Ayr show how to win ugly on road
Bonus point victory secured after gritty comeback
Ayr 1st XV secured a massive road win on Saturday at Boroughmuir in a game that hung in the balance from start to finish.
Despite trailing at half- time, Ayr set up their stall defensively after the break and held the hosts scoreless to win 22- 16.
A harsh wind plagued proceedings resulting in an unsavoury error count, but Head Coach Stuart Fenwick was proud of how his men dogged out a result.
He said: “It wasn’t pretty, but it was a bonus- point win away from home, so we will take the positives from that.
“It is a tough place to win in a very unknown league, but the young boys involved showed character to get a result in a game that could have gone either way.”
The hosts drew first blood with a routine penalty, but Ayr were first to cross the whitewash.
Fly- half Andy Morrison floated through an elusive tackle to trot up the field before drawing the last man and finding Harry Lynch with a onehanded offload.
The centre, who was at the heart of the majority of Ayr’s goforward in the fixture, cantered clear.
Boroughmuir hit back with two tries to lead 13- 5 and stretched further clear with a penalty.
But that was as good as it got as Ayr mounted a charge with the half coming to a close.
Ayr’s control was generated from the set- piece and the scrum punished Boroughmuir with Stuart Collier orchestrating the line- out superbly.
Zac Howard was to be the next scorer when the ball was shipped wide for the winger to dive clear through contact.
Matt Donaldson pounced on a Boroughmuir error to dive clear unscathed and score before Jamie Bova nailed the conversion for a 17- 16 lead.
James Pinkerton started and finished the move that led to Ayr’s final score as he dotted down out wide to cross.
On Sunday Ayr Ladies’ season woes culminated in a heavy defeat to Watsonians. A squad depleted by injury travelled to the capital but came off second best in a 142- 0 defeat. This weekend they welcome Cartha Queens Park in a dogfight for relegation safety. Kick off 2pm.