Ayr in a ‘horrible position’ as Caley take points north
Wighton (14, 59)
Barry Wilson had much to smile about as Inverness Caley Thistle recorded a victory that plunged Ayr to second bottom.
Goals from Dan Mackay and Shane Sutherland ended Caley’s six-game winless run and kept up their stunning record at Somerset Park, where they have lost only once in the past 17 years.
Coach Wilson, standing in for John Robertson at full-time, admitted: “It’s a huge three points. We played every bit as well on Wednesday when we lost to QOS, but today we got the breaks.
“It was very tough for both sides but we played the conditions slightly better. To go in at the break ahead was huge after playing into the wind. The early goal in the second half settled the nerves and it was great to see it out.
“We had to weather another storm in the last 10 or 15 minutes when Ayr changed to three at the back and caused us some problems, but we were resolute.”
Robbo rang the changes from midweek – Brad Mckay, Sean Welsh, James Keatings and Miles
Storey all dropped to the bench, with Daniel Devine, David Carson, Roddy Macgregor and Nikolay Todorov coming in.
Ayr were forced into a late change after former Bohemians striker Andre Wright suffered a groin injury on Friday. Michael Moffat, who celebrated his 36th birthday on Monday, took his place.
With the fierce elements at their back, Ayr forced a series of early corners and called Mark Ridgers into action after only five minutes to save a wind-assisted effort from Joe Chalmers.
Home keeper Viljami Sinisalo then launched a huge clearance that took off in the wind and bounced on the top of opposite number Ridgers’ net as he anxiously back-pedalled.
Caley found it hard against the teeth of the wind, but Sutherland underlined they still carried a threat when he turned quickly in the box and fired in a low shot, but it was straight at Sinisalo.
Ayr thought they had broken the deadlock after 25 minutes when Michael Miller rose at the back post to head home a cross from Tom Walsh. But their celebrations were cut short when Miller was pulled up for a push.
Caley showed them how it was done with a stunning goal six minutes later. Todorov started the quick break by finding Sutherland, who, in turn, played in Mackay to strike a low shot beyond Sinisalo.
Ayr badly needed something before the interval, but they were defied by Ridgers just when they looked like getting back level. Mccowan seemed set to score when he got his head to a Walsh cross, but the keeper responded with a fine save.
Caley were determined to make full use of the elements at their back in the second half and it took them only nine minutes to strike.
Todorov had a shot blocked and Sutherland pounced to steer the loose ball past Sinisalo for a killer second goal.
Sinisalo then spilled a Scott Allardice free-kick, but Caley couldn’t cash in before he redeemed with a great save from a Robbie Deas header.
Ayr kept pressing and sub Mark Mckenzie spun on to a cross from Walsh, but saw his effort fly wide.
Ridgers saved well from Walsh as Ayr threw caution to the wind, but always looked vulnerable on the break as Caley attacked with pace.
Ayr boss Mark Kerr admitted: “We are now in a horrible position and we need to get out of it.
“Up to the disallowed goal, I felt we were on top and comfortable. I was shocked to be behind at the interval after we have five or six chances to get ahead.
“It’s a sickener. This league is so tight that the position we are now in is unbelievable and we need to do better. We missed Andre Wright 100%. We fought so hard to bring in a No 9 and losing him killed us a bit.”
ALLOA 1
A double from debutant frontman Craig Wighton helped Dunfermline regain second spot in the Championship, the Pars leapfrogging Fife rivals Raith Rovers.
Pars manager Stevie Crawford was clearly delighted afterwards, singling out not only Wighton but also highlighting the contribution of midfielder Fraser Murray in the build-up to the goals.
“I’’m pleased for Craig getting on the scoresheet,” said Crawford. “It’s a great start for him, but he’ll be first to admit that both goals came from great assists from Fraser.
“Looking at the other results, its been a good weekend for us.”
Having won just one of their last six games, Dunfermline were by far the dominant side during the bulk of the first half.
Recent loan signing from Crystal Palace, Scott Banks, looked particularly impressive with some driving runs from the right side of midfield.
Banks came close to scoring early on with a curling shot which slipped narrowly wide, but it was fellow-loanee Wighton, who recently arrived at the club from Hearts, who broke the deadlock after 14 minutes.
Murray’s speculative long-range effort didn’t appear sufficiently powerful to cause Neil Parry any discomfort, but Wighton managed to produce a subtle touch which was sufficient to steer the ball in.
With Innes Cameron ploughing a lone furrow up front, the Wasps had created little in the way of goal attempts throughout a onesided first half, but they sprung into life as the interval approached as Lucas Williamson’s powerful shot was saved superbly by Owain Fon Williams. However, the ball broke to Kevin Cawley, who fired past the Pars keeper.
Wighton recorded his second of the afternoon just before the hour, his glancing header from Murray’s cross deceiving Parry for what proved to be the winning goal.
Alloa boss Peter Grant was critical of referee Steven Reid in the aftermath, although he was happy with his team’s performance.
“I was chuffed to bits for the boys,” he said. “I thought they were excellent and created plenty of chances, but some horrible decisions went against us.
“It’s fair to say that Stevie Crawford will be sleeping well after that.”