After the high from last weeks victory in the Scottish Youth Cup settled in the AUFA under 19's rank and file, this week saw an uncharacteristic lull in performance as they slipped up against Dumbarton.

At a cold and blustery Prestwick Academy, three early goals for the visitors tied the match up before Ayr could get out of first gear. Although the Ayr side were still trying to play their high quality style of passing football, they were undone by route one football for all three of the opening goals with the wind playing its part in the long ball style of play that Dumbarton had employed thus far in the match.

Ayr were creating plenty of chances but had failed to finish in the final third as they have done so easily thus far this season. Darren Baird, Roddy Paterson and Dale Moore all had opportunities to score with pops at goal but had been unfortunate not to open the home sides account.

Then, with a minute to go before half time, Ayr's Dale Moore suffered a bad foot injury that saw him leave the field in agony with the injury looking a bad one that will hopefully only be superficial.

The match was mostly scrappy up to the 45 minute mark with the home side being unable to force the hand of Dumbarton by breaking down their defensive lines and only one minute into the second half, Dumbarton scored another before Ayr could get into their stride of the second half.

Roddy Paterson was trying his best up front to break into the goal area and on the 68th minute got his just rewards after some excellent play down the left saw a rebounded effort land right at the feet of the Ayr striker who fired into the top left hand corner of the goal to give his side some hope that they could salvage the match.

The more the match continued, the more Ayr's Fisher, McIntyre, Crawford and Kelly forced their way into the game with some nice inter passing displays being on show. One of these moves resulted in Kelly playing the ball perfectly into the path of Paterson who pass the ball past the keeper but it was too late to add any more to change the outcome of the match.

A bit more luck in front of goal might have changed the result but Ayr finished strongly which the coaching staff must be pleased about after losing three goals so early in the match.

The 17s were also in action on Sunday at Prestwick Academy and they also looked lethargic against a struggling East Fife side who raised their game to try and down the high flying unbeaten Ayr side.

Despite many opportunities to take the lead and retain their 100% win record, the match ended scoreless with the main talking points being a suspected broken wrist for one of the East Fife players and Ayr losing a player to a red card decision.

The 17s players may have been tired thanks to a busy week for some of their players after a few of them being called up to the Ayr United Reserve side midweek and also playing a friendly on Friday night against Motherwell.

With that in mind, the AUFA coaches were happy to leave the match unbeaten after playing the second half with only the ten players. Both the 19's and 17's now face the long trip to Elgin next week.


The AUFA Holiday Programme had great success last week with three days of coaching being held at the Pro Soccer Complex in Ayr. The AUFA also have their Term Time Programmes in place from October through to December which gives children a long term plan from the Academy's professional coaching staff over that period. Please check the website www.aufa.org.uk for further details.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available within the Academy.
As the Academy is a charity and a self-financing organisation, in order to sustain the high standards that we aim to achieve, it is vital that we generate as much revenue as possible to support the Talented Young Players Programme.

The opportunity now exists for businesses, fans and parents alike to support the development of our most promising young players who will become the Ayr United stars of tomorrow.

The Ayr United Football Academy offers a wide range of sponsorship opportunities to support the Talented Young Players Programme starting from £45. See the website for details www.aufa.org.uk