Ayr United 3
Falkirk 2
League (Championship)


Ayr United
3 - 2
Falkirk 

League (Championship)
Saturday, September 15th, 2018
Somerset Park
Attendance: 2,250

Goalscorers
Lawrence Shankland (48)
Andy Geggan (63)
Fasan (o.g.) (65)
Zak Rudden (18)
Deimantas Petravicius (25)

Team Managers
Ian McCall
Ray McKinnon

Starting Eleven
1. Ross Doohan
5. Michael Rose
27. Liam Smith
8. Robbie Crawford
6. Andy Geggan
16. Jamie Adams
18. Andy Murdoch
4. Mark Kerr
10. Alan Forrest
7. Michael Moffat
17. Lawrence Shankland
Leo Fasan .1
Aaron Muirhead .4
Scott Harrison .15
Tom Dallison .5
Patrick Brough .18
Lewis Kidd .2
Joe McKee .22
Paul Paton .6
Deimantas Petravicius .7
Andrew Irving .25
Zak Rudden .19

Bench
19. Ellis Hare Reid
14. David Ferguson
15. Steven Bell
23. Ross Docherty
11. Declan McDaid
12. Craig McGuffie
9. Craig Moore
Ruben Sammut .8
Dennon Lewis .9
Dimitrios Froxylias .11
Tommy Robson .14
Dylan Mackin .21
Marcus Haber .24
Robbie Mutch .31

Substitutions
Steven Bell for Andy Murdoch (74)
Declan McDaid for Alan Forrest (80)
Craig Moore for Michael Moffat (83)
Dennon Lewis for Andrew Irving (64)
Marcus Haber for Lewis Kidd (69 )
Dimitrios Froxylias for Deimantas Petravicius (75)

Cautions
Liam Smith (75)
Craig Moore (90)
Aaron Muirhead (71)

Red Cards
None. None.
Match Officials

Alan Newlands (Referee)


Photography by SNS Group

Match Report


A bizarre Leo Fasan own goal meant Ayr United came from behind to beat foundering Falkirk.

With the Bairns goalkeeper on the floor following a corner kick scramble, the ball hit the Italian's back and trundled into the net.

Zak Rudden and Deimantas Petravicius had given Falkirk at half-time lead.

But Lawrence Shankland's shot from the edge of the box and Andy Geggan's half-volley brought Ayr level before the own goal winner.

With 45 minutes gone in this match a real test of character awaited both sides.

For Falkirk, could they hold their nerve to collect their first points of the season? For Ayr, could they dig deep to take something from the match.

The answer was 'no' and 'yes' respectively. Shankland's goal was early enough in the second half to give the hosts hope and unsettle their visitors.

Striker Shankland is now up to 13 goals for the season.

'They simply didn't follow instructions' - reaction
Ayr United manager Ian McCall said: "You come to Somerset Park and anything can happen.

"I never ever doubt the character of the team. We gave them two goals. But then Lawrence Shankland was great, Liam Smith was outstanding and the bottom line is that the Somerset Road end found its voice again and that helps.

"Andy Geggan's a really good finisher if we can get him up the park, but he's getting on!"

Falkirk manager Ray McKinnon said: "I was very pleased at half-time. Then they simply didn't follow instructions.

"We knew we needed to be compact. We overplayed the ball in midfield and got caught. We were off the pace for 15 minutes and lost three goals which was really disappointing."

Match report written by BBC



Squad Statistics (as at September 15th, 2018)


2018-19 All Time
Age
Ross Doohan (GK)20 11 - 11 -
Michael Rose22 10 - 743
Liam Smith22 4 - 4 -
Robbie Crawford24 11 - 19312
Alan Forrest22 11319844
Mark Kerr36 9 - 23 -
Andy Murdoch23 11 - 11 -
Jamie Adams31 10 - 909
Andy Geggan31 818913
Lawrence Shankland23 11134442
Michael Moffat33 10521186
Steven Bell (sub)33 81232
Declan McDaid (sub)22 9 - 6114
Craig Moore (sub)24 5 - 9344






League Table (as at September 15th, 2018)


No league table has been added for this season.