previous foreign legion have proved to be somewhat short of the requirements of Scottish football, but it would be safe to say that in these latest imports, he has unearthed a couple of real finds. Sonor, we know about and his CV speaks for itself, Djaffo was an unknown quantity. However when he trooped off the park to tumultuous applause with 7 minutes left there were few within the ground who were unaware of his abilities. An athletic figure, standing perhaps 6 feet tall, he is lightning fast and posesses the leaping abilities of a Pitlochry salmon. He favours his left foot but switches from side to side with ease and he gave the beleaguered Albion defence a torrid time, continually beating the lumbering giants of Paterson and McQuilter with ease. Dalziel wants to sign both of them and not since I witnessed Alain Horace's first game have I been so impressed by a newcomer. The concensus of opinion where I was standing was that both newcomers should be locked in the dressing room until they sign contracts. I tend to agree.
To accomodate these new players, several had to be dropped and so it was that Gregg Hood, John Traynor and the suspended Ian Ferguson were missing from the starting line-up. Traynor found a spot on the bench along with Paul Agnew and Isaac English, but Hood found himself redundant along with Steve Kerrigan.
The early pressure was all from the visitors and they themselves had a lively trialist striker who they declined to name and his 4th minute header tested Castilla, who coped with ease. Ayr swept upfield and Mainge cut the ball back from the right for Djaffo to wheel and fire a fierce left foot volley from 25 yards; McGeown leapt to hold. Ayr took the lead in the 11th minute when a Smith short corner found Millen and he sent a right foot cross into the box which Ally Graham headed powerfully past McGeown from 8 yards. Local man Tommy Tait was first into the book for a foul on Smith in the 15th minute and Ayr should have increased their lead 2 minutes later when Smith played a neat 1-2 with Djaffo but saw his shot from 12 yards blocked out for a fruitless corner by McGeown. A minute later it was Sonor's turn to test the keeper when he received a short free-kick from Smith and sent a 35 yarder fizzing to the top corner wher McGeown got a saving glove to push it for a corner. The fans were loving this show and the neat flicks and passing movements of the forwards and midfielders was in contrast to the calm defending of the new-look rearguard. It just looked like one of those days when everything was going to click. Henderson took the flagkick and swung it into the box where captain John Robertson bulleted a header goalward only to see it cleared off the line.
Graeme Love broke up a rare attack by the visitors and sent Djaffo clear. He ran in on goal and cut inside the full-back only to lose out to one of McQuilter's outstretched legs while steadying to shoot. A minute later Gary Paterson entered the book for pulling Djaffo to the ground after he had nutmegged him and ran past him. Love joined him soon after for a soft foul.
Ayr made a tactical switch at half-time, putting Traynor on for Burns in a man-marking role to watch the Stirling trialist. The back four now contained Love, Millen. Sonor and Robertson with Traynor sticking to his task like a case of measles.
Again Stirling started the better side but could find no way through the Ayr defence and resorted to hopeful shots which were never going to trouble Castilla. Ayr extended their lead after 51 minutes when Djaffo held the ball up well on the right and fed Robertson near the corner flag. He sent over a good cross to Ally Graham and his head-flick set up Djaffo behind him to head beyond McGeown. Stirling tried to freshen things up after this and made a couple of subs but Ayr seemed content to control the remainder of the game without losing their shape. A mazy from Henderson involving a nutmeg of McQuilter, ended when he drove a cross just wide of goal from the left. Next Djaffo beat the offside trap to run through on the left. He found Mainge on the edge of the area but his shot was deflected just wide for a corner. Henderson's corner again caused problems and Paterson appeared to hold Graham down as McGeown gathered the loose ball after Ally's header.
