The Sunday Post (Newcastle)

The Honest Men’s Dipo is delivering, as he promised

- By Ewing Grahame SPORT@SUNDAYPOST.COM

Ayr United striker, Dipo Akinyemi, showed armchair fans what he’s all about on Friday night. He notched two of his side’s goals in their roller-coaster 3-2 win at Hamilton to keep The Honest Men on track to win promotion.

The Championsh­ip leaders have had to endure 45 years of hurt since Alex Stuart’s side was relegated in 1978.

They’ve remained outside the top flight ever since. But the Championsh­ip’s leading scorer insists that Lee Bullen’s league leaders can mix it with the big boys next season.

“Forty-five years? Wow!” Akinyemi grinned. “It would be great to make that sort of history, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves.

“The group of boys we have are absolutely amazing and, as long as they feed me, I’ll make sure I’ll eat it and try and score.

“I’ve got 13 goals now, and I’ve been told that three games without a goal is a goal drought for me now! I had to end that one, so Friday was good for me personally.

“Do we belong at the top end? Yes. We take it game by game, we know what our target is and what we are as a team.

“Hopefully, by the end of the season we’ll get to where we want to be.

“Of course, our belief is growing now but we won’t get too big-headed. Every game and every three points, however, takes us closer to promotion.”

Akinyemi’s goals have played a huge part in Ayr’s rise to the top, and he was delighted with his contributi­on at New Douglas Park.

“Three points, two goals, clear at the top of the table. It doesn’t get better than that, really,” admitted the 25-year-old.

“I only had two chances, so that’s not a bad strike rate!

“It was a tough game because Hamilton played very well. First half, we weren’t really on it but we were still one up.

“The gaffer told us we’ve got to be resilient and show why we are where we are.

“They came back at us twice, and then we had to graft and put ourselves through the gears to come out on top.

“It wasn’t our best but the three points is all that matters.”

Akinyemi failed to score in his first five outings following his summer move from Welling United, but he’s been prolific ever since.

“This move has been better than even I expected,” he said. “In the Premier Sports Cup group games, I was getting into positions but the ball just wasn’t going in. It was coming off the bar or the post.

“But I told people that, once I got one, the goals would come in bunches, and that’s what’s happened.”

 ?? ?? Dipo Akinyemi’s double had helped win the points at Hamilton
Dipo Akinyemi’s double had helped win the points at Hamilton

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