Ayr United vs Queen of the South - 2-1 to the Honest Men

The Honest men went into the Scottish Championship clash looking to continue their unbeaten run at home since Duffy took interim then full time charge last month.

However, it looked like that two game run might be in danger when the away side took the lead in the second half through Lee Connelly.

However, the Honest Men rallied and won a penalty, when James Maxwell was fouled in the box by Queens’ Josh Debayo.

The resulting spot kick was put away by Aaron Muirhead before Maxwell scored a late winner for Ayr to extend their impressive home run to three matches unbeaten.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Duffy said: “Sometimes players get a little bit uptight at home because the expectations are a bit higher, so at times they can try and force things.

“So, I think the better results you have at home then the more the players look forward to playing there rather than being nervous.

“That is the key thing, that the players are not anxious playing at home, they can manage to relax and enjoy the atmosphere.

“If they do that then they can express themselves on the pitch.

“But that is only the first quarter gone, we have only had four or five home games, so you have go to do that over the course of the whole season really.”

Someone who expressed himself expertly at the weekend was Maxwell as he won the spot kick and picked up a goal in the victory, but Duffy said he should have had been on the scoresheet twice.

He said: “He got another goal which unfairly was chopped off, I did not see any aspect of offside or anything else. But anyway he made a real positive impact on the game in terms of the creativity side of it in the final third.

“He had good opportunities to influence the game and he certainly did that by winning the penalty and scoring the winner.

“So, Maxwell, in terms of being a creative spark, he was definitely the most influential player in the team at the weekend.”