19s brush aside Annan

Justin Tait

Ayr United moved in to the next round of the Scottish Youth Cup on Sunday after a 4-2 win against Annan Athletic. Following the previous week’s 7-0 hammering of East Fife and after defeating rivals Stranraer in the previous round, the AUFA under 19s side turned up to Somerset Park in confident mood.

This confidence was evident in the opening exchanges of the match as Ayr were quick out of the blocks and adopted a slick passing style. Stuart Milligan was the first to try his luck as he cut inside from the right but dragged his shot wide.
Roddy Paterson then skipped past the full-back and fired a tempting ball across the face of goal but it was defended well by the Annan centre-half. The resulting corner produced the first goal of the afternoon with J.J Hawkshaw’s fine header hitting the back of the net from Milligan’s corner to put the home side 1-0 up.

Ayr never let their opponents settle and immediately set about increasing their lead. The second goal duly arrived from the penalty spot. An excellent through ball was controlled by Dale Moore, who then spun the defender before being brought down. Moore stepped up and fired the penalty into the back of the net to give Ayr a well deserved 2-0 lead.

The game then became a scrappy encounter as the visitors upset Ayr’s rhythm with a more aggressive approach. Darren Baird cut inside the full back and unleashed a 20 yard strike which came back off the post much to the relief of the Annan goalkeeper. The visitor’s first attempt at goal came in the 33rd minute when a John Watson shot brought out a routine stop from Matthews in the Ayr goal.

A fine flowing move involving both full back’s and Shaun Kelly saw the ball fall at the feet of Roddy Paterson but his shot was well saved by the Annan number 1.

The second half began the same as the first ended with possession being squandered by both sides. Efforts from Paterson and Baird followed but to no avail as both were picked out by fantastic passes from Robbie Crawford.

The visitors began to probe, a succession of shots were blocked by Ayr’s defensive unit as Annan looked to get back into the game. A run down the right flank by Gareth Armstrong resulted in a great ball being fired across the face of goal but there were no takers.

A mix up in the Ayr defence led to Liam Johnston crashing a shot off the post and this was a reminder of the threat that the away side carried. Against the run of play, Armstrong played in Baird and his shot at goal deflected off the Annan centre half and trickled into the bottom corner to give the home side a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Ayr took their foot off the gas and this allowed the visitors to force their way back into the game. A miss-hit cross from Annan’s left back caught Matthews by surprise and found the bottom corner to give Annan hope with 15 minutes remaining. The goal gave Annan a boost and Callum West should have made it 3-2 but headed wide despite being unmarked from just 8 yards out.

With the away side now piling on the pressure, it meant the pace of Ayr’s attackers could be problematic for the Annan backline. Shaun Kelly dispossessed Annan’s Dan Alexander but his speculative shot deflected wide.

A deadly cross from Annan’s left back found the head of striker Liam Johnston and he finished from 6 yards out to set up a frantic finish.

The away side went all out for the equaliser but were caught out at the back in the remaining minutes, Baird’s shot was saved by the goalkeeper but George Thompson showed a predator instinct by following up the rebound and netted to put the game beyond doubt and Ayr into the final 16 of the tournament.