Ayr United 3
Raith Rovers 2
Challenge Cup (Third Round)


Ayr United
3 - 2
Raith Rovers 

Challenge Cup (Third Round)
Sunday, September 8th, 2024
Somerset Park
Attendance: 1,750

Goalscorers
Anton Dowds (pen.) (49)
Anton Dowds (69)
George Oakley (70)
Callum Smith (11)
Dylan Easton (15)

Team Managers
Scott Brown
Unknown.

Starting Eleven
Harry Stone
Dylan Watret
George Stanger
Patrick Reading
Jay Henderson
Ben Dempsey
Marcus Rus
Ryan Howley
Nick McAllister
George Oakley
Anton Dowds
1 (G) K Dabrowski
3 (D) L Dick
4 (D) P Hanlon
Yellow card 8 (D) R Matthews
14 (M) J Mullin (75)
Yellow card 17 (M) L Gibson (64)
21 (M) S Byrne
23 (M) D Easton (64)
26 (M) L Stevenson
11 (F) C Smith
24 (F) L Jamieson (82)

Bench
Jack McIntyre
Mark McKenzie
Ethan Walker
Jamie Murphy
Jamie Hislop
Scott Tomlinson
Jake Hastie
13 (G) A McNeil
2 (D) K Freeman (64)
16 (M) S Stanton (64)
25 (M) K Montagu
30 (M) J Nicholson
7 (F) A Connolly (82)
10 (F) L Vaughan (75)

Substitutions
Ethan Walker for Ryan Howley (63)
Jake Hastie for Marcus Rus (82)
Mark McKenzie for Jay Henderson (87)
None.

Cautions
Anton Dowds
None.

Red Cards
None. None.
Match Officials

Graham Grainger (Referee)


Photography by Dave Sargent

Match Report


Scott Brown admits his Ayr United side don't know when they're beaten after a rousing second half comeback in the Trust Trophy this afternoon.

The Honest Men were on the floor at half time after goals from Callum Smith and Dylan Easton had Raith Rovers in charge. But an almighty turnaround saw Ayr blast back to earn a place in the last 16 - and earn the glowing praise of boss Brown.
He said: "In the last two games we've let our performance levels drop in the first half. We need to switch on quicker. We cannot wait until we're 2-0 down to start playing.
"We responded today and to score three goals in the second half was exceptional. We needed to work out our press a little better and once we did that, we were a lot more comfortable in the second half.

"We should do better with both goals we concede. But we showed a great workrate, desire and hunger to get back into the game and our attitude right to the end was spot on. Winning is a habit and everyone needs to show that drive."

The visitors got a flier when Paddy Reading had his pocket picked by Lewis Jamieson and when his shot wasn't held, Callum Smith mopped up the rebound.

But worse was to follow for Ayr soon after when they played their way into more trouble, allowing Dylan Easton to fire home from 12 yards.
Kevin Dabrowski denied Jay Henderson from point blank range as Ayr looked for a response and they levelled shortly after the break when Nick McAllister's header was charged down by the hand of Ross Matthews.

op scorer Anton Dowds stepped up to convert from the spot and put the game back in the melting pot.

United then drew level when Dylan Watret's cutback was rammed home by Dowds. Ayr were suddenly flying and within a minute of the restart they were in front.

Once again they got joy down the right as this time skipper Ben Dempsey raced clear and his cross was buried by Oakley to win it.

Match report written by Daily Record



Squad Statistics (as at September 8th, 2024)


2024-25 All Time
Age
Harry Stone (GK)22 10 - 10 -
Patrick Reading25 10 - 1533
George Stanger24 101443
Dylan Watret17 71101
Marcus Rus21 9292
Ben Dempsey24 9 - 9112
Jay Henderson22 105105
Nick McAllister23 4 - 813
Ryan Howley - 2 - 2 -
Anton Dowds27 1084122
George Oakley28 104104
Mark McKenzie (sub)24 8 - 16213
Ethan Walker (sub)26 6161
Jake Hastie (sub)25 101101






League Table (as at September 8th, 2024)


Pld W D L Pts
1. Ayr United 5 4 1 0 13
2. Falkirk 4 4 0 0 12
3. Livingston 4 2 2 0 8
4. Hamilton Academical 5 1 2 2 5
5. Partick Thistle 4 1 1 2 4
6. Queen's Park 4 1 1 2 4
7. Airdrieonians 4 1 1 2 4
8. Morton 4 0 3 1 3
9. Raith Rovers 4 1 0 3 3
10. Dunfermline Athletic 4 0 1 3 1