Ayr United 1 - 1 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, March 20th, 2004, 3:00 PM at Somerset Park
Attendance: 1,207
Referee: I Brines
Ayr United Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Hardy (35 Secs) Barry Wilson (pen.) (42)

Team Managers
Unknown. John Robertson

Starting Eleven
Roy
Lyle
Tait
Chaplain
Campbell
Craig
Black
Ramsay
Kean
Brown
Hardy
Mark Brown
Ross Tokely
Grant Munro
Bobby Mann
Stuart Golabek
Stuart McCaffrey
Barry Wilson
Russell Duncan
Liam Keogh
David Bingham
Paul Ritchie

Bench
Smyth
Ferguson
Dunlop
Conway
Hillcoat
Jonathon Smith
David Proctor
Richie Hart
Darran Thomson
Craig MacMillan

Substitutions
Smyth -> Chaplain (59)
Ferguson -> Brown (86)
Dunlop -> Tait (86)
Richie Hart for David Bingham (54)
Craig MacMillan for Liam Keogh (73)
Darran Thomson for Stuart Golabek (84)

Bookings
Lyle Richie Hart (60)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Brown (GK) 81 apps -
Grant Munro 86 apps2 goals
Stuart Golabek 158 apps3 goals
Stuart McCaffrey 137 apps5 goals
Bobby Mann 204 apps17 goals
Ross Tokely 274 apps20 goals
Russell Duncan 110 apps2 goals
Liam Keogh 54 apps2 goals
Barry Wilson 182 apps55 goals
David Bingham 34 apps14 goals
Paul Ritchie 120 apps59 goals
Darran Thomson (sub) 26 apps2 goals
Richie Hart (sub) 56 apps12 goals
Craig MacMillan (sub) 11 apps -

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Ross Tokely (25 years 19 days)
Oldest Player:David Bingham (2005 years 232 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 213 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:David Proctor (20 years 20 days)
Oldest Player:Craig MacMillan (2005 years 232 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 270 days
Domestic Players:16 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

This was not a day for football. It was a battle to reach Ayr through snow, rain and roadworks and the game could easily have been cancelled – the wind was gale force and there were spells of torrential rain. Caley Thistle faced the wind in the first half and lost a goal in only 35 seconds. A clearance from Ludo Roy sailed in the wind and with a couple of touches it reached Lee Hardy in the box. He controlled the ball well and hit a low angled shot past Mark Brown. It was all very difficult for the rest of the half with every ball out of defence coming straight back at Brown and progress upfield only made by keeping the ball on the ground. Liam Keogh hit just over in 11 minutes and Hardy did the same for Ayr in 14 minutes from a free kick. David Bingham’s low shot in 23 minutes was not far away then on the half hour mark Stewart Kean slid the ball past the post when he had a chance to extend Ayr’s lead. Graeme Brown also hit past in 35 minutes then five minutes later Paul Ritchie created space for himself 22 yards out but shot hard and wide. In 42 minutes Barry Wilson was brought down by Willie Lyle and he sent Roy the wrong way with the resultant penalty. Hardy hit over the bar and the stand just before the break. With wind advantage in the second half it was expected that Caley Thistle would bombard the Ayr goal but with the wind easing for a time it did not work out that way. Roy dived to turn a Ritchie shot past in 51 minutes then Brown did the same at the other end in 56 minutes to deny David Craig. Substitute Richie Hart shot over in 68 minutes and Wilson did likewise with ten minutes left after a Ross Tokely shot was blocked. Ayr pressed for a winner and Stewart Kean volleyed past in 82 minutes after a good move. A Darran Thomson corner with five minutes left caused confusion in the Ayr box, Roy fumbled and Tokely hit over. ICT pushed hard right to the end of the three minutes added time but nothing came off. Several shots were blocked by the Ayr defence right on the 90 minute mark then a Russell Duncan free kick was headed clear by Andrew Ferguson. Roy punched away a Thomson corner, a foul was called and the final whistle went. Clyde beat St Johnstone 3-1 to go six points clear at the top but there are still eight games left.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Clyde 28 17 5 6 48 31 17 56
2. Inverness CT 28 15 5 8 55 30 25 50
3. St. Johnstone 28 13 8 7 49 34 15 47
4. Ross County 28 11 10 7 44 32 12 43
5. Falkirk 28 12 7 9 38 33 5 43
6. Queen of the South 27 12 6 9 37 35 2 42
7. St. Mirren 28 6 11 11 27 39 -12 29
8. Raith Rovers 27 7 6 14 29 45 -16 27
9. Brechin City 28 5 7 16 31 58 -27 22
10. Ayr United 28 4 9 15 29 50 -21 21