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18s v Ross County | Match Report | 29/04/22

By Karen Malcolm

On Friday afternoon (29.04.22), Ayr United Under 18s were in action in their final CAS U18 League home game of the season, beating Ross County 5-1 at Townhead Park, Cumnock.

Ayr made one change to the starting 11 from last week's 4-1 victory over Dundee, with Derren Fairns replacing Tyler Fraser in goal. Dario Viviani started for the Under 18s before heading to Somerset Park in the evening to be part of the first team squad for the game against Partick Thistle.

The Honest Men took the lead after 5 mins. Harry Simpson played the ball to Max Guthrie, who looked likely to shoot, but instead, he played the ball to Jonathan McPhee, who backheeled the ball into the net, giving his team an early lead.

Ayr doubled their lead 9 mins later. Dylan O'Kane got away from a Ross County player and fired the ball from the edge of the box into the top left corner of the net. A brilliant goal from the winger who is no stranger to scoring goals of that quality.

2 mins later, Aaron Weir got his name on the scoresheet thanks to great interplay between himself and Jonathan McPhee. The right back picked up a loose pass from a County player and played the ball to McPhee. McPhee turned and did well to get away from a marking defender while Weir made a run into the box. McPhee then played the ball to Weir, who fired it into the net from a tight angle. This was Weir's s first goal in United colours.

11 mins before half time and Ayr got another goal thanks to impressive play again by Aaron Weir. He played a great ball into the box, which forced a Ross County defender to try and intercept, but instead, he headed the ball behind him and into his own net.

The Honest Men went into halftime with a 4-0 lead over their Highland visitors. 

Ayr made a change at halftime, Shaun Donnelly replacing Harry Simpson. They then made another substitution in the 59th min when goal scorer Jonathan McPhee was replaced by Ryan Kennedy.

On 66 mins Ayr got another goal, and this time it was Max Guthrie. Guthrie got himself between a County defender and the keeper to meet Aaron Weir's in-ball perfectly, producing a stunning header that landed in the back of the net.

Ayr made a further three substitutions before the end. The first saw Dylan O'Kane replaced by Brooke Dreghorn, while the second saw Bruce Strachan coming on for Dario Viviani. The final substitution saw the impressive Aaron Weir (one goal and two assists) giving way for Jack Price. This change saw Pryce going to centre back with Lewis Allan moving to the right back position vacated by Weir.

10 mins before full time, the visitors grabbed a goal back. The Ross County number 11 got away from the Ayr defence and fired a shot from just inside the box into the bottom right of the net.

An excellent overall performance from the Honest Men in their final home league game of the season.

Ayr United 

Fairns, Weir, Johnston, Tomlinson, Connelly, Allan, McPhee, Viviani, Guthrie, Simpson, O'Kane Substitutes: Fraser (GK), Dreghorn, Kennedy, Donnelly, Strachan, Pryce

Half Time

Ayr United 4 Ross County 0

Full Time 

Ayr United 5 Ross County 1

Ayr United Goals

Jonathan McPhee

Dylan O'Kane

Aaron Weir

Own Goal

Max Guthrie