The Honest Men were made to rue their missed chances in a 0-0 goalless draw in their season opener vs Arbroath.

Manager Lee Bullen went for a traditional 4-4-2 formation, opting to go with Sam Ashford and Jayden Mitchell-Lawson in the wide areas and it almost paid off for them early on.

Ashford went close to opening the scoring twice in the early stages of the game with Fraser Bryden and Dipo Akinyemi also going close in what was a blistering opening from the home side.

Mitchell-Lawson was causing Arbroath all sorts of problems down the Ayr left and was lively throughout the first half. A host of changes from Dick Campbell at the interval helped in The Smokies attempt to stem the flow of Ayr’s attacks.

The substitutions had the desired effect as Mitchell-Lawson was much quieter in the second-half of the game.

Ayr continued to dominate the ball but weren’t able to fashion out the chances they had in the first-half.

A late red card for Arbroath skipper, Thomas O’Brien set the scene for a big Ayr finish, but that failed to materialize.

After the game Jayden Mitchell-Lawson spoke to Black & White TV, saying: “I thought the team today played unbelievably well.in the first and second half and it was just that final bit that was lacking.

“I have said it before I think it will come and today I think we dominated the game from start to finish.”

While it was a dominant performance, boss Lee Bullen admitted there is still some frustration saying, “There is frustration because there is so many green shoots of positivity.

“The biggest pat on the back that we can take from that is that a manager of Dick’s experience is having to make three substitutes at half-time to try and get his team back in the game.

“Our first-half was excellent, yes we created so many chances and should have scored a goal but unfortunately it didn’t come.

“Credit to our boys though it’s our first point of the season and a great clean sheet against a tough team.”