Luke: I can be the new Forrest
Bright prospect McCowan bids to fill Al’s boots
AYR UNITED....................................... 1 STRANRAER....................................... 1 ( AYR WIN 6- 5 ON PENALTIES)
Cool hand Luke McCowan helped drag Ayr back from the Betfred Cup brink – then set his sights on filling the boots of Alan Forrest.
United’s star Academy graduate departed for Livingston in the summer – and has made a flying start with eight goals for the Lions.
Now McCowan, whose goal here put Ayr on their way to a spot kick win, wants to be the man putting bums on seats when fans eventually return.
He said: “Last year was my breathrough season and it got stopped through Covid.
“I’ve only played something like 25 games so I’m still learning.
“I got the red card against Queen of the South at the start of this season and it was a case of me reacting to something.
“But these are the things you learn from and move on.
“Alan was a top player here and I would hope to follow him and do as well as he did.
“If I can step into his shoes and win games from nothing and get results the way he did, then I’ll be doing alright.
“He’s someone I look to for inspiration.”
Ayr made hard work of topping Group F as they came from behind following Darryl Duffy’s early goal.
The same player then missed a 10th minute penalty that would have given United a mountain to climb.
But McCowan showed great composure just seconds after the restart to round former Ayr keeper Greg Fleming and level the game.
However, it was The Blues who could have won it with both Duffy and Thomas Orr fluffing great chances to seal the tie in normal time.
Ayr would go on to win 6- 5 in the sudden death shootout with Orr sending the vital kick wide.
And that sets up a second round trip to face Forrest and former Ayr skipper Nicky Devlin at Livvy.
McCowan revealed: “We felt confident about the penalties having practiced during the Betfred games.
“But going up against Greg made it more difficult as he’s a bit of a legend at Ayr for saving them.
“There was a wee bit of nerves there because of that.
“But hopefully this win gives us a bit of momentum and takes us nicely into Dundee next week.”
In truth, Ayr will have to up their game significantly if they are to trade blows with the best the Championship has to offer.
And boss Mark Kerr did not mince his words despite overseeing progress into the last 16.
He said: “People need to start realising we have goals that we need to meet.
“The club has been great with the boys and they’ve been brought in to do a job but if it’s unacceptable I’ll say so.
“I won’t accept it – I never did it as a player and it’s not like I’m asking for something that I didn’t do as a player myself.
“The frustrating thing is that we’re not asking for something out of the ordinary – just do your job properly.
“If you’re a winger... get by people, put the ball in the box and pick the right options.
“If you’re a defender... go and be aggressive, win the ball and make tackles - don’t stand off people.
“It’s nothing special but it needs to be done better and I genuinely mean that. “If not, there will be changes.” Blues boss Stevie Farrell said: “I thought we were great.
“If we score our penalty in the first half, I don’t see a way back for Ayr because they never carved us open all day.”
Stranraer veteran Duffy revealed: “That’s the first time in 20 years I’ve missed the target with a penalty.
“I couldn’t believe it – the first time ever and what a time to do it.
“I’m really confident with penalties for that reason so it’s really disappointing because I thought we deserved more from the game.”