Zak made his first league appearance as an 83rd minute sub for Djaffo but it was Stirling who got themselves back into the game after getting a free-kick wide on the left. Taggart's kick seemed to elude everyone before nestling behind Castilla, but from where I was standing, it looked like Andy Millen touched it beyond his own keeper. Straight from the kick-off, Ayr went upfield and English showed he's lost none of his pace with a blistering run down the left which ended with a 25 yarder which tested McGeown. Gary Paterson was pushed forward by the visitors in an attempt to salvage something from the game but it proved costly. He is always likely to get himself into trouble and Saturday was no different. Ayr were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box and Gibson was booked for disputing it. While ref McCurry was meteing out this card, a small disagreement took place over where the kick was to be taken and this did not go unnoticed by the official, He called over Henderson and Paterson and lectured them before showing a yellow card to both. This of course, meant a red for Paterson and he responded by raising two fingers to the ref as he was noting his name. I'm not sure if any official saw it, but it was clear to everyone else in the ground. Paterson stormed off, stripping off his shirt in the process and exchanged angry words with his manager before departing up the tunnel. It was an unnecessary intervention by the ref and much as it pains me to say it, Paterson was harshly dealt with (as was Henderson). The match finished soon afterwards and the home fans went away happy with the 3 points, the solid performance and the displays from the new players.
Team:
Castilla, Robertson, Love, Millen, Burns (Traynor 46), Mainge, Smith,
Graham, Djaffo (English 83), Henderson. Sub: Agnew.
Ref Mr Mike McCurry [5/10 - would have been more except he was way too card-happy and a bit over-officious at times]
St Mirren 1 - 1 Ayr United
Att: 3027
Ayr's much heralded French revolution brought an excellent travelling support to Paisley, but they were to be disappointed as first Luc Sonor injured himself in the warm-up and Laurent Djaffo left the field after only 27 minutes with a head injury. The consequence of Sonor's non appearance was a starting place for Robert Bell, who only made his return from a knee operation in the midweek reserve match, and Ally Graham took over Djaffo's striking duties.
Ayr were slow to start and the home side's crisp passing and pace kept them hemmed in for much of the opening 20 minutes. Without seriously testing Castilla, St Mirren created one or two openings but the final ball was often misplaced or fired wide. Brown had the best of these chances after good work by Mendes but he could only fire straight at the keeper from 20 yards. A Ferguson run which took him past 3 defenders ended when McLaughlin handled but Ayr's woeful attempt at a set piece from the free-kick almost resulted in a goal for Saints as they broke upfield. Henderson was booked in the 12th minute for a bad challenge on Murray before Djaffo tried an overhead kick from a Ferguson cross. Ayr's defensive unit came under more pressure in the 20th minute when a Brown dummy set up Mendes but his fierce shot was charged down and cleared by Henderson. Djaffo had to leave the field after 27 minutes with what appeared to be a head cut sustained a few minutes earlier and Ally Graham came on up front. The big striker was hauled down on the edge of the box and Henderson's curling free-kick over the wall was brilliantly tipped around the post by Combe with most of the Ayr support ready to celebrate. Ayr started to get a grip of the game and forced Saints back for long spells. A fine pass from Smith set Robertson free and he shot just wide as he cut in from the right. Ayr got a fright with 2 minutes left of the half when Brown powered through the middle and fed Mendes on the right. He jinked into the box and from an acute angle blazed the ball across the goal and wide. Unfortunately, Ayr hadn't learned their lesson and in a carbon copy move in injury time, Brown again set-up Mendes and from the same position, he blasted high past the exposed Castilla to put the home side in front. Gregg Hood was cautioned for a late challenge on Brown in the build-up.
Ayr set about St Mirren from the start of the second-half and the tone for the rest of the match was set by several corners in the opening 4 minutes. Ally Graham was quite definitely held down by Watson at one of these and it was in full view of the ref but Ayr's luck with penalty awards was, as usual, missing. Graham did manage a header on target a couple of minutes later but it was too weak to trouble Combe. John Robertson passed up a golden chance to equalise after 54 minutes when he rose to meet a Henderson corner but powered his header beyond the far post with the Saints defence static. Burns was introduced for Mainge as Ayr looked to exploit the left side of the Saints defence with the youngster's pace and Ayr almost capitalised when Robertson took a throw from Castilla and Burns' run cleared his way to feed Graham in the centre. He beat one challenge and set himself to shoot, but sent it 3 feet high from 20 yards. Ayr's final throw came with the introduction of Traynor for the tiring Bell and he went to defence with Millen stepping into midfield. Saints were seldom seen as an attacking force in this half and Ayr's back 3 of Hood, Traynor (or Millen) and Love coped easily with the sporadic forays. Turner tried a speculative effort from a Mendes cross which dipped just over and McGarry sent in a shot which Castilla blocked before normal service resumed with a couple of corners for Ayr.
