Forfar Athletic were dealt a harsh lesson on Tuesday night as Ayr United comfortably defeated them 3-0 at Somerset Park in the Premier Sports Cup.
Dom Thomas, George Oakley and Curtis Main were all on the scoresheet for the hosts as they moved to top of the group.
This was our first visit to Somerset Park in over seven and a half years, Matthew Aitken’s double and trialist Jordan Hornby’s free kick secured a comeback 3-2 victory in December 2017.
The man in charge for that game was also the same in charge for this one as Jim Weir made five changes from the team that were narrowly defeated by St Mirren seven days ago; Stuart Morrison suspended while McCallum, Mailer, Richardson and Lorimer were all named on the bench.
Neil Stafford was between the sticks as Matty Allan was in the centre of defence with Nathan Cannon, Kieran Inglis and Ross MacLean all in the midfield.
There was former Forfar representation in the home ranks with striker turned midfielder Mark McKenzie sporting the armband for the evening.
Just two minutes the 35 away supporters found their side behind when Dom Thomas was slipped through on goal and he rounded Stafford before slotting into the empty net.
George Oakley blasted wide after just five minutes as Ayr looked keen to solidify their chances of securing progression to the next round of the tournament.
Ayr were comfortable to keep the ball for large periods of play but built themselves an opportunity in the 15th minute as a cross wasn’t cleared with Ethan Walker rifling just over the bar.
The Loons’ first chance of the game came three minutes later as Nathan Cannon’s cross found Ross MacLean but the winger couldn’t keep his header down.
A curling strike from Jude Bonner forced a good save from Stafford but he was powerless to stop George Oakley’s powerful strike just after the half hour mark to double Ayr’s lead.
Just two minutes after their second, Ayr had their third, a free kick into the box caused problems and was nodded back into the danger zone for Curtis Main who acrobatically sent the ball into the bottom corner.
Mark McKenzie, who made four appearances for us on loan from the Honest Men in 2019/20 before the pandemic hit, tried his luck with an effort just before the break but couldn’t find the target.
Both sides made changes at half time with Martin Rennie replaced by Angus Mailer as the Loons changed shape in an effort to stem the tide.
Ayr kept threatening as Liam Dick saw his attempt blocked before a smart attacking move ended with Oakley sending a weak shot into the arms of Stafford.
Matty Allan was cautioned ten minutes into the second half as he attempted to stop George Oakley breaking away.
The hosts’ Ethan Walker saw himself booked when he tried to round Stafford before falling to the ground theatrically, referee Lloyd Wilson wasn’t fooled by this.
Jim Weir made a double change on the hour mark when Richardson and Lemon came on for Cannon and Dolzanski.
Curtis Main looked to grab his second of the evening but saw his two shots in quick succession, high, wide and not at all handsome.
Ayr thought they had a fourth in the 72nd minute as a low cross was originally sclaffed by Lucas McRoberts before Walker stroked into the net only for it to be ruled out for offside.
In the aftermath of the disallowed goal, Mark Whatley and Lewis Lorimer replaced Chris Scott and Craig Slater, with Allan donning the captain’s armband.
Scott Shepherd found himself in the book late on after a mistimed challenge on Scott McMann in the last notable action of the game.
The game ended with nobody carving out any real chances while it was confirmed that the Loons can only finish fourth in the group ahead of Saturday’s final game with Arbroath, who can potentially finish as one of the best runners up depending on results.
Stafford, Martin, Scott (Lorimer 72), Allan, Dolzanski (Lemon 61), MacLean, Slater (Whatley 72), Shepherd, Rennie (Mailer 46), Inglis, Cannon (Richardson 61)
Sub not used: McCallum
