Ayr United 1 - 0 Dunfermline Athletic

One second-half goal from Ryan Stevenson was enough to win it for the home team. The Pars seemed strangely subdued, and for all their pretty passing around the edge of the box created few chances and can have no complaints.

No surprises in the Pars’ team selection, with Chris Higgins in for the injured McGregor, the Pars going with their usual 4-4-2. Chris Smith kept the no 1 shirt, with Ross, Dowie, Higgins and McCann the defensive line. Burke and Bell were in the middle, Graham left, Gibson right, and Bayne and McDougall up front. Scott Muirhead made it onto the bench alongside Kirk, Phinn Holmes and Paterson. There were no returns for Woods or Cardle, who joined Fleming and McGregor in the stand.

Instead there was nearly a big surprise on the home team list with Tam McManus spotted warming up, but any hopes of there being some gratuitous bampottery to look forward to were dashed when the only ex-Pars presence in the Ayr ranks, other than manager Brian Reid, was Junior Mendes who filled the number 16 shirt.

The visitors kicked off in their all-red strip defending the Railway end that housed the away support, about 250 strong, but the game was slow to generate excitement. McDougall was caught off-side a couple of times, and Ayr had a couple of early corners. Bayne was deputised to mark the giant Kevin James, but it was Burke who provided the block from Borris’s shot as the ball was only half-cleared.
The Pars created nothing of note until the 15th minute when McDougall got the ball on the left touchline, tricked his way past Ryan McGowan only to be tripped on the point of entering the box. However Gibson’s attempt to whip the ball in with plenty of swerve ending up left the ex-Killie winger looking foolish as the ball sailed 3 yards over the Ayr bar.

After Greg Ross had swept up at the back when McCann’s pass was blocked, the Pars created their best chance of the half. A quick throw from Smith sent Gibson haring down the right and although his pass inside was slightly behind McDougall, Bell and Bayne combined to set the latter up with a shooting chance from the edge of the box, but the big striker delayed and his attempt was blocked. McDougall managed to force a save in 23 minutes when Bell played him in, but the angle was narrow and Samson grabbed at the second attempt.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Ross was twice more to the rescue as Ayr keeper Samson launched counter-attacks with long punts, once with a last ditch tackle on Reynolds, and once with a diving header. Stand-in keeper Smith also has a reputation for hitting a long ball, and although naturally left footed seems comfortable kicking with either foot. Playing from hand he was trying to pick out Bayne who would move to the left touchline, presumably to get away from James, and although he won his fair share in the air, neither McDougall nor Graham seemed to be able to pick up the second ball.

Instead it was Ayr who nearly made the breakthrough in 38 minutes, following a sequence of poor passes which ceded possession then a shocker of a clearance from Burke which went straight to Borris, but the winger couldn’t get enough curl on the ball and his effort from the corner of the box went past the far post.

No goals then at half-time, with Ayr ahead on points, but Smith not yet tested.

Half Time: Honest Men 0 Pars 0

United made one change at the break, Willie Easton coming on at left back in place of Neil McGowan and it was up this same wing that the home team nearly snatched the lead. A quick free-kick seemed to catch the Pars defence napping and with Higgins slipping Stevenson should have done better than fire an effort across the face of goal. Similarly David Graham, who had been having a quiet afternoon, couldn’t find the target in 48 minutes after skipping past both a challenge and the referee who was in close attendance, but it was the home team who broke the deadlock 4 minutes later.