Ayr United1–3Inverness CT

First Three Pointer


Somerset Park was the venue where two of the teams in dire need of points met today. With Morton being cuffed by Livi last night we could not drop any lower but three points would be an absolute bonus with Ayr two points better off than us at kick-off. Ayr gave Thomas Hatton his first start with McKenzie, Rus, Shanks and Walker all missing through injury. Inverness dropped Bavidge and Boutin to the bench with Longstaff and MacKinnon starting.

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It didn't take long to find out which way this fixture would swing with Luis Longstaff striking a stunning finish in the fourth minute. Ryan Duncan headed a second for the visitors after twenty minutes before Owen Stirton pulled one back before the break. However, the points were sealed with twenty minutes remaining when Adam Mackinnon cracked an effort home from inside the box following a corner for our first win of the campaign.

Back up the A9 with three points in the bag....What's not to like!

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With the game underway it only took four minutes for the visitors to open the scoring, a tremendous strike from Luis Longstaff did the damage. In a positive start for the Caley Jags, Ryan Duncan did well to force a corner after being sent down the left side by Shinnie before driving a low shot towards the bottom corner where Harry Stone blocked the ball at the expense of a corner. From that corner, the ball was flicked across the box where Duncan met it with his head to give the Caley Jags a two goal lead after only twenty minutes. Ayr pulled a goal back following a Ross Taylor corner when it looked like Owen Stirton knocked in from close range after twenty-seven minutes. Following another Ayr corner, Thomas Hatton shot just over as the hosts pressed for an equaliser before the break. We ended the half on the front foot and Savage was unfortunate to have a back post header chalked off as we took a one goal advantage into the second half.

HALF TIME: 1-2

Early in the second half it was either Longstaff or possibly Duncan who looked favourite to score from a sweeping move down the left. Alas he was shut down just as he shot by a defenders lunging block to save a third goal. However, Adam MacKinnon restored our two goal advantage following a corner when he lashed home from inside the box with ten minutes remaining. The visitors survived a bit of a stramash in the box as shins and knees and other body parts got in the way to deny Ayr a second goal before the loose ball was cleared. Plenty of free kicks and crosses to defend as the game wore on and Jamie Murphy shot over before Leon King saw an effort plucked out of the air with ease by Ross Munro in injury time as we saw out the game relatively comfortably.

FULL TIME: 1-3