Ayr United 0
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2
Scottish Cup (Third Round Replay)

Match Report

AYR crashed out of the Scottish Cup in battling style after a first half moment of madness left them climbing a mountain.

Mark McGeown saw straight red for hauling down Caley striker Dennis Wyness in the box, leaving United 1-0 down from the resultant spot kick and playing catch-up.

But a brave second half effort kept Ayr in the hunt and only a late Wyness header killed off their plucky fightback.

As expected, Ayr had reverted to the 4-4-2 system which served them so well in the Highlands with James McKinstry, Paul Hyslop and Jerome Vareille returning after being left out on Saturday.

And United started brightly, restricting Caley in much the same way as the first game between the sides with chances few and far between.

Indeed, it was Ayr who came closest to the opener after 23 minutes of scrappy play when a raking drive from Mark Casey was deflected on to the post with Caley keeper Mark Brown beaten all ends up. Vareille, who was waiting to pounce on the easiest of rebound chances, was ruled offside.

The visitors’ first effort of real note came soon after when Barry Wilson tested McGeown with a skidding shot from 25 yards but the Ayr keeper was equal to the attempt.

Then came a glorious chance for Caley when Wyness capitalised on Johnny Baillie’s decision to let a through ball drift past him and with only McGeown to beat, Wyness clipped his shot wide of the post.

But United then shot themselves in the foot as half-time approached when Dougie Ramsay was caught in possession deep in his own half, allowing Wyness to home in on goal and round McGeown before the keeper committed a last man challenge and took the long walk.

Ayr were pressed into sending on Eric Philips for his first taste of senior action and sacrificed Vareille but it couldn’t stop Craig Dargo from ramming home the spot kick and putting Caley one up.

Philips was called into action again before the half was out when he spilled an Ian Black shot from the edge of the box but Barry McLaughlin came to the rescue by clearing the rebound from Dargo on the line.

Ramsay’s night went from bad to worse when he was clattered by man mountain Ross Tokely, who appeared to lead with his elbow, but referee Kevin Toner saw nothing wrong with the challenge. Ramsay was replaced at the break with concussion.

Chris Robertson was sent on in is place as Ayr went 3-4-2 in the second half and made a real fight of it.

But Tokely had an early chance to rub salt in the wounds when he headed wide from just six yards when it looked easier to score.

Ayr were still a threat despite being a man down and skipper Raymond Logan had a shot saved after he latched on to a header from Paul Hyslop as United served notice that they were far from done.

Caley struggled to put the game to bed and a long range effort from Wilson which whistled over was as close as they came to testing the well protected Philips.

But Ayr’s chances reduced yet further when the tireless Gareth Wardlaw departed the scene after injuring his knee and it wasn’t long before Caley wrapped up their win in the 76th minute when Wyness rose to head home a Richard Hastings cross.

Ayr were applauded off at full-time by a bumper crowd at Somerset who appreciated the effort of their side in front of Sky’s TV cameras.

Match report written by Ayr United FC Official Website