Ayr's pressure began to tell and the fans were again out of their seats as Millen played a 1-2 with Smith on the edge of the area and beat the challenge of Winnie, leaving only the keeper to beat. At the vital moment he seemed to stumble and the chance was lost. Still Ayr came forward in search of the goal their play deserved and a succession of crosses and corners proved fruitless until the 84th minute. A Henderson corner was cleared to Smith on the edge of the box, he sent it high and wide back to Henderson, who controlled it brilliantly, beat his marker and curled a left foot cross toward the back post where Andy Millen rose to head beyond Combe. All this happened right in front of an ecstatic Ayr support and Millen almost jumped the wall into the fans as he celebrated with the other players. The home side was suddenly wakened from their slumbers and rallied briefly but Ayr had the final chances when first Henderson was put through by Smith and chose to shoot with 2 men free in the box, and then a last second corner which was touched off the head of Graham. Ian Ferguson and Hetherston of St Mirren were fortunate not to be booked or even worse, for a bout of shoving and squaring-up at the final corner which continued after the end of the match but the ref turned a blind eye to it, suprisingly.
The fans applauded the team off and for once, the players responded to a man with Castilla even making the effort to run the full length of the pitch to return his thanks. Looks like there could be the makings of a rapport there....
A word about the ref. I have long been an admirer of Bobby Tait but on Saturday, he was as bad as the rest of them. Too many times, his inconsistency was a talking point and how Tom Brown, Alan Combe and Dave Winnie got away without a booking is beyond me.
Team:
Castilla, Robertson, Love, Millen, Hood, Bell (Traynor 71), Mainge (Burns 62),
Smith, Ferguson, Djaffo (Graham 27), Henderson.
Ref: Bobby Tait [5/10 - very inconsistent]
Greenock Morton 1 - 1 Ayr United
Att: 2344
What a difference 10 weeks make. Ayr entertained Morton on Day 1 of the new season and were dealt a harsh lesson, but in this return fixture it was Ayr who dominated the match to such an extent that the final whistle brought a chorus of boos from the home fans and the visiting support left the ground unhappy that Ayr had not picked up all 3 points.
That however is a clear indication that Gordon Dalziel's plans are starting to come together, although a killer touch in front of goal would have put this game well beyond the reach of Morton and given the fans real belief that this season could yield more than a brief flirtation with the top half of the table followed by a grim struggle against relegation.
Ayr made the bold move of starting this game with 3 big strikers but this took its toll over the piece and meant the midfield and defence looked slightly stretched at points. It also gave players a chance to shine and Tom Smith grabbed that chance with both feet and proved what I have said since the day we signed him, he is a class player. Perhaps he should have shown this form last season in a lower division but I'm not going to complain if 'Breezers' decides to make the team tick this year. Ayr on the whole played excellently, save for a couple of off-days, most notably by Ferguson who did little, but the scoreline belies that fact and would perhaps have you believe that this was a match of fine balance. Nothing could be further from the truth and Ayr's dominance was such that Morton's beleaguered defence booted the ball anywhere in search of respite as the game wore on.
Morton had the first chance after Love was harshly adjudged to have fouled Blaikie but Collins free-kick was easily dealt with and Ayr broke upfield. There followed a period of midfield jousting before Laurent Djaffo stamped a televised mark on proceedings with a stunning goal. There seemed no danger as McCahill swung a boot to clear a through ball, but Djaffo headed it, controlled it and from 40 yards, lashed it over Wyllie and into the net. A truely awesome goal that Ayr fans celebrating in disbelief with only 4 minutes on the clock. Ayr continued to torment the home side and a neat move saw Smith flick on a Henderson pass to Graham only for a despairing Reid challenge to knock the ball of the striker's path.
