match programme 28th

Football Academy 19s Avenge Semi Final Defeat
by Marc Roseblade

Two trips to Dunfermline, two to Prestwick and one to Partick. All within 5 days. Its not easy following the Football Academy around but its worth it.

Ayr United's Under 19 side took to the field last Wednesday against Dunfermline to eventually play the Reserve League Semi in a match that had been carried over from the previous season due to fixture congestion.

On the night, it just wasn't meant to be for Davie White and Stephen McMillan's side as they lost out 4-1 after conceding 4 goals in a first half that belied the players abilities.

Ayr had plenty of chances in the first period but couldn't convert, meanwhile, the Fife side got plenty of luck as two of their goals came from rebounds of the woodwork.

Ayr's goal on the night came from Stuart Milligan, with exceptional performances coming from Moore, Crawford, Frame, Milligan and Fisher.

Sunday saw the opportunity for the Ayr side to avenge this defeat, as they once again headed up to the Kingdom on league duty this time. The result favoured the AUFA this time with a 3 goal haul including goals from Thompson, who coolly back heeled into the net from close range, after a Moore strike had landed at his feet. The second came when Milligan followed in a Moore shot and smashed in at the back post. Then the excellent Moore completed the scoring when he linked with McClelland and smashed in an unstoppable drive from 25 yards right into the top corner to give him a well deserved goal.

Manager Stephen McMillan commented after the match “This was a very good all round team performance and the quality at times was very good. I can have no complaints and all the players contributed. The lads have set the benchmark high, and will need to work extremely hard to keep at this level but we believe in them and they now have standards to keep up which only bodes well for the rest of this season.”

The Football Academies other sides were also back in Pro Youth League action over the weekend with the 16s scoring three times for a well deserved victory over Arbroath. Neil Duffy's 15s were unlucky not to win as they also scored three times against a physical Partick Thistle side but lost a late goal to draw the match. Finally, the 14s Sean MacKenzie scored a hat trick as his team hit the back of the net eight times in their match against Alloa.The 13s girls also managed a win scoring 7 times, with an incredible 6 goals coming from Dionne Mair and 1 from Hannah Taysum.





This weekend sees the 15s playing Cowdenbeath , 17s kicking off their season against Queen of the South and the 19s in a grudge match against Airdrie. All three are playing home matches at Prestwick, with the 14s the only team on away duty as they head to Stirling.

In other news, AUFA would like to thanks Rensburg Sheppards, who have made a generous donation of £250 to the Academy, to assist the development of its Talented Young Footballers Programme. Rensburg Sheppards are a major investment management company with bases in London, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow.

The AUFA welcome a new member to the team this week with the appointment of Chris Johnston in a newly created position of Education Co-coordinator.