Kilmarnock 3 -2 Ayr United: Match Review

Ayr United’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end as they bowed out of the Premier Sports Cup, losing 3-2 at Kilmarnock.

It was a spirited display from Ayr, leading the Premiership side until the closing exchanges.

The experts from Andy’s Bet Club will be reviewing all of our games in the 2026/27 season, and you can find more of the free football tips they offer on their website.

Attack

Ayr had nine shots to Kilmarnock’s 18 and generated an xG of 1.04.

Of those nine shots, three hit the target for Ayr. Kilmarnock, on the other hand, managed nine shots on target and an xG tally of 2.50.

Owen Stirton put Ayr ahead after just five minutes with a 0.20 xG chance, before Joe Hugill equalised for Killie just before half time.

Ross Taylor put Ayr back in front with a well placed strike outside the box worth just 0.04 xG.

Michael Schjönning-Larsen levelled things for Kilmarnock with just over 10 minutes of normal time remaining, before Nicky Cleșcenco grabbed a late winner for the home side in the 89th minute.

Defence

Kilmarnock were the far busier of the sides in terms of pressing, posting 5.7 PPDA (passes per defensive action) to Ayr’s 16.7.

This means Kilmarnock made a defensive action every 5.7 Ayr passes, and highlights Ayr’s willingness to soak up pressure.

Ayr United made 55 interceptions and 34 clearances, well ahead of Kilmarnock's 28 interceptions and 14 clearances.

Harry Stone was kept busy in the Ayr goal, making six saves in total.

Possession

Gary Naysmith’s side had 28% possession on Saturday to Kilmarnock’s 72%.

Ayr had 100 individual possessions to Kilmarnock's 108, 10% of those reached the opponent's penalty area, compared to 30% of the hosts’.

18% of Ayr’s passes were long balls compared to only 5% of Kilmarnock, indicating how happy Ayr were to play a more direct style.

Set pieces

Ayr won two corners against Killie on Saturday, with neither resulting in a shot.

Kilmarnock finished the game with 13 corners, five of which brought about a shot (38%).

Players

Stirton hit the target twice from his two shots for a total xG of 0.33.

Ross Taylor led the way in terms of overall xG for Ayr (0.47), hitting the target with one of his four shots. He also won 12 of his 13 duels.

Joe Hugill topped the individual xG for Kilmarnock, scoring once from chances equating to 0.76 xG. Nicky Cleșcenco added Kilmarnock’s third and finished the match with two shots on target from two efforts, having come off the bench in the 39th minute.

Conclusion

Despite Ayr’s unbeaten start to the season coming to an end, there is plenty to be positive about for manager Gary Naysmith.

The Honest Men pushed Killie to the final moments of the game despite only having 28% of the ball, and executed a pretty solid defensive shift before Kilmarnock’s Premiership experience showed in the final ten minutes.

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