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Ayr United 1; ROSS COUNTY 0 |
That the tipsters have deemed Ayr to be a strong third in what will be an arduous contest for the First Division title seems already to be short-sighted. Once they sort out their legacy of the first-day stage fright, Ayr will be a real force for Livingston and Falkirk to deal with.
The Somerset Park side put in a powerful, if nervy, performance, but were unable to pin down the game against what was ultimately a nine-man Ross County side. The only goal coming from an Eddie Annand penalty in the 20th minute, after County captain Brian Irvine was sent off for a foul on James Grady.
Nevertheless, the afternoon had started well for the home side. Gordon Dalziel, the Ayr manager, made some canny summer signings, linking up former team-mates Grady and Annand up front, with former Hibs players Pat McGinley, John Hughes, Paul Lovering and Michael Renwick adding to the creativity in midfield and strength at the back.
It was Hughes' inspirational performance which proved crucial to the Somerset Park side as he bellowed and growled from the back urging his team-mates on. "Yogi" broke forward on several occasions and proved to be a "real attacking centre half".
This was always going to be a difficult journey for the team from Dingwall, but Neale Cooper's men showed that they were not going to be overawed. It was hard, free-flowing match, although the physical nature of the game soon took its toll.
In the 17th minute, a last-man foul on Grady earned Irvine his marching orders and Annand converted the penalty. Two minutes later, County striker Alex Bone was booked for dissent, setting the tone for what was going to be a fairly bruising encounter.
When Grady was taken off in the 23rd minute, his replacement Mickey Reynolds seemed to free up Glynn Hurst, who burst forward from midfield at pace.
After the break, any hopes County had of resurrecting their position seemed to degenerate in rash tackles and wasted opportunities and both Marc Millar and Ian Maxwell were booked.
In the 85th minute Gary Teale had the opportunity to seal the points for Ayr but his weak shot trickled wide.
Two minutes from time John Fraser was sent off for lashing out at man-of-the-match Marvyn Wilson.
Ross County: Walker; Gilbert, S McKay, Maxwell, Irvine, Taggart (Escalon, 66), Shaw (Trialist, 58), Fraser, Bone, Millar and Henderson (Holmes, 80). Unused Subs: Hamilton (gk) and Kinnaird.
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ROSS COUNTY 1; Ayr United 1 |
Derek Holmes saved the day for County when he grabbed a late equaliser to deny Ayr all three points.
The home side opened the quickest but Darren Henderson scooped his free kick over the bar. At the other end, Paul Lovering forced County 'keeper Nicky Walker to tip his shot over the bar.
Ayr's new boy Steven Boyack, signed from Dundee, set up the Honest Men's best chance of the first half. Boyack slipped the ball to Craig McEwan on the right, but the players cross was turned into the side netting by Lovering.
Boyack was again in the action in the second half when his cross was met at the far post by Eddie Annand, but the former Dundee player's effort was well saved by Walker.
Gordon Dalziel's men took the lead when Glynn Hurst squared the ball to Pat McGinley and the midfielder flashed home a spectacular 25-yard drive which gave Walker no chance.
County threw on Holmes and John McQuade in an attempt to save the game and it was the ex-Hearts striker who bundled the ball home from close range to equalise in the 81st minute.
A Paul Kinnaird cross was eventually met by Alex Bone but the Ayr 'keeper Nelson saved brilliantly making a superb one-hand stop. However, he could only watch helplessly as Holmes struck home the rebound.
Ross County: Walker; D McKay, Gilbert, Maxwell, Irvine, Henderson (McQuade, 61), Escalon, Smith (Holmes, 64), Bone, Millar and Kinnaird. Unused Subs: Gonet (gk), Ferguson and Fraser.
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Ayr United 0; ROSS COUNTY 2 |
Unbeaten at home before this, but guilty of squandering points against lesser forces, Ayr went into the game knowing that a win was paramount if they hoped to maintain slim, title-winning aspirations. Alas, they posted an abysmal display, and coach Gordon Dalziel took some robust flak from disgruntled home fans at the end.
