Ayr United 1
Peterhead 1
League (Second Division)

Match Report

A SENSATIONAL strike from Paul Hyslop maintained Ayr’s unbeaten start to the season in the Somerset Park sunshine.

But United couldn’t make it four wins in a row as stuffy Peterhead survived for a point despite coming under heavy spells of second-half pressure.

Hyslop’s first goal in senior football cancelled out a Dougie Cameron strike but Ayr couldn’t find another way through the experienced Blue Toon defence as the clock ticked down.

This was a game full of irony with United for once being strong favourites to win after their impressive early season form.

And almost inevitably, they stumbled from the starting blocks and looked edgy in the opening minutes with Martyn Campbell almost gifting a goal to Robert Linn before recovering to deflect the striker’s shot wide.

Ayr shook off the scare and were quickly on the attack with a flowing 9th minute move which saw Hyslop and Chris Strain combine to play in Jerome Vareille but the Frenchman drove his shot straight at Paul Mathers.

Skipper Raymond Logan was a constant first-half driving force and he came oh so close in the 19th minute with a header from a Hyslop corner which was stopped on the line by Mathers while Vareille’s rebound effort was scrambled to safety.

Two minutes later, Logan was at it again with an identical header from another Hyslop corner and Mathers was on hand once more to deny the towering former Pollok man with a smart stop.

Ayr probed rather than dominated during a first-half in which Peterhead were happy to defend and the visitors would have been content to frustrate Chris Robertson, United’s outstanding player for the last two weeks.

The giant striker took 31 minutes to announce his arrival in the game with a header which drifted wide from a Strain cross as United continued to struggle in front of goal.

Hyslop tried his luck from long range with a curling effort which flew just wide but it looked like Ayr’s number was up as the half-time interval approached.

However, the visitors chose the final few minutes of the half to break from their shell and signalled their intent when Linn’s through ball sent Bavidge one on one with Mark McGeown but the Ayr keeper raced out to make a smart save at the edge of his box.

But United ignored the warning and were behind just one minute later after some shocking marking allowed Peterhead a free path to goal.

Mark Perry’s raking crossfield pass was knocked back across goal by Keith Gibson and the arriving unmarked Cameron found himself in acres of space before tucking the ball under McGeown from 12 yards.

It could have been a fatal blow to Ayr but Robert Connor acted quickly to change things with Craig Conway replacing Strain just four minutes into the second-half.

The injection of trickery had an immediate impact as Conway swept the ball wide for Hyslop whose first touch took him inside full back Calvin Shand before unleashing a thunderous half volley into the top corner from 12 yards.

It was a finish that no keeper in the land would have stood a chance of saving and set up Peterhead for a second-half pounding.

But it failed to work out as Ayr would have hoped and although they dominated the game, chances weren’t easy to come by.

Robertson, who improved as the game went on, rose to flick on for Vareille in the 62nd minute and the Frenchman should have buried his chance but was denied by a saving tackle from Craig Tully.

Robertson then received a pass from Logan before turning to fire inches wide from 25 yards as Ayr began to launch anything at goal, yet Mathers remained relatively untested during the second 45 minutes.

And ironically it was Peterhead who came closest to winning it when a Perry volley from 25 yards flew just past during a rare counter-attack.

But the last word was left to Ayr and Robertson as he climbed to glance a header wide from a Conway free-kick as United had to settle for a point ahead of next week’s trip to Gretna.

Match report written by Ayr United FC Official Website