Morton hauled themselves back into the game after 20 minutes and it was a goal which the Ayr defence will have nightmares about. Collins, Morton's best player by a mile, was allowed far too much time on the ball and he fed on-loan Celt Stuart Gray in the midfield. Gray played it wide to McPherson and his cross from the bye-line allowed the unmarked Anderson a free header from 6 yards to level the scores. Castilla was livid that he was exposed so badly and John Traynor hung his head, knowing he should have picked up the midfielder's run.
Ayr put the setback behind them and contimued beating a path toward the home goal and it had an amazing escape in 36 minutes when, after a succession of corners, Robertson's cross was headed over by Graham from 3 yards out with Wyllie clutching at fresh air. As half-time approached, Ayr looked for the second goal and Wyllie had to be smart to grab a fierce Ferguson volley at the second attempt. Tom Smith had the best chance in the 44th minute when he met a cross from the left and first-timed a shot which a Morton defender threw himself in front of at the expense of a corner.
The only problem of the first half was concerning Djaffo who was very animated and seemed unhappy that he was being pushed wide on the left of the attack. He stomped about the park, giving up whenever the ball was out of playing distance and his petulant display as he left the field at half-time brought some severe words from his mentor, Luc Sonor, who was in the enclosure.
When the teams reappeared, Djaffo lined up on the right and he looked much happier there and proceeded to cause quite a few problems with his pace and aerial prowess. Tom Smith went on a good run and collected a long through ball, took it to the bye-line and cut it back beyond the keeper only for Collins to clear from the waiting strikers. Jamieson went into the book for a challenge of Blaikie and Henderson followed 3 minutes later for a jersey tug on Collins. Morton's goal led a charmed life around the hour mark with prolonged pressure from Ayr who were by now mounting wave after wave of attack. It looked good but there is just a little something missing in the way of an understanding between the players although this could be excused given their limited outings as a unit. Smith and Graham set up Djaffo who took the ball into the box but his right foot shot across goal slipped wide with Wyllie beaten. Again Ayr pushed up and the ball was cleared off the line twice as a result of 2 corners. First Henderson's flagkick was headed goalward by Robertson, but Collins booted clear, and then Jamieson got on the end of Smith's cross, but his header was chested off the line by McPherson, with the Ayr support behind the goal claiming for a penalty.
Ally Graham brought back memories of his shooting ability with a left-foot screamer from 25 yards which had Wyllie scrambling across goal, but as the game progressed there was just that feeling that Morton could break up the park and sneak an undeserved winner from nothing. Dalziel thought this too and removed Ferguson in favour of Burns and reverted to a 4-4-2 formation for the remaining 10 minutes to tighten things up. The unthinkable almost happened with 4 minutes left when Blaikie broke free on the left but Castilla brilliantly narrowed the angle and blocked his shot before recovering the loose ball. It's testament to his growing confidence that he could perform so well after having had virtually nothing to do all day.
Team:
Castilla, Robertson, Love, Millen, Jamieson, Traynor, Smith, Graham,
Ferguson (Burns 80), Djaffo, Henderson. Subs (not used): Mainge, McDonald.
Ref: Mr E Martindale [6/10 - a couple of soft bookings and slightly inconsistent, but not too bad]
Ayr United 1-2 Hamilton Academical
Att: 2039
For the third game in a row, Ayr's players and fans were left frustrated at the final whistle after failing to beat opposition they had dominated. Against St Mirren and Morton there was the consolation of taking a point in each potentially difficult game, but there was no such reward from this encounter, and it was the homeless invaders who left clutching the three prized points.
What sticks in my throat even more after this defeat are Sandy Clark's post match comments about 'only one team playing any football'. I could be wrong, but I suspect he doesn't mean Ayr and this is indicative of his comments from last season when his team supposedly 'dominated' every time they played Ayr, yet never won. Perhaps his idea of football is eleven men in their own penalty area for most of the match, in which case I could agree that Hamilton did indeed play all the football.
Ayr showed a couple of changes from the last game, one by choice and one enforced. Henry Smith was called upon to deputise for the injured duo of Castilla and McKeown, who both failed late fitness tests, and Marco Ciardi ("Chee-ardi") lined up wearing Darren Henderson's number 11 jersey. Great things were expected from the Swede and it could be said that we witnessed the potential for greatness, if not the actual proof. Consideration must be given to his recent bout of flu, but he did look rather short of pace for the Scottish game.
