Shankland is the ace in Ayr’s game of patience
CHAMPIONSHIP leaders Ayr United were forced to be patient against Beith in the Scottish Cup — before storming past their Junior opponents to march into the fourth round.
Almost 1,800 fans flocked to the game at Bellsdale Park but they had to wait more than an hour for the first goal, Lawrence Shankland scoring after some poor defending from the hosts.
Then, 11 minutes from time, Ayr’s star striker turned provider as he set up Ross Docherty to make it 2-0.
Veteran forward Michael Moffat wrapped up the scoring for Ian McCall’s side in the 88th minute when he flicked a volley past goalkeeper Stephen Grindlay.
‘Without being unkind to Beith, we could easily have scored five or six,’ said McCall.
‘It’s a cup tie and all you need to do is get into the next round, which we’ve done.’
While Beith struggled to create chances of their own in front of goal, they frustrated Ayr in the opening 45 minutes.
The visitors were shooting up Bellsdale’s notorious slope in that first half and struggled to get their natural rhythm going.
After the break, however, Ayr started to create chances and finally broke the deadlock after 64 minutes. Moffat’s cross wasn’t dealt with by the Beith defence and Shankland picked up the loose ball to rifle his shot into the net.
‘There’s no complaints,’ said Beith manager John Millar.
‘We can’t ask any more of the boys. They’re all knackered in the changing room, so they gave absolutely everything and that’s all we can ask.’