BELL BRINGS AYR GLORY WHILE KETTLEWELL SLAMS COUNTY
ROSS COUNTY suffered the ignominy of becoming the first Premiership club to be eliminated from this year’s Scottish Cup when they came off second best against Ayr at Somerset Park.
The Highlanders had no complaints about the outcome, having created little during the game and nothing at all in the second half.
Co-manager Stuart Kettlewell admitted that County had been the architects of their own downfall, claiming that his players approached this tie as if they merely had to turn up in order to claim a place in the last 16.
They were disabused of that notion here and, with bottom club Hearts visiting Dingwall on Wednesday, they will need to shake themselves out of this torpor.
‘It’s a sore one but we got what we deserved from the game — and the players have been told that in no uncertain terms,’ said Kettlewell.
‘I can’t stand here and say that we had so much more ball of the ball in the second half that we deserved to get a draw or even win the game.
‘Ayr deserved to go into the next round of the cup and most of that comes from our body language and how we approached the game.
‘From the initial stages, we were miles off what we expect and what we have seen in the last two years we have been doing the job.
‘We will give ourselves a major problem if we approach games like that again.
‘We knew all the pitfalls this game could throw up — a Premiership team against a Championship team. If you don’t approach it right, you will get what you deserve.
‘It certainly looked like complacency to me. I didn’t see an energy about our team, I didn’t see an aggression.
‘They get their noses in front through another set-play, which is really painful for us to take.
‘It needs to be a wake-up call. We may fall short in
our quality but we can’t in our commitment.’
County ought to have drawn first blood early on when Harry Paton’s perfectly-weighted chip released Lee Erwin but the striker drove straight at advancing goalkeeper Ross Doohan from 10 yards.
The visitors dominated the opening stages but the home side gradually found their way into the contest.
Ayr player-manager Mark Kerr prompted and probed in midfield and 21-year-old Irish striker Aaron Drinan, signed on loan from Ipswich Town on Friday, was causing problems with his movement and muscularity.
Ayr’s passing was impressive but the breakthrough came from a set-piece as Stephen Kelly whipped in a corner and captain Steven Bell charged in to head home — unmarked — from six yards.
Erwin then created space for himself 20 yards out but Doohan foiled him again, diving low to his left to beat away his shot.
At the other end, Dirnan squandered a great one-one-one opportunity, firing weakly at Nathan Baxter.
County sent on strikers Billy Mckay and Brian Graham just before the hour in an attempt to haul themselves back into contention but they failed to test Doohan.
Kerr, now 37, was still going strong at the final whistle and he was thrilled for his players.
‘I don’t even know if we deserved it or not — I was too busy running about and chasing the ball!’ he said. ‘But we knew they would come at us early on and we weathered that and got into the game.
‘They had a lot of possession but, just like our last win at Dunfermline, it always looked more likely that we would make it 2-0 than they would make it 1-1.’