Ayr again lined up with three strikers, and it was a flick on from one of them, Graham, that allowed Tom Smith a shot which Ferguson pushed out for a corner. Ciardi's corner was almost palmed into his own net by Ferguson as he scrambled along his line and the early pressure was sustained when Smith sent a great ball to Robertson; his first time cross was headed goalward by Ferguson only for his namesake to claw it off the line with an excellent save.
With all the early pressure, it seemed only a matter of time before a goal was scored and indeed we had to wait only until the 12th minute for the opener. However, it was very much against the run of play that Sherry netted with a lob from the edge of the box, as it was the visitor's first serious attack. Jamieson had played him on-side, albeit on the other side of the pitch and the midfielder advanced before lofting the ball over the stranded Smith.
Ayr regrouped and set about redressing the balance, but more bad news was to follow as a harmless cross from the right drifted over everyone's heads with Robertson and Cunnington in pursuit. Robertson's slip allowed the Hamilton man time to feed a team mate and when the ball was played into the box, Ritchie reacted quickest to side-foot a volley wide of Smith to put Ayr 2 behind after only 20 minutes.
Tom Smith responded with a swerving 25 yarder a minute later which flew just over but 2 minutes after that, Graham squandered Ayr's best chance when Ciardi's pass sent him clean through but his weak left-footed effort didn't trouble Ferguson much at all.
Shell-shocked Ayr almost fell further behind in the 28th minute when Ritchie raced into the box unchallenged to meet a cross but Smith brilliantly blocked his point-blank header and the danger was cleared.
Love became the first caution on the half-hour for a foul on McCormick and, soon after, Graham contrived to miss an easy chance. Andy Millen launched a ball goalward with Djaffo and Graham in pursuit. Ferguson advanced, but misjudged the bounce and couldn't hold the ball. It fell kindly for Graham but from inside the 6 yard box, he managed to screw the ball wide with the keeper lying flat on the ground and the goal gaping.
After 54 mins Love almost repeated Jamieson's mistake of the first goal when he allowed Renicks to hit the bye-line and cross, but Henry cut out the danger this time. The fact that Love was caught out was more indicative of Ciardi's unwillingness to play wide enough to protect him, than the fullback's own inabilities. This fact wasn't lost on the management team either and Graham was sacrificed in favour of the more wing-oriented Henderson. The change proved to have an instant effect and that man Djaffo produced another wonder finish to pull one back. There seemed to be nothing on when he chested down a cross from the left and took it on a run away from goal along the edge of the box but he made himself some space and from 25 yards, cracked a rising left foot shot which flew into the top corner at the near post. Again we saw the strange celebration as he ran to the dugout and shook hands with his French team mate Willy Mainge. This was the signal for an all-out assault on the visitors goal which lasted the remaining 30 minutes. Iain Ferguson went close 5 minutes later when he beat the keeper to a ball from Djaffo but his touch took him away from goal. He retrieved the ball wide on the left and tried a spectacular curler which just shaved the bar.
Henderson hit a right foot volley a minute later which Ferguson held well before Ayr replaced the tiring Ciardi with Mainge. McCulloch was next to be booked for a display of petulance which ended with him throwing the ball at the linesman. Henderson tried again from long-range, this time sending his shot over the bar and with 10 minutes remaining, Mainge was booked by the referee for what he adjudged to be a dive in the box. Ayr's attempts became more desperate and they were throwing everyone into attack and leaving only John Traynor and Willie Jamieson back. These frustrations were typified by a booking for Millen for a lunge on Thomson as the minutes slipped by. With 2 minutes of injury time played, Millen sent Mainge down the right wing. He cut the ball back into the box but Djaffo's effort was blocked out for a corner. The corner was met by Jamieson and flicked on but Tom Smith's header landed on the roof of the net and with it went Ayr's last chance.
Team:
HSmith, Robertson, Love, Millen, Jamieson, Traynor, TSmith,
Graham
(Henderson 57), Ferguson, Djaffo, Ciardi (Mainge 71) Sub (not used): Hood
Ref: A Gemmill [6/10 - not bad, but one or two strange decisions]
