Ayr United 3
Stranraer 6
League (League One)

Match Report

Ayr United remain in third place in League One after a shock 6-3 defeat to Stranraer.

Michael Moffat bagged a hat-trick for The Honest Men but it wasn’t enough to secure victory on a night where on form Stranraer notched six.

The Blues took an early lead through Jamie Longworth before Moffat put Ayr in front with two goals.

It didn’t last for long though with Longworth slamming home twice to give him a hat-trick and Stranraer a 3-2 lead.

In the second half, the visitors scored three more with Moffat able to rifle home a penalty but it wasn’t enough for Ayr.

Mark Roberts made two changes from the side that won 3-2 against Queen’s Park in their last outing.

McGowan replaced Roberts and Kyle came in for Craig Malcolm.

Brian Gilmour also began on the bench. The 26 year old midfielder has played with Lincoln City, Queen of the South and Stenhousemuir and has signed on an amateur contract until January after plying his trade in Iceland recently.

Stranraer shocked the Somerset faithful after only 11 minutes when Jamie Longworth capitalised on a slack Michael McGowan pass back.

Ayr responded immediately though with Michael Moffat rifling home a wicked drive from inside the box.

The striker then put his side in front after he dinked the ball over the top of the goalkeeper before tapping home.

Marko’s men failed to hold their one goal advantage and found themselves 3-2 down at the break with Jamie Longworth taking advantage of Stranraer’s pressure by slamming home twice, giving him a hat-trick.

Not to be outdone, Moffat scored his third of the game after Chris Aitken had scored from the penalty spot.

With the game poised at 4-3 to Stranraer, Ayr piled forward with substitute Brian Gilmour trying to make inroads in The Blues defence.

However, Stevie Aitken’s defence couldn’t be penetrated and Stranraer soon compounded Ayr’s woes by slamming home twice in the remaining 13 minutes.

After the match, Mark Roberts said: “To lose six goals is unacceptable but we’re not going to go through the season without having blips.

“It is a hard one to take but we’re still sitting in a good position and it’s about how we react from this result.

“I don’t want to make any excuses but Alan Lithgow has had a virus and didn’t train on Saturday.

“After we went 2-1 in front I thought we would win comfortably but we didn’t defend correctly at all and Stranraer played really well.

“For me, it is just a blip and we’ll deal with it. If anyone comes into training on Thursday with a petted lip they’ll not play on Saturday.

“You learn more in defeat than you do when you win games so it’s about how we react. We’ve only lost three games in the league this year and have a talented team.

“I will quite happily take it in the neck for this defeat but I’ve no doubt in my mind we’ll bounce back from this.”

Match report written by AUFC Online