AYR UNITED 4 Walsh (6), Mccowan (30, 69), Muirhead (pen. 61) ALLOA 1 Trouten (11)
Mark Kerr saluted Ayr as they ended a six-game winless run to climb to fifth and send Alloa to bottom spot.
A double from Luke Mccowan and strikes from Tom Walsh and Aaron Muirhead swept Kerr’s men to their biggest victory of the season.
Alan Trouten hit a stunning 50-yard free-kick to cancel out Walsh’s early effort but the Wasps were blown away by Ayr’s finishing.
Kerr said: “It was brilliant to get that team on the pitch and to see them score four goals.
“Luke’s finishes were great while Tom is one of my biggest signings of the season.
“He’s had his injury problems but is now back looking sharp again.
“Hopefully I can keep the team driving on.”
The action was fast and furious from the start with Mccowan shooting straight at Neil Parry before Ayr struck the opening blow after six minutes.
A corner was only half cleared and the ball landed perfectly for Walsh who rifled a low shot into the corner.
It took the visitors four minutes to respond in wonderful fashion with Trouten catching out his old team with a stunning free-kick from just over the halfway line.
Debut striker Andre Wright looked to be through on goal as Ayr sought to regain the lead but his progress was halted by Andy Graham and Neil Parry.
The home side were back in front on the half-hour.
A Walsh cross found its way to Mccowan who took a touch before curling a sublime effort past the helpless Parry and into the net.
On-loan Ipswich defender Corrie Ndaba tried to give Ayr a dream start to the secondhalf with a good run and shot but Parry was untroubled as the ball hit the side net.
A third goal came in the 61st minute. Steven Hetherington brought down Michael Miller for a stonewall penalty which Muirhead thundered past Parry who went the wrong way.
Ayr weren’t finished and Mccowan rounded off excellent work by Walsh to fire Ayr’s fourth.
The youngster then came close to his hattrick when he beat Parry to a Michael Moffat flick but fired wide of an inviting goal.
Wasps boss Peter Grant said: “The goals we lost were criminal and basics are killing us.
“Trouten’s goal showed the quality he has which he has proved throughout his career.”