Ayr 19's Royal Rumble

Ayr 19's finished off their league season in style on Thursday night with a glorious, if unexpected 2-0 victory over high flying Queen of the South.

The Queens had been on a fantastic run of form having won 12 of the last 13 league matches, drawing the other. They have also beaten Rangers twice in the same period in closed door match making the victory for Ayr all the more sweeter.

Ayr had the run of play right from the off and it only took five minutes for the strikeforce of Roddy Paterson and Dale Moore to make an impact on the game.

The pairing always cause the defensive side lots of problems with their link up play and pace and when Paterson played an inch perfect pass through to his striking partner Moore, the defenders found themselves in trouble. Moore turned inside the defenders before unleashing a tremendous shot goalbound that was tipped onto the crossbar and out for a corner.

The intent had been made by the AUFA side but on occasion, the visiting team made inroads through the Ayr defence, threatening to break the deadlock but the Ayr defenders held firm with Gareth Armstrong putting in another outstanding performance with some excellently timed tackles, the likes of which have earned the youngster a recent call up to the senior squad.

The deadlock was broken though in the seventh minute when the ever improving Cammy Marlow slid an excellently weighted pass through to on form Paterson who easily passed the ball under the out rushing keeper and into the net to give the Ayr side a 1-0 lead.

Ayr had another great chance which again started with some Beckham-esque style passing from the impressive left back Cammy Marlow. His long cross field was just out of reach of the flying Ian Fisher in the box whose head in hands showed his disappointment at the missed opportunity.

Marlow again made his speed impact the match when he drifted past the midfield and defence with ease before firing in an effort as space opened up for him but the woodwork kept his shot out, thwarting the Ayr sides efforts to add to the scoring.

The young player was once again to try his luck only a minute later but his well struck shot drifted wide of the post and ended the first half in way of chances for either side.

Discontent could be heard coming from the away dressing room during the break with the coaches disapproval at the players performances being made clearly verbal and echoing around the underground belly of Somerset park.

The second half started much the same as the first had ended, with dominance from the home side.

Midfield star Sean Kelly was first up with a couple of on target chances but failed to beat the Queens keeper, only being kept out by some fine goalkeeping by his opposition player between the sticks.

Only a couple of minutes later the woodwork once again halted the home side from adding to their goal tally when the dynamic duo up front combined together culminating with another Dale Moore shot but thanks to the crossbar, the scoreline stayed at 1-0.

Paterson however, added his second of the match when he was played into a one on one with a Queens defender but in true poaching striker style he managed to poke his toe onto the ball, squirming it past the goalie to give his team a 2-0 lead.

It was a magnificent show of attacking by Paterson and for the second match in a row, the young striker managed a brace making his tally for the season an incredible 35 goals. If ever a player was making his claim for a first team place visible, this was the correct way to do it. The timing was also right as in the stand sat Ayr United boss Brian Reid.

Queens had an excellent chance to pull one back but some brilliant defensive play saw the angles closed down and the clean sheet remained intact.

Paterson was unlucky not to net his hattrick minutes later when a Marlow pass found the striker who turned inside to make some shooting space before unleashing a 20 yard strike from a tight angle but it was too acute and the chance went wide.

The visiting side weren't going down without a fight though and another chance for them was lost when an excellently crossed ball was unmet in the middle and the chance for them was gone.

From that lost opportunity came a counter attack for the home side with star in the making Mark Shankland creating the chance by picking the ball up in his own box, running the length of the field before playing the ball into Paterson who twisted and turned to create some space but his shot spun past the post.

Ayr's midfield duo of Robby Crawford and Sean Kelly have been regular first team squad members this season and it was plain to see why they have made the step up as they controlled the centre area of the field with relative ease throughout the 90 minutes of play and it with Crawford that would create the next opening when his perfectly placed through ball to Moore who controlled the ball brilliantly but his cross into the middle went untaken and the chance disappeared.

Ayr substitute Scott Aitken had Ayr's last chance of the game to add another but his well placed shot was well saved by the Queens keeper.

2 goals was more than enough for the win in this match and ended a tremendous season for the Ayr 19's side. A tremendous Scottish Cup run and a decent showing in a difficult league shows the huge steps forward this side has made in a short space of time.

The Queen's coach said afterwards, "We were surprised by the quality shown by the Ayr team tonight, we expected to win this and are surprised that the Ayr team haven't been one of the teams in contention for the league title. After 13 games unbeaten, Ayr deserve huge congratulations on the victory."

Ayr coach Stevie McMillan was over the moon post match saying, "This was a great match for our players, they were outstanding."

Clearly not wanting to point out any players in particular he said,"All the players deserve kudos tonight with exceptional performances coming from the defence, the midfield and the attackers, they all deserve the kudos, I can't pinpoint any weaknesses."

As an ex professional player, Stevie is quick to acknowledge when a player is making the grade and deserves a shot at the big time, "I think several players from tonight's team could make the step up and play at a senior level without a second thought, but in particular Roddy Paterson. He has scored 35 goals this season so far and as a striker, that's what he's paid to do. There is no better commendation for a player than doing what he's meant to do."