Ayr United 2
Albion Rovers 1
Scottish Cup (3rd Round)

Match Report

Jim Duffy paid tribute to the class of veteran Michael Moffat as Ayr United dug deep to avoid a cup shock.

Moff, 36, dragged the Honest Men back from the brink of an early exit against League Two Albion Rovers as he made one goal and scored another.

The striker, starting just his third game of the season, added a different dimension for Ayr as they ensured their place in the hat for the next round.

And Duffy said: "Part of the reason I brought Michael back in today was because of his experience...he's been over the course before.

"His calmness was vital and his return to the team was pivotal.

"The important thing was we didn't panic when going behind and kept trying to play.

"Any cup competition is about getting into the next round and we've managed to do that.
"We created a good number of chances and that was pleasing.

"When you haven't had a win in a few weeks, it's understandable that players will show that tightness in front of goal and we passed up a couple of opportunities.
"But after losing a poor goal at the start of the second half, we bounced back very well and showed just the type of reaction that was required."

Moffat was one of three changes from the side beaten at Dunfermline last week as Duffy looked for a much needed winning formula.

And they should have been in front early on when James Maxwell was sent clean through on goal but lifted his shot over from the edge of the box.

At the other end, Rovers missed a golden chance of their own when Charlie Reilly crossed for Max Wright to head wide from just three yards.

And Corey O'Donnell blew another brilliant chance soon after when sending a David Wilson free kick straight at Aidan McAdams.

But Rovers finally got their reward just after the restart when Callum Wilson cut through the Ayr midfield and set up Wright to fire home.

The goal was no more than the visitors deserved but they couldn't hold on to their lead for long.

Ayr sprung to life as Moffat broke the offside trap to release Maxwell and he calmly rounded Cammy Binnie to score.
And they had soon turned the tie around as Moffat turned poacher to finish a great move after being played in by skipper Aaron Muirhead.

United had a chance to put the icing on the cake with a late penalty after Moffat had been fouled but Muirhead's kick was saved by Binnie.
overs boss Brian Reid said: "We're disappointed because we had some clear chances that we didn't take.

"We got ourselves in front then lost a really poor goal to let them back into it."

Match report written by Daily Record