Ayr United 2
Partick Thistle 2
League (Second Division)

Match Report

AYR stretched their unbeaten run to seven games after holding on for a point against Thistle in a fiery clash at Somerset Park.

Four goals and two red cards told only half the story as United withstood a 90 minute storm to escape with a draw in the face of strong bouts of pressure from the Jags.

On-loan Rangers youngster Jukka Santala was the hero for Thistle, hauling his side level on two occasions after Jerome Vareille and Paul Hyslop had nudged Ayr in front.

But the visitors will wonder how they didn’t leave Somerset with all three points after dominating from start to finish against off-colour Ayr.

The game had taken an early pattern with Thistle settling quickly and controlling possession but it was United who struck the first blow after just six minutes.

A Hyslop corner from the right sparked panic in the Thistle box and after a game of pinball on the six yard line which saw Andy Reid and Raymond Logan have efforts blocked, Vareille lashed home at the third time of asking.

Shell-shocked Thistle were knocked out of their stride only temporarily and were soon back in the Ayr half plugging away for an equaliser.

United had deployed Dougie Ramsay in a man marking role on Stephen McConalogue and this appeared to take some presence out of the Ayr midfield with Thistle dominating that area of the park.

And it was no surprise when they levelled in the 25th minute – Sean Kilgannon’s cross finding Santala unmarked six yards from goal and he made no mistake in finding the net.

Ex-Ayr defender Scott McCulloch almost came back to haunt his old side on the half hour when his 25 yard free kick was bound for the top corner before Mark McGeown produced a superb save to tip the ball over.

With the Thistle midfield in control, Ayr could hardly get a kick but they remarkably took the lead for a second time when a rare attack saw Reid crossing for Hyslop to prod home from 10 yards.

The interval lead was as welcome as it was surprising but the task of defending it was made all the tougher with the dismissal of Paul Weaver just five minutes after half time.

The teenager was booked twice within 60 seconds for fouls on Darren Brady and Ricky Gillies, the second of which was extremely harsh and didn’t appear to merit another caution so soon after the first.

With Weaver gone, skipper Logan was left to play another heroic innings in the middle of the park, practically taking on the Thistle midfield by himself.

Ian Cashmore, on as a first half sub for the injured Vareille, was withdrawn deeper from attack to assist his captain but had a tough task as the numbers game told.

Partick camped outside the Ayr box lining up raid after raid and McGeown increasingly came into his own between the sticks with smart stops to deny another McCulloch thunderbolt and a low drive from Kilgannon.

Gillies fired just over before sub Graham Dorrans saw a similar effort sail over from 18 yards as Thistle’s time began running out.

The dangerous Santala had a header well saved low down by McGeown as Ayr clung on to the improbable hope of stealing the most unlikely of wins.

However, their resistance was broken with 17 minutes remaining as Dorrans sped round the back of the defence and centred for Santala to convert with a carbon copy of his first half strike to level the scores at 2-2.

From there only one side was going to win it and the Jags should have grabbed glory with a sweeping move which saw them have five on one yet somehow James McKinstry came to Ayr’s rescue with a stunning last ditch tackle to deny Dorrans as he homed in on goal.

But still Thistle probed and only the offside flag denied them as Santala found the net but had his joy cut short by the far side official.

Their final chance at snatching the three points ironically fell to Marc Smyth who climbed highest to head over a Kilgannon corner when he really should have hit the target.

But the game took a late twist with the straight red card shown to McCulloch after he felled Logan with a raised arm.

It gave the already jittery Partick defence some last minute nerves and astonishingly Ayr could have stolen it when Cashmore held off Smyth before firing straight at Kenny Arthur from an angle.

The final whistle brought warm applause from the Ayr support who appreciated the effort of their side having to play most of the second half with 10 men yet still coming away with a battling point.

Match report written by Ayr United FC Official Website