The Honest Men ran out 3-2 winners in their friendly at home to Kilmarnock
Ayr United boss Scott Brown heaped praise on his side after their 3-2 friendly victory over local rivals Kilmarnock – and challenged them to build on that as the competitive action gets underway.
The Honest Men host Falkirk in their League Cup opener on Tuesday night and will be going into that clash full of confidence following an impressive string of pre-season results.
They kept that going at Somerset Park in front of a crowd of over 3200 on Thursday evening.
They opened the scoring on 26 minutes in fortuitous style when George Stanger’s long-range effort slipped through Robby McCrorie.
Marco Rus’s well-taken goal extended their lead eight minutes later. The Romanian rolled the ball into the far corner after being played in behind the defense.
However, Killie pulled one back just before the half, thanks to a wonderful strike from Brad Lyons into the upper corner after Kyle Vassell’s shot was brilliantly stopped by the charging Harry Stone.
After Killie had made a good start to the second half, United took the lead again shortly after the hour mark thanks to a penalty kick from Anton Dowds. It was decided that Joe Wright had given George Oakley the spot-kick.
The deficit was reduced to one goal by a header from Robbie Deas off a Fraser Murray ball, and Bruce Anderson nearly leveled the score with a lovely back-post volley that cannoned back off the woodwork.
The coach commented afterward, “We played well and Kilmarnock brought a strong team.” We were cool under pressure and handled their danger expertly.
“The real work begins now. You cannot enter cup events expecting to lose after going undefeated during the preseason. You must maintain your winning mindset.”There’s a togetherness at the club; whether it’s the players, kitchen staff, or kitman, we all want the best for the club,” he continued.
“The recently opened stand appears to be a legitimate football team. We all have that drive, including the chairman, and we want to keep it going as long as we can.
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