Ayr United 0
Alloa Athletic 1
League (Second Division)

Match Report

ROBERT SLOAN threw Alloa the slimmest of relegation lifelines as Ayr were sunk without trace on a dismal afternoon at Somerset Park.

The ex-Hearts winger struck midway through the second half of an awful game in which neither side ever got going.

But most disappointing for United was their lack of a threat in front of goal with Wasps keeper Allan Creer barely required to make a save all afternoon.

Ayr had shuffled their pack again with new boy David Lowing in for his first start while there were returns for Dougie Ramsay and Chris Strain.

But the fresh look to the side had little effect as the game stumbled along during a spectacularly uneventful first half.

Both sides carried little attacking impetus and entertainment was at a premium in the wet and blustery conditions.

However, Alloa really should have led at the break but squandered their only chance of the first half when John Ovenstone crossed for Paul McLeod to stab a close range effort straight at Mark McGeown. It was no exaggeration to say it looked easier to score.

Ayr offered little themselves and Jerome Vareille was the only man to have an effort on target in the first half after Gareth Wardlaw played him in but after a neat turn on the edge of the box, the Frenchman rather scuffed his shot and Creer turned it round the post.

The second half couldn’t have been any worse than the first but for Ayr it became a horror show with Alloa stealing all three points.

United were sitting targets after failing to put the Wasps under any real pressure and the nearest the home side came was a snap shot from Wardlaw, who almost created a goal out of nothing, but Creer was equal to the effort before Vareille hooked the rebound over the bar.

The sucker punch duly arrived in the 66th minute when Alloa sub Ross Hamilton laid the ball wide for John Grant and his cross was bundled home from four yards by Sloan.

Ayr were stunned and although the goal seemed to jolt them into pushing forward, there was still little creative spark in the final third and United were reduced to efforts from outside the box.

Wardlaw’s 83rd minute run and shot which was spilled by Creer offered hope that an equaliser may be lurking around the corner but the last chance came and went with Craig Conway’s volley which flew just wide in the closing seconds.

It was not a performance that the players will want to remember and after a winless run of eight games, Ayr now head to Forfar next week for what is becoming an increasingly important game.

Match report written by Ayr United FC Official Website