Inverness CT 2 - 2 Ayr United

League - Championship
Friday, April 30th, 2021, 7:45 PM at Caledonian Stadium
Referee: Craig Napier
Inverness CT  Ayr United

Goalscorers
Daniel Mackay (6)
Sean Welsh (pen.) (47)
Aaron Muirhead (39)
Josh Todd (67)

Team Managers
David Hopkin

Starting Eleven
Mark Ridgers
Robbie Deas
Cameron Harper
Daniel Devine
Roddy MacGregor
Scott Allan
David Carson
Sean Welsh
Daniel Mackay
Nikolay Todorov
Shane Sutherland
Peter Morrison
Jordan Houston
Jack Baird
Sam Roscoe-Byrne
Patrick Reading
Joe Chalmers
Aaron Muirhead
Josh Todd
Luke McCowan
Michael Miller
Michael Moffat

Substitutes
Cameron Mackay
Kevin McHattie
Scott Allardice
Aaron Doran
James Vincent
Arron Lyall
Miles Storey
Andy Murdoch
Andre Wright
Tom Walsh
Dario Zanatta
Mark McKenzie
Jamie Barjonas
Peter Urminsky

Substitutions
Arron Lyall for Shane Sutherland (58)
Aaron Doran for Daniel Mackay (68)
Miles Storey for Nikolay Todorov (76)
Mark McKenzie - > Michael Miller (53)
Tom Walsh -> Michael Moffat (69)
Andy Murdoch - > Luke McCowan (92)

Bookings
David Carson (39)
Sean Welsh (87)
Roddy MacGregor (91)
Michael Miller (27)
Jordan Houston (65)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 156 apps -
Robbie Deas 33 apps1 goal
Daniel Devine 112 apps4 goals
Cameron Harper 38 apps -
Roddy MacGregor 57 apps2 goals
Scott Allan 8 apps -
David Carson 55 apps1 goal
Sean Welsh 67 apps9 goals
Daniel Mackay 57 apps12 goals
Shane Sutherland 120 apps9 goals
Nikolay Todorov 63 apps18 goals
Aaron Doran (sub) 291 apps48 goals
Arron Lyall (sub) 4 apps -
Miles Storey (sub) 97 apps21 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Roddy MacGregor (19 years 135 days)
Oldest Player:Sean Welsh (31 years 54 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 197 days
Domestic Players:8 (72.73 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Arron Lyall (17 years 225 days)
Oldest Player:James Vincent (31 years 223 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 199 days
Domestic Players:12 (66.67 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Season ends in stalemate

Inverness opened the scoring early through Daniel Mackay in the sixth minute. We were unable to build on that and Ayr levelled before the break when Aaron Muirhead converted a penalty after Baird went down in the box. Level at the break but Sean Welsh bagged a penalty two minutes into the second half only for United to level again through Josh Todd. No further scoring but results elsewhere meant that Ayr were safe and Dundee jumped above Raith Rovers to finish second.

The final game of the season for Inverness saw Ayr United come North looking for a point to keep themselves in the Championship as Morton take on Arbroath in the other crucial game at the bottom. For Inverness, we fell just short of a promotion play-off place and Neil McCann would be in charge for his final game as temporary manager.

Aaron Doran was on the bench and Scott Allan played the final game of his loan spell for Inverness CT.

Tom Walsh was on the visitors bench with veteran forward Michael Moffat fronting the Ayr side.

Scott Allan set the ball rolling as Inverness kicked off towards the South stand.

Todorov forced the Ayr keeper to hastily knock the ball wide for an attacking throw in the fifth minute as we looked to get forward and it paid off moments later as Daniel Mackay got on the end of a tidy ball into the box from Welsh to slot past Morrison for the opening goal. Not the start the Honest Men were looking for.

Ayr got their first corner in the twelfth minute and from the return ball back into the box it almost bounced straight into the net,however it was knocked out for another corner which offered Michael Moffat an opportunity but he was crowded out at the back post.

Midway through the half and the visitors had grown into the game as it became a midfield battle with little goalmouth action.

Just after the half hour Todorov got his head on a deep cross from Carson but it was too tight an angle to worry Ayr too much and the danger was cleared.

Penalty to Ayr seven minutes before the break as Baird went down in the box under some flailing legs, Deas or possibly Carson as he was raging. Despite some serious protests and a booking for Carson, Muirhead buried the ball low into the net.

Last action of the half saw Todorov volley a difficult chance over the bar after a great ball through from Allan.

Half Time: 1-1

Inverness got a penalty of their own when MacGregor was sent tumbling in the box. Up stepped MotM Sean Welsh to comfortably score to restore our advantage.

We almost threw the lead away a minute later as a short pass back put Ridgers in trouble but Ayr were unable to take full advantage and we eventually mopped up.

Scott Allan was setting up players at will, but nobody had the clinical finish to put the gloss on the moves. Shane Sutherland was one who received a great ball but he shot over from a great position after cutting inside. That was his last involvement as he was replaced by Arran Lyall.

Inverness paid for their profligacy as Ayr equalised again, this time through Josh Todd who drilled through a ruck of legs into the net.

A couple of late corners ended with a header from Danny Devine flashing across the visitors goal, but out for a goal kick.

A bit of a mix-up in the Ayr box let Ayr off the hook as two Caley-Jags players left the ball for each other after Arran Lyall had created the chance.

Ayr saw out the game with neither side trying too hard to win all three points.

Full Time 2-2

Surprise surprise, the final game of the season petered out to a 2-2 draw which suited Ayr United as Morton failed to win at Arbroath, which means Ayr stay in the Championship and Morton go into the relegation play off to fight for their survival.

A drab affair, typical end of season maybe with Inverness unable to shake off Ayr United overall and a point apiece was just about right.

Best on the night was Sean Welsh.

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Hearts 27 17 6 4 63 24 39 57
2. Dundee 27 12 9 6 49 40 9 45
3. Raith Rovers 27 12 7 8 45 36 9 43
4. Dunfermline 27 10 9 8 38 34 4 39
5. Inverness CT 27 8 12 7 36 31 5 36
6. Queen of the South 27 9 5 13 38 51 -13 32
7. Arbroath 27 7 9 11 28 34 -6 30
8. Ayr United 27 6 11 10 31 37 -6 29
9. Morton 27 6 11 10 22 33 -11 29
10. Alloa Athletic 27 5 7 15 30 60 -30 22