Ayr United 1 - 0 Inverness CT

League - Championship
Saturday, August 12th, 2023, 3:00 PM at Somerset Park, Ayr
Attendance: 1,989
Referee: Peter Stuart
Ayr United Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Francis Amartey (8) None.

Team Managers
Lee Bullen Billy Dodds

Starting Eleven
Charlie Albinson
Nick McAllister
George Stanger
Sean McGinty
Paddy Reading
Franny Amartey
Paul Smith
Ben Dempsey
Sam Ashford
Mark McKenzie
Fraser Bryden
Mark Ridgers
Jake Davidson
Zak Delaney
Cameron Harper
Daniel Devine
David Carson
Keith Bray
Charlie Gilmour
Luis Longstaff
Nathan Shaw
Billy Mckay

Bench
Frankie Musonda
Ahkeem Rose
Aiden McGeady
Oliver Pendlebury
Finn Ecrepont
Scott Tomlinson
Robbie Mutch
Dylan Watret
Elicha Ahui
Cameron Mackay
Robbie Thompson
Lewis Hyde
Aaron Doran
Adam Brooks
Harry Lodovica

Substitutions
Olly Pendlebury -> Francis Amartey (58)
Ahkeem Rose -> Sam Ashford (58)
Aiden McGeady -> Fraser Bryden (58)
Frankie Musonda -> Paul Smith (82)
Harry Lodovica for Keith Bray (58)
Adam Brooks for Billy Mckay (66)
Aaron Doran for Luis Longstaff (73)

Bookings
Paul Smith (74)
Nick McAllister (89)
Zak Delaney (28)
Luis Longstaff (46)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 241 apps -
Jake Davidson 6 apps1 goal
Daniel Devine 184 apps6 goals
Zak Delaney 45 apps -
Cameron Harper 124 apps9 goals
Keith Bray 6 apps -
Charlie Gilmour 5 apps1 goal
David Carson 146 apps2 goals
Nathan Shaw 50 apps10 goals
Billy Mckay 252 apps102 goals
Luis Longstaff 4 apps -
Aaron Doran (sub) 376 apps55 goals
Adam Brooks (sub) 4 apps -
Harry Lodovica (sub) 3 apps -

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Keith Bray (17 years 137 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 302 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 168 days
Domestic Players:5 (45.45 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Keith Bray (17 years 137 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 302 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 266 days
Domestic Players:9 (52.94 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Nathan Shaw played his 50th major competitive game for the Club.

Notable absentees for Ayr were last seasons Championship top scorer Dipo Akinyemi who has gone to York City and long time servant Michael Moffat who spent eleven years over two spells at Somerset Park scoring 77 goals in 263 appearances. Dodds was without Roddy MacGregor and Lewis Nicolson with knee injuries. Sean Welsh has a groin injury and also missed out again as did Austin Samuels and Max Ram. Adam Brooks returned to the bench and Danny Devine replaced the missing Wallace Duffy. New sensation Keith Bray started with Inverness down to only six on the bench. Injuries starting early this season already it would seem with six missing..

Ayr got off to the perfect start after just eight minutes when Francis Amartey, Dempsey and Sam Ashford combined for Amartey to slot home the opening goal. Mark Ridgers saved on his line from Nick McAllister as Ayr looked to double their lead. Keith Bray was blocked going into the box and from the follow up Albinson saved from David Carson at the expense of a corner. Plenty of half chances for both sides to score in the first half with Devine going close for the visitors but Albinson tipped over. Longstaff also went close on the break but his shot bounced just wide. Billy Dodds fell foul of the referee on the interval and had to watch the remainder of the game from the stands. (See how he likes it!)

HALF TIME: 1-0

Longstaff saw his header saved ten minutes after the interval as Inverness looked to get back into the game. A spate of substitutions on the hour for Ayr and Harry Lodovica replaced Bray for the visitors before a Jake Davidson cross found Nathan Shaw, but his effort came back off the post. With twenty minutes remaining Shaw was blocked in the box as we chased for a leveller. Substitute Aiden McGeady shot wide approaching the final ten minutes and Cammy Harper failed to hit the target at the other end. Aaron Doran fired a free kick wide from a tight angle and McGeady missed again as time was running away from us. Ridgers tipped over from Pendelbury in the 90th minute and the as so often, the game slipped away from us to leave us bottom of the table with Arbroath.

FULL TIME: 1-0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another defeat leaves Inverness pointless at the foot of the table with Arbroath as Ayr got their first win of the campaign thanks to an early goal from Francis Amartey. Not for the want of trying, but Inverness could not find an equaliser and that will pile more misery on under fire boss Billy Dodds. Our injury situation seems never-ending and we could only muster six on the bench.

Dodds watched from the stand in the second half and will now know why we are concerned...

The natives are no happy on CTO with many asking for a total clearout from top to bottom, questioning the length of contract offered to Billy Dodds. The buck stops at the very top and that is a massive concern for all. Top scorer Billy Mckay was a forlorn figure and was not best pleased at being subbed. Something is wrong that's not right. Sort it now before we leave this league at the wrong end of the table.

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Queens Park 2 2 0 0 4 2 2 6
2. Dundee Utd 2 1 1 0 5 1 4 4
3. Raith Rovers 2 1 1 0 5 4 1 4
4. Dunfermline 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 4
5. Morton 2 1 0 1 5 4 1 3
6. Airdrieonians 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
7. Ayr United 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3
8. Partick Thistle 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 1
9. Inverness CT 2 0 0 2 1 3 -2 0
10. Arbroath 2 0 0 2 1 6 -5 0