Ayr United 0
St Mirren 2
League (Championship)

Match Report

St Mirren cut the gap at the bottom of the Championship to five points with a precious victory over fellow strugglers Ayr United.

Second-half goals from John Sutton and Lewis Morgan at Somerset Park gave the Paisley club new hope and they still have a game in hand over United.

Sutton rounded the keeper to score from a tight angle on 51 minutes.

And Morgan finished calmly from a breakaway eight minutes from time as the home side were chasing the game.

The opening goal also came on a break, with experienced striker Sutton cracking the offside trap with a run timed to perfection.

He was one-on-one with Greg Fleming and, despite being forced wide, managed to force the ball home.

There followed a nervous period with both sides clearly petrified to put a foot wrong but the mood among the large visiting support was calmed with Morgan's strike.

Again Ayr were caught short in defence, this time in a four versus two situation and Morgan stroked in the finish at Fleming's left post.

St Mirren were the better team and were busy in the United area but only once created a clear-cut shot in the first half which forced a save from Fleming and it was a spectacular one too. Stevie Mallan's strike was net-bound until the Ayr goalie launched himself across his goal.

The urgency of the situation was clearly not lost on the St Mirren support. They contributed 1,244 paying customers in an attendance of 2,714 - making up almost half the crowd.

There is still huge work to be done for Saints but they did look a re-energised side. United, meanwhile, will point out that they have the points in the bag.

The Buddies play their game in hand at home to league leaders Hibs on Wednesday.

Match report written by BBC