Late goals and drama in weekend Ayrshire action

Fan frustration continues at Kilmarnock after being held by 10-man St Johnstone in the Premiership as Ayr United and Largs Thistle served up some late Halloween thrillers across a dramatic weekend.

Neil McCann’s Killie were booed off at full time as they failed to capitalise on the man advantage against the Saints, being held to a 2-2 draw at Rugby Park.

Saints goalkeeper Toby Steward was sent off inside 13 minutes for handling the ball outside of the 18-yard box as Killie looked to get on top.

It took only two minutes from the game’s first flashpoint for on-loan Hull City defender Cathal McCarthy to nod the home side in front.

Despite a man light, Simo Valakari’s men rallied with a leveller on 40 minutes from Daniel Schmidt that was cancelled out by a quick-fire close-range goal from Djenairo Daniels, who scored his first goal at Rugby Park since returning from a lengthy injury spell.

The Perth side held firm into the second half and pegged their hosts back again as Joel Cotterill raced from one end to the other and finished a devastating counterattack to fire past German stopper Nico Mantl.

The final whistle was greeted by an unhappy reaction from the home support, who have now witnessed only one win in the last six games since returning from the international break.

Speaking to Now Ayrshire, Killie boss McCann understands the supporters’ reaction given recent results and goals conceded.

He said: “I share their frustration. We do a lot of work on set pieces, a lot of detail goes into it, and I completely get why they are angry.

“What we need to do is keep a cool head on the side of the pitch and continue to try and ask the team to probe, to create chances, and get back on top of the game again.

“We did control the game. We lost two goals from set plays, which means we need to keep a calmness and have quality in terms of controlling areas of the pitch. When a team goes down to 10 men, they are going to thrive off of counterattacks.”

Killie’s next outing sees them travel to face Celtic in the Premiership on Sunday with a 4 pm kickoff.

LATE SHOW AT SOMERSET

Luke McBeth’s 91st-minute goal proved to be the winner for Gary Naysmith’s Ayr, who grabbed their first home victory since the opening day of the season, in their 3-2 win over Queens Park.

The Honest Men went ahead through Ross Taylor, who got on the end of a Kevin Holt knockdown from a free-kick to fire home at the back post on 26 minutes.

The Spiders would respond not long after the restart with former Raith Rovers man Aidan Connolly whipping in a corner, and it went directly in the net for the leveller.

Marco Rus was on hand on 67 minutes to rifle United back in front but were undone again by Connolly, who stroked home another equaliser with under 10 minutes to play.

Former Glenafton and Partick Thistle man McBeth would mark his third goal of the season, getting on the end of an Owen Stirton cutback to fire past former Ayr keeper David Mitchell for the winner.

Speaking to Now Ayrshire, Ayr boss Naysmith praised the character of his side to get the victory over the line.

He said: “In terms of being at home, that was the first real connection between the team and the fans, which is important. If we keep getting those types of results, the connection will become stronger and stronger.

“At Livingston we showed character to win, Dunfermline should have arguably have beaten us, but today we’ve went ahead three times after conceding those goals and I think that shows traits of character from the team.

“The scenes at the end when we scored that late goal, we all got carried away in it.  It’s a special moment when you score those winners, and it’s equally as sickening when you are on the wrong side of it, but I’m delighted we got the result.”

United are straight back to action on Tuesday night as they travel to Galabank to face League Two basement club Annan Athletic in the KDM Evolution Trophy, with another away trip awaiting in the league on Saturday at Arbroath.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

Largs Thistle continued their impressive run of form in the Lowland League West with a 2-1 victory over Troon.

Stuart Davidson’s side built on their recent Scottish Cup success at Dunipace and midweek win over Cumnock by defeating the Seasiders, a result which took them second in the table.

A Will Sewell double, including a 53rd-minute penalty and late winner, ensured the Theesel would close the gap on leaders Kilwinning, despite going a goal behind early on.

Speaking to club media, Thistle boss Davidson said: “It was a really tough game against a good side, and we were right up against it from the start.

“My credit has to go to the boys who rolled their sleeves up and got themselves back in the game. It wasn’t the prettiest of games at times, but the character, the work rate, and the desire being shown by the team is fantastic.”

Stephen Swift’s Cumnock got themselves back on track following their midweek defeat to Largs with a 4-1 victory over Gretna 2008 at Townhead.

This latest victory comes one week after their Scottish Cup victory over the Raydale Park side, earning them a third-round tie with Championship side Arbroath.

Nock boss Swift said it was good for his side to be “more ruthless” and have the desire to defend their box better.

Elsewhere in the division, Auchinleck Talbot claimed a 1-0 victory over struggling Albion Rovers at Beechwood Park as table-toppers Kilwinning Rangers defeated Newton Stewart 3-1 away from home.

The West of Scotland League saw a thumping 6-0 victory for Irvine Meadow against top-end rivals Arthurlie in the Premier Division, as Beith Juniors were defeated 7-1 by Kilsyth Rangers in the Scottish Communities Cup.