Another implosion as Ayr stroll to victory

Last updated : 01 November 2008 By Fargone
Expecting a positive reaction from last week's debacle, Arvroath;s starting 11 had a makeshift look with Campbell in for the injured Bishop, and Tosh starting with Weir up front.

It looked like there were two divisions between the two sides. Arbroath just never started, not crossing the halfway line for most of the game. Ayr played neat controlled football but nothing special. they eased from third gear into second for a purple 13 minute patch scoring three goals, all of which looked to be the fault of defensive errors. Frst big defender Campbell was first to a corner on 9 minutes, then a ball broke to unmarked Easton on 13 minutes, and finally, after failing several times to clear, Prunty finished the game off on 22 minutes.

As if that wasn;t bad enough the referee started acting up, booking Weir and Sellars for what seemed mild dissent, then sending Sellars off. We collected 4 bookings in all, primarily due to frustration.

Second half saw Masson on for Tosh. With the exception of David McGowan who put in a great shift, we didn't really feature as an attacking force secodn half. Ayr had a few near things but we seemed unable to gain possession and lacked the quality to use the ball when we had it. Later subs Gates and Simpson, couldn't change the pattern in any way

Gayfield was like a cemetery at the end.


Some fans views (from Pie & Bovril)

Cliche Guevara (Ayr)
That was incredibly easy! All one way traffic, in the first half, which actually left me feeling a bit sorry for Arbroath as they were rather pitiful looking. Three goals in a fairly short spell killed the game off. Arbroath then had a man sent off and I was looking forward to six or seven.

Unfortunately a combination of Ayr taking the foot off the gas, really bad luck, and Arbroath battling for their pride saw no further goals. The second half turned out to be pretty disappointing and very frustrating.

Interesting to see that Ayr played very well, first half, without Ryan Stevenson. We looked more like a team and Aitken was runing the show until he got taken off early second half. We really should be trying to get everything through him.

Very comfortable three points, but difficult to find any real persepctive given how difficult Arbroath are having it at the moment.

Lichties36nilhello Quite simple Arbroath were a disgrace, a gutless performance without any efforts on goal and no fight. Time for radical changes....

Mel Hutchright: That was quite simply a shambles.
The scoreline doesn't come close to reflecting the gulf between the two teams, as we deserved to be on the wrong end of an absolute hiding. To have no attempts on goal whatsoever is unnaceptable, and the most galling thing was the total lack of guts and fight in that side today. It reminded me of the performances we were subjected to during the death throes of Harry Cairney's tenure. The air of resignation amongst the Arbroath support was concerning as well.

Despite certain reservations I've remained a supporter of JMcG's, but I'm afraid it would be defending the indefensible today.