Ayr United found themselves 2-0 down early on against our local rivals in this West Sound Trophy match but a superb comeback in the second half saw United pull level with 2 goals in the last 10 minutes.
The match went to penalties and ex-Kilmarnock player Brian McLaughlin had the pleasure of blasting home the trophy winning penalty after Ayr keeper Ludovic Roy had saved a Killie effort.
A fantastic turnaround in a game where Ayr were second best for 70 minutes of the match, It was clear that Stevie Ferguson was short of match fitness, which can only be expected after a year out, because he was well off the pace for long periods. Killie were stronger and fitter than the teams that Ayr will face week in week out in Division 2. Ramsay made a big difference,
as did Kean - presumably Kean and Connolly will be the preferred
partnership for the season, but it's nice to have Ferguson's pace and enthusiasm and Brown's touches and finishing ability on the bench.
Connolly should be head and shoulders above Division 2 standard, and Kean should be looking for 20 goals this season.
Conway looked out of his depth, but he's only a young boy and for 75 minutes we didn't get a lot of change out of Killie. He didn't have a great game, but I wouldn't be too quick to judge. Don't forget that O'Neill and Cargill have still to come into the side. Smyth’s lack of concentration cost Ayr the second goal and he looked short on confidence all through the game. These are the games to make mistakes in, however, but too many more performances like that and his star will wane.
Still, great to beat Killie again. Although this is only a pre-season fixture, the fact that there was a cup at stake and a local derby (is there such a thing as a friendly in these matches) raises its status somewhat and still gives the victors blagging rights for the season.
Finally, with Killie asking for this fixture to be all ticket and taking 2,000 tickets they inly managed to actually sell 700. Its about time clubs were more realistic about crowds and make it easier to let the casual supporter PAY into a game without having to go to the trouble of buying a ticket beforehand.