Dundee Utd 14s v Academy 14s
It’s hard to tell if it was the early start or the late arrival at St Andrews (due to travel delays) but the Academy 14s took until the third period to fully get going and dominate that period. Unfortunately a combination of giving possession away too often and some individual errors meant that Ayr lost goals in the first two periods and they were always playing catch up.
However there were several positives to be taken from the game, mainly Ally Boyle’s first competitive goal for Ayr, some great saves by the impressive Taylor Davidson and the industrious central midfield paring of Will Graham (pictured) and Callum Ogston.
The defensive quartet of Stewart Gray, Fraser Patterson, Lyall Cameron and Dylan Robb were given a hard time by the strong and quick front line of Dundee United but they would have learned a lot from the challenge.
Ayr’s front two of Jamie Martin and Leon Murphy and subsequently Thomas Dunlop worked tirelessly throughout the game but would have hoped for better service and a few more breaks in front of goal. The wide men Jackson Sivewright and Graeme Swailes also had limited service throughout the game so were only able to create a handful of chances for the front men.
The prelude to Ayr’s goal saw a good passing move set up Leon Murphy who smashed a 25 yard effort at goal which was just tipped over by the Dundee Utd keeper. The resultant corner was swung in and with Dundee Utd unable to clear their lines Ally Boyle nipped in at the back post to smash the ball high into the net.
After the game, Head Coach Jack Martin commented that “it was a much improved performance from previous weeks and the team is nearly there in all round terms. I also thought that the midfield played well throughout the game”. The Dundee United coaches also complemented the Ayr boys on the way they played from the back and encouraged them to stick with it. It is now up to the boys to take this on board and improve their performance further when they take on their Ayrshire neighbours next week.
