Ladbrokes League One

BRECHIN CITY 1

AYR UNITED 0

by Hugh Maxwell and Calum Campbelll

IAN McCall's 50th game in charge of Ayr wasn't a happy one as the Honest Men went down 1-0 to bottom club Brechin City at Glebe Park.

A second half header from striker Robert Thomson was enough to earn Darren Dods' side their first win over Ayr this campaign. 

United had travelled with the knowledge that only a victory at Brechin would give them some hope of catching Dunfermline at the top of the league but after this result assistant manager John Henry stated: "We needed to go on a terrific run starting here but, although we are never going to give up on anything, it looks like it’s going to be the play-offs for us now.”

Ayr struggled to find any fluency throughout the match and the first-half performance was well below the standards United have set for themselves this year. Brechin effectively stifled any United attack through midfield with a system which added additional bodies into this area in the form of Lewis Spence and Liam Watt.

Ayr lacked the composure, guile or width to counter this tactic or to adapt to the heavily cut-up surface and lost effectiveness in the final third.

In what was a dull opening to the game, it took 13 minutes for the first real chance to be created. Brechin’s Willie Dyer skipped past Brian Gilmour on the left hand side, drove into the box but his cross wasn't met cleanly by Robert Thomson allowing Murphy to step in and clear.

Five minutes later it was Dyer who was again causing Ayr problems. again crossing to Thomson who this time cushioned the ball to Liam Watt who fired his volley over the bar from 18 yards.

Ayr struggled to create any chances of note in the opening stages of the game and it took them 30 minutes to register their first effort on target. Ryan Stevenson picked up a loose ball on the edge of the Brechin box before getting his shot away, however it was tame and caused Graeme Smith no problems. 

Player-manager Darren Dods almost gave his team the lead after 39 minutes when he met Liam Watt's free-kick with a header from 10 yards out but it was straight at keeper Greg Fleming and the score line remained level going into half-time. 

Ayr were quickly out of the traps in the second half of the game and it took them only 2 minutes to get their first chance of the half. After good work on the right wing, Ryan Stevenson’s cross was met by Jordan Preston, whose goalward shot was blocked by Dods.

The Honest Men continued to press the home side and almost broke the deadlock when Jamie Adams picked up a loose ball in the box and fired towards goal but keeper Smith did well to knock the ball away. The follow-up by Stevenson was also blocked by Smith who reacted again to deny Forrest.

Ayr were looking the more likely to open the scoring with Forrest adding impetus to the attack. 

With Ayr piling on the pressure they were hit by a sucker punch when, in 74 minutes the home side scored the first and only goal. A Watt corner-kick from the left was met by Thomson who bulleted home a header from 10 yards, giving Fleming no chance. 

It wasn't long before the visitors responded to this setback and two minutes later they were handed a glorious chance. Smith failed to punch away an Ayr corner and the loose ball fell to Stevenson however he fired high and wide from inside the box. 

Ayr huffed and puffed in the latter stages of the game but failed to create any chances and lacked a real attacking threat. It was in fact the home side who had the last chance of the game in 88 minutes when Fleming failed to clear a corner, allowing Spence to pick up the ball at the far post but he shot into the side netting from close range.

The defeat now puts Ayr three points behind second placed Peterhead although still with a game in hand and it is important that the Somerset Park outfit regain some of the cohesion and drive that was so evident in the early part of the season.

AYR UNITED: Fleming; Devlin, Boyle, Murphy, McLauchlan, Stevenson, McCrorie, Docherty, Preston, Trouten, Gilmour. Subs: Newman (gk), Forrest, Moore, Crawford, Donald, Wardrope, Adams. 

STARMAN

Peter Murphy 3

Ross Docherty 2

Alan Forrest 1.