Ayr Utd 1 Queen’s Park 2 – Character In comeback

QUEEN’S PARK showed character and quality to overcome Ayr United at stormy Somerset Park.

Callum Smith’s first goal for the club was cancelled out by Ben Dempsey with ten minutes to play before substitute Michael Ruth scored his second in two games to secure three valuable points in the William Hill Championship.

Ruth was one of the changes made by Sean Crighton – who restored Callum Smith and Nikolay Todorov to the starting line-up, with Roddy Macgregor out of the matchday squad and Scott Martin taking a deeper midfield role from Saturday.

The changes paid dividends in the end too, but first the Spiders had to grind it out in some horrible conditions for both sides.

Swirling wind and torrential rain made the pitch slippery, but the Somerset Park surface held up well despite the deluge.

A deflected drive from Kyle Ure was the first opening of the game after six minutes, and threatened to wrong-foot Cal Ferrie, but he recovered to see it spin wide of his post.

The Spiders had a better effort of their own when Aidan Connolly’s net-bound strike from the right was beaten out for a corner by Max Thompson.

The set-piece found Callum Smith at the back post and he deliberated over an acrobatic effort, but fed out to Shiels. The defender laid in Scott Martin who was tripped on the corner of the area but Colin Steven was not for giving a penalty.

Nor was he moved two minutes later when Connolly was tugged back in the box but stayed on his feet to chase the ball that ran out for a Queen’s throw.

The visitors’ next chance came from a Connolly free-kick after Dorzd was fouled shortly before the half-hour mark – and the player of the month floated the set-piece just wide.

It had Thompson rooted to the spot and was enough to lift the away support off their feet, but the home support were lifted themselves by a series of shots from outside the area ten minutes from the break – each repelled by the head, bodies or legs of the Spiders.

The wind and rain eased during the interval, but it was the home side who stormed into the second half – a lot brighter than they had appeared in the first.

That said, Queen’s saw it off and had the first chance when a Drozd cross was met for a volley by Callum Smith after the striker had been picked out by a brilliant Scott Martin reverse pass. The ball fell kindly, but in the slippery conditions it wasn’t the best connection for the Spiders man.

Better was to follow not long afterwards.

Ayr came very close to the opener with a slick piece of skill by Anton Dowds on 55 minutes, beating Matty Shiels on the by-line, but Euan Murray swept up and cleared the danger.

Three minutes later the Spiders were ahead, a ball from the left by Henry Fieldson was prodded high into the net by Callum Smith.

On balance of play, if one team deserved the lead, it was the Spiders.

The away fans were buoyant but hearts were in mouths just after the hour when a cross from Ayr’s right caught the wind and hung in the air above Callum Ferrie’s six-yard box. The keeper came and collected – at the second attempt – to avert the danger and maintain the visitors’ lead.

There was a bigger let-off with 15 minutes to go – just after Nikolay Todorov had been replaced by weekend hero Michael Ruth. Aidan Connolly did fantastically well to get goal-side and protect the goal in a stramash as Shaun Want fired high over the bar from ten yards out.

But Ayr would get their goal with ten minutes left.

The Spiders switched to a back three and added Ricki Lamie to the fray as they had done in Saturday’s win over Airdrie but the equaliser came as substitute Ben Dempsey arrowed a low drive into the corner of Ferrie’s net from the edge of the area.

Level pegging only lasted six minutes, when Shiels – shifted wide in another formation change –  turned on the style, cutting in from the left side with a terrific run and sliding a ball across the goal that was tapped in by substitute Ruth.

It moved Queen’s level with the Honest Men in the table – with a second meeting to come between the sides at The city Stadium on Saturday.