BukyOHare Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 At 1 nil down, away from home, with the momentum and game going against you, you need your team to dig in, show some mental toughness and grind things out and to come away at worst still only one goal down going into the 2nd leg. This gives you the chance to turn the tie around at home next week. Whether that's a change of formation, substitutions or a combination of the two I don't know or care. You could see the game ebbing away in the second half at 1 nil. Sadly there was little fight from what I saw when we really needed it, to stand up and be counted when things were going against us. Too many not strong enough mentally on the night. The chance for most of them to really kick on in their careers and show what they could do on a big stage, in front of a decent crowd, to leave the pitch last night with no regrets. Did a combination of the occasion and not having Dipo overwhelm them? Despite starting the game well enough, I think overall it probably did. Was there any merit in having Dipo as a sub last night even if he was 50/50 to start? Even if he ends up being unused it might still have given the team some sort of lift. Too many if's, but's and maybe's. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUcal Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 There was a couple of guys near me screaming at McGinty all night for f**k all. I can't understand it, he was one of the few with pass marks. He's a championship centre half and I thought he did everything you would expect a championship CB to do perfectly well - as he has most of the season. The number of balls into the box we concede and the number of times an opponent is able to reach the byline is a mess. Fullbacks just aren't good enough. Going forward we looked slow and pretty clueless at times. We just looked so aimless without dipo. Hopefully we get a good showing next week. Can't see us turning it around obviously, but the team deserve a good crowd to see them off. Also, last chance to be on the old North Terrace. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 No one got pass marks for me. Utterly rancid. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxanne's man Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 13 minutes ago, AuAl said: Also, last chance to be on the old North Terrace. It'll take a wee while for it not being there for it to sink in Some Great Memories in the North Terrace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanayr1987 Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Just now, Roxanne's man said: It'll take a wee while for it not being there for it to sink in Some Great Memories in the North Terrace Only reason I’m going 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Problemo Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 4 minutes ago, Trogdor said: No one got pass marks for me. Utterly rancid. Yup, McGinty was better than most of the others but he was really poor at the third goal - or maybe it was the second. The one where Docherty set up Tiffoney. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shibuya Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Last night was a sneak preview of next season without Dipo. A lot of huffing and puffing and not much else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Personally I hadn’t heard any rumours about Dipo being out. I was standing in the queue outside Firhill when word started to go round and people seemed pretty stunned by and large - I overheard one guy saying he felt like just going home! Never felt the air go out of a balloon quite like that at a football match. I suspect it was too much for a group of players who probably know that they are a pretty ordinary bunch trying to be more than the sum of their parts. I can’t fault the attitude and work rate of the team for most of the season, but the performance last night plus the Falkirk and Queens Park games indicate there is a mental frailty about us. Not sure why we took a man out the midfield given it worked well against Partick in the recent 1-1 game, where we were the better team for long periods. Playing 2 wingers and 2 strikers who never score in a tough away match seemed a bit dubious from the outset. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
United1973 Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 2 minutes ago, No_Problemo said: Yup, McGinty was better than most of the others but he was really poor at the third goal - or maybe it was the second. The one where Docherty set up Tiffoney. Poor for first one also 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 1 minute ago, No_Problemo said: Yup, McGinty was better than most of the others but he was really poor at the third goal - or maybe it was the second. The one where Docherty set up Tiffoney. I wasn't particularly having a go at Big Sean. He was definitley one of the better ones. However, even with full backs not stopping crosses the centre half's need to be tracking runners. Carthorse Graham got numerous opportunities where he was totally unmarked. That's on the central pairing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanayr1987 Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 2 minutes ago, United1973 said: Poor for first one also That was reading 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Problemo Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Just now, Trogdor said: I wasn't particularly having a go at Big Sean. He was definitley one of the better ones. However, even with full backs not stopping crosses the centre half's need to be tracking runners. Carthorse Graham got numerous opportunities where he was totally unmarked. That's on the central pairing. I’m not really either tbf, he was probably our best player - just of a horrific bunch. He was also incredibly exposed and left one v one v Tiffoney constantly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxanne's man Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Let's be honest, this is more or less the same team that was battling relegation last year. (Musonda and Mullin being additions) so the result is not really a surprise However, I'm sure like many, I had a strange niggling belief that Ayr would do okay. It'd be alright on the night. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyrExile Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 9 hours ago, ryanayr1987 said: You missed ecrepont he has played rb better than Hewitt did tonight The exact same happened to Ecrepont the last time we played up there although not sure he was fully fit. Fitzpatrick is a very difficult player to stop and if he had an end product would be at a much higher level 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shibuya Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 15 minutes ago, Nelson said: Not sure why we took a man out the midfield given it worked well against Partick in the recent 1-1 game, where we were the better team for long periods. Playing 2 wingers and 2 strikers who never score in a tough away match seemed a bit dubious from the outset. Absolutely this. It's a two legged tie, not a must win cup final. You do not need to turn it in to a basketball game from the start, you're just asking for trouble with our weaknesses out wide. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 I did notice that Peter Murphy got Annan promoted to League One by despatching the catastrophically bald Jim Duffy's Clyde. That gives me a tiny bit of pleasure this morning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hursty Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Is this as deflated I've ever felt as an Ayr fan? Probably. Usually with defeats (even relegation etc) you get a bit of time to reflect then the next game comes round and its a clean slate. This one we have to wait a full week before they come back to put us out our misery 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyrExile Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 The timing of Dipo not being available is all very odd. Has a bid or something come in for him? He has taken a battering on a weekly basis and not missed a game yet after a two week rest is unavailable. Not sure one man makes a team but we haven't really played without him and saw what the others can do. Aside from his goals he keeps defenders busy and the ball more up that end. The Thistle forwards are very good for this level and would be difficult for most full backs to contain. Whilst their performances didn't look good i thought Reading and Hewitt put in a shift under hard circumstances. They really needed others further up the park to [;ay a part in stopping Partick getting the ball to their best players. Whilst the Thistle forwards are very good they played with a minimal midfield and their defence isn't the most confident. There were goals to be had but we never really troubled them and asked the question. Dipo was a big loss with this but McGuire isn't mobile enough and Mullin not in form currently either. Was expecting a defeat when i saw the team but hoped we could keep it competitive for the second leg. It was a good effort by the fans to make it up their in numbers when it was live on the bbc 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUFC 1910 Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Last night, without Dipo, I felt the only chance we had was to overload the midfield and defence and be aggressive in every confrontation. We went toe-to-toe with a better team. Partick we’re too strong, too quick and too clever. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eez-eh Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 I’m not making excuses for last night but I think it’s understandable if Bullen didn’t fancy playing McKenzie or Maguire up front on their own. Neither are lone strikers. Having the extra man in midfield might have helped a bit but it doesn’t excuse how ineffective the midfield was. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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