Hamilton Academical 0
Ayr United 2
League


Hamilton Academical 

0 - 2

Ayr United


League
Saturday, March 18th, 2023
ZLX Stadium
Attendance: 1,284


Goalscorers
None. Ben Dempsey (pen.) (12)
Sam Ashford (27)

Team Managers
John Rankin Lee Bullen

Starting Eleven
1 Fulton
25 Owens
4 O'Reilly
15 McGowan
22 Tumilty
12 Sparrow
18 Mimnaugh
21 Smith
37 McGinn
19 Winter
17 Tiehi
Charlie Albinson
Patrick Reading
Frankie Musonda
Sean McGinty
Daire OConnor
Andy Murdoch
Nick McAllister
Ben Dempsey
Reece Mcalear
Dipo Akinyemi
Sam Ashford

Bench
5 Easton
9 Ashley-Seal
10 Zanatta
11 Smith
14 Redfern
16 Stephenson
23 De Bolle
24 Lawson
31 Smith
Aiden McAdams
Kinlay Bilham
Alex Kirk
Jayden Mitchell-Lawson
Mark McKenzie
Michael Hewitt
Fraser Bryden
Paul Smith
Chris Maguire

Substitutions
None. Chris Maguire for Daire OConnor (71)
Jayden Mitchell-Lawson for Sam Ashford (76)
Paul Smith for Andy Murdoch (86)
Fraser Bryden for Dipo Akinyemi (86)

Cautions
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.

Match Officials

Calum Scott (Referee)



Match Report


Ayr United bounced back from their Scottish Cup exit to win 2-0 away at struggling Hamilton Academical in the Championship.

They controlled from the outset and deservedly led at the break through goals from Ben Dempsey and Sam Ashford.

Hamilton were never really in the game, and Ayr comfortably saw out the second half to secure the three points.

With Partick Thistle only drawing against Dundee, Ayr climb to third, while Hamilton remain bottom.

Early pressure from the visitors soon paid off - Dempsey sent Ryan Fulton the wrong way from the spot after Hamilton defender Dan O'Reilly handled inside the box.

Their second came on the 27th minute as they counter attacked following a rare Hamilton chance. Dipo Akinyemi was the architect, slipping in Ashford, who kept his composure to slot beyond Fulton.

The home side's best and virtually only chance came via the head of on loan Fulham striker Jean-Pierre Tiehi, whose header trundled by an untroubled Charlie Albinson in the Ayr goal.

Ayr United manger Lee Bullen: "I was so proud of the players reaction from the disappointment of Monday night against Falkirk.

"They stood up, showed a lot of quality and composure and we controlled the game from start to finish."

Hamilton Academical manager John Rankin: "I'm really disappointed. This afternoon was not what I thought it would be.

"Maybe I got it wrong, maybe we started with the wrong system or the wrong personnel. We missed Scotty Martin - he's a big player for us, but I felt we lacked aggression."



Squad Statistics (as at March 18th, 2023)


2022-23 All Time
Age
Charlie Albinson (GK)26 30 - 41 -
Sean McGinty29 323674
Frankie Musonda25 22 - 22 -
Patrick Reading23 36 - 1013
Andy Murdoch - 2521095
Daire OConnor25 21 - 461
Reece Mcalear21 8 - 8 -
Ben Dempsey23 378448
Nick McAllister22 261391
Dipo Akinyemi25 37223722
Sam Ashford27 313445
Jayden Mitchell-Lawson (sub) - 241241
Chris Maguire (sub) - 5 - 5 -
Paul Smith (sub)20 19 - 28 -
Fraser Bryden (sub)18 162283






League Table (as at March 18th, 2023)


Pld W D L Pts
1. Queen's Park 29 16 6 7 54
2. Dundee 27 13 8 6 47
3. Ayr United 28 13 7 8 46
4. Morton 29 11 10 8 43
5. Partick Thistle 28 12 6 10 42
6. Raith Rovers 28 10 8 10 38
7. ICT 28 9 9 10 36
8. Cove Rangers 29 6 8 15 26
9. Arbroath 28 4 13 11 25
10. Hamilton Academical 28 6 7 15 25