Ayr walk tall to sink Jags

Jul 25 2007 Ayrshire Post

SKIPPER Eddie Forrest reckons Ayr will be walking tall this season after adding a clutch of well built signings.

And he jokes he’ll be looking up to his team-mates after boss Neil Watt added a host of powerful captures.

Forrest joined new boy Murray Henderson on the goal trail as Ayr comfortably got the better of new look Partick Thistle in an entertaining Firhill friendly.

Forrest said: “We’re now a big team and I’m one of the smallest at the back. I think all the signings, other than Alex Williams, are over six feet.”

Boss Watt was delighted at the showing against full-time opponents.

He revealed: “We’ll face four full-time teams in the league whereas the last time I was in the Second Division, Morton were the only full-timers.

“So that’s probably the reason why I took four full-time teams as warm-up games.

“The players have worked hard and showed they have taken things on board. They take all the credit for sticking to the task that we set out for them.”

New man Michael Moore took only five minutes to show his aerial prowess when his header from a Ryan Stevenson free-kick was tipped over.

The former Stranraer man then sent a looping header off the bar after Andy McLaren played the cross.

Moore could have had a first-half hat-trick but his stabbed shot from a Williams cross was well saved.

Ayr took only 25 seconds of the second-half to hit the front when Henderson timed his run well to glance home a header from a Stevenson free-kick.

Ex-Ayr man Scott Chaplain quickly equalised after a great flowing move but Forrest regained the lead in 57 minutes when he prodded home a David Lowing corner.

McLaren then fired a penalty high over after Moore was pushed from behind by sub Scott Boyd.

Thistle went close to a late equaiser when a French trialist skimmed a shot off the bar.

Jags boss Ian McCall claimed: “Ayr played back to front but we couldn’t handle that. However, we played some excellent football and scored the goal of the season.

“We’ve got to handle the physical aspect. Ayr are a big strong team who don’t play a lot of football but they’ll do well in their league.”

PARTICK: Tuffey; Robertson, Archibald; Gibson (Trialist 67), Trialist (Boyd 58), Trialist (Lennon 70); Strachan, Trialist (Chaplain 46), Buchanan (Trialist 73), Trialist (Roberts 46), Murray (Donnelly 46).

AYR: Corr (McGeown 46); Swift (Higgins 54), Lowing (Pettigrew 79), Forrest, Henderson, Stevenson (Weaver 66), Hamilton, Casey, Moore (Robertson 66), Williams (Vareille 53), McLaren (Dunn 66).

Referee: David Somers; Crowd: 1185.