County's failing this season has been an inability to find the back of the net with regularity, and their prospects have been hampered by an appaling disciplinary record and injuries to prominent players. However, Karim Boukraa's acquisition from Morton last week bolstered Highland optimism, and the Frenchman's guile contributed to County's fifth-minute opener.
Spotting Owen Coyle lurking unmarked in the penalty area, he delivered a cross to the elastic-limbed player, who killed the ball - and Ayr's spirits - with aplomb as he slipped it past Marius Rovde. In truth this was one of the few occasions that the visitors threatened in the first half, but Ayr's adventurous tactics - beginning the game with four forwards - meant that gaps would almost inevitably appear in their rear-guard.
James Grady had almost given Ayr the lead in the third minute when Nicky Walker's clearance struck the Ayr striker and rebounded towards County's goal, missing it by a few yards.
It was an embarrassing moment for the veteran 'keeper, but he atoned for this lack of concentration in the 30th minute, thwarting Steven Boyack's effort from the penalty spot. Perhaps justice was done, because the initial award seemed rather harsh.
Boyack, keeling over as two opponents closed in, struck the resultant penalty forcibly, but Walker scrambled to his right to parry the ball clear.
Most of us expected that Ayr's players, suitably chastised by their manager at half-time, would emerge after the re-start with renewed purpose. It did not happen and, indeed, County extended their lead in the 49th minute. Mark McCormick spotted Rovde off his line and dispatched an exquisite chip over his head.
Dalziel threw on a couple of substitutes in an attempt to salvage something from the match. However, County finished stronger, and a small band of home fans gathered outside the main stand after the game to vent their feelings to the beleaguered home coach.
Ross County: Walker; Perry, Cunnington, Maxwell, Irvine, Taggart, McCormick, Ferguson (D McKay, 86), Coyle, Boukraa (Holmes, 61) and Henderson. Unused Subs: Hamilton (gk), Zahani'Oni and McQuade.
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ROSS COUNTY 0; Ayr United 1 |
Alasdair Fraser's report in The Sunday Times.
Trundling into Dingwall behind a tractor heavily laden with bails, you can only wonder at the heights which Ross County, a small rural club, has reached. The anxiety felt by its players and supporters after what most would view as an admirable first season in the First Division is equally surprising.
The little Highland town itself offers an intriguing mix of the modern and the antiquated, the sleepy and the switched-on. The old courthouse's mock battlements glower over approaching supporters, just a few hundred yards from the football club's planned Information Technology centre for the unemployed.
Yet the town is thoroughly at ease with itself, although the same cannot be said for its football team. Defeat at the hands of Ayr United, courtesy of a solitary Pat McGinlay strike, was their sixth consecutive home defeat, stretching a worrying sequence to nine games without a win. Survival alone would probably satisfy most supporters facing such a predicament, had County's not gorged on two consecutive promotions in recent seasons.
Yesterday's performance, though, restored the belief of Neale Cooper, the home manager, in his players' fighting qualities, after they were called into question when Morton visited in midweek and won 2-0. "We were unfortunate not to take a point, given what the players put into the game on a terrible surface," he said.
For Ayr, their continued earnest pursuit of Livingston, despite the fact that the condition of their stadium prevents them from being promoted, is equally admirable. "I think people should pay more heed to the fact we have lost something like only one game in the last 15," said Gordon Dalziell, the Ayr manager. "If it weren't for poor form at the start of the campaign, there would be no question of us finishing top of the table."
If statistics have been far from pretty for Ross County recently, yesterday's football was hardly a thing of beauty either. McGinlay broke the tedium of constant aerial assaults when he scored with a low 20-yard drive. It was, unfortunately, one of the few real talking points.
Ross County: Walker; Perry, Robertson (McQuade, 71), Maxwell, Canning, Cunnington (Irvine, 84), McCormick, Ferguson, Bone, Mackay and Holmes (Henderson 62). Unused Subs: Hamilton (gk) and Fraser.
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