Ayr United 2 Accies 1: CIS League Cup 2nd Round: Tuesday 17 August 1999

Report by Donald Anderson

Accies carried one of the smallest away supports many of us have seen, especially for a cup game. This was a certain reaction to the mess against Queen of the South the previous Saturday. However, as recent Accies defeats go, this one was a lot more respectable, partly due to the return of Darren Henderson and probably due in part to the absence of the suspended Glynn Hurst.

Ayr had more possession and made numerous half chances, but Chris Reid - the rightful sponsor's Man of the Match - was equal to everything and kept Accies in it. It has to be said, though, that Ayr were far from overwhelming and really ought to be a bit disappointed with themselves. In turn, Accies didn't look the complete shambles I've heard so much about recently, but the long ball over the top for Steven McCormick to chase is a bit of a waste of time, given that my dad has a quicker turn of pace using his walking sticks.

As the game wore on, it seemed less likely that Ayr were going to break through, and the prospect of an upset looked quite likely as Darren Henderson latched onto a crossed ball as it came out at the left hand edge of the box, and volleyed home. Actually, he volleyed it into the ground and it bounced, with very un-Accies like fortune, over the perplexed goalkeeper. But they all count, and with 21 minutes left, we might well have held on.

Alas, a well struck low drive from Mickey Reynolds five minutes from the end, also from wide left, took a slight but significant deflection to at last find away past Reid at his left hand post. The injury time winner came from a cross from the right, but though credited to Alex Bone, the consensus from where we stood was "own goal" though nobody actually saw who got the last touch.

At the end, the team were given a bit of applause for having at least tightened up after the previous disaster and making more of a game of it. It was, I think, a respectable defeat, though Ayr didn't look particularly on song.

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