It Saint the time to panic
Gaffer shrugs off boos over early Cup exit
The boos rung out as St Johnstone fell at the first hurdle despite edging past Ayr.
The margin of victory left them third in Group F – behind leaders Annan Athletic and secondplaced Queen of the South.
Despite the setback, Saints boss Callum Davidson is confident his side will be ready for their league opener against Hibs.
He insisted: “We’ll get some of the long-term injuries back by the end of August. It is all looking upwards.
“The League Cup is a hard one. We finished late in the season and it was getting the right balance between time off and training.
“We haven’t lost a game but lost two penalty shoot-outs. If we won those we’d probably be through. It was small margins but the performance level has to be better.
“I was really pleased with the first half. We moved the ball really quickly, got into good areas with crosses and chances. I thought our shape was quite good but could be better in certain areas.
“But I was really disappointed with the second half. We moved it really slowly.”
Graham Carey gave Davidson the start he wanted when he volleyed Saints ahead.
They created a number of decent chances in a dominant first-half display but were unable to put the tie beyond Ayr’s reach. Andrew Considine had a snapshot from close range that Aidan McAdams beat away while the Ayr keeper also produced a one-handed save to deny Melker Hallberg.
Stevie May was forced to play despite feeling ill with Theo Blair injured and there was a lack of cutting edge about St Johnstone in the final third.
It was the Championship side who enjoyed the better of the second period as they looked to get back into the game.
Irish winger Daire O’Connor came close with two efforts from the edge of the box.
There was no real sense of urgency in front of goal from Davidson’s men, even when their progression in the tournament depended on scoring enough to leapfrog Queen of the South.
Ayr boss Lee Bul len was satisf ied with their level of performance and has everything now primed for the league game against Arbroath.
“We are ready now,” he said. “The aim of pre- season was to get through it without any injuries. We have a fully-fit squad which is brilliant for us. Ideally we would like another few additions in the more advanced areas of the pitch.
“You can be doom and gloom when you only look at results and I get that.
“We have so many new faces and it does take time to bond but the big picture was all about being ready for Arbroath and we are in a good position.”