RISING star Dylan Watret said it felt 'amazing' to help Ayr United back to winning ways in the Championship at the weekend after hitting a second-half wonder strike to secure his side the three points.

The teenage right-back thundered in a beauty with 20 minutes left on the clock against Airdrie on Saturday and revelled in the moment in front of the away end.

Watret, who also celebrated making his international debut earlier this month after appearing for Scotland under-19s in a 2-1 friendly win in Hungary, was praised by manager Scott Brown following the vital 1-0 victory.

And the 18-year-old told the club's media team that it was crucial to get back on track in the league after some disappointing results in October.

(Image: Gary Bradley) Watret said: "It feels amazing. It was a game we thought was probably going to end 0-0, I didn't think we looked like conceding out there but obviously the goal helped us through.

"It was good, I enjoyed it.

"I just saw the ball come into the box and it came out to the edge and I just had to put my laces through it, happily it went top bins.

"It made it an even more special moment in front of the travelling fans. They're always behind us and they help us so much when they come away.

"We've struggled a bit in the past couple of games, we had a good game against Livi but it's good to get the three points and get back up towards the top of the table."

He added: "I thought we were a bit hard done by at Livi, we performed so well and to not get even a point or three points out of that was a hard one to take.

"We trained well, came here, and it was a good, hard-fought win."

Ayr are currently third in the Championship standings, five points behind leaders Falkirk, who beat rivals Dunfermline 2-1.

Having fallen to defeat against the table-toppers at the beginning of the month and dropped points against Livingston, boss Brown was pleased to watch his team beat the league's bottom side.

(Image: Gary Bradley) He said: "It was always going to be hard. Rhys [McCabe, Airdrie manager] organises his team really well, they have some fantastic players.

"I thought in the first half especially we had a lot of chances, we could've been a bit more cute in the final third with our finishing; there were 10 shots with one on target, a 10 per cent ratio for us which is not good enough but in the second half I thought we had the legs.

"The subs that came on showed the strength in depth throughout the whole squad and I'm just delighted for the wee man [Watret] to get his goal, not just his goal but his overall performance was exceptional."

Brown added: "He [Watret] is one of the young lads that has a very good understanding of the football game.

"He knows when to get up the park, he knows when to sit in and calm the pace of the game down as well, which is great for somebody that young.

"The thing for me is he wants to learn, he wants to get better, he wants to get fitter and stronger, and we're willing to help him out as much as we possibly can and keep him here for as long as we possibly can."

 

Ayr have been drawn at home to Morton in the third round of the Scottish Cup, with the tie to be played on the weekend of November 30.

Scott Brown's side travel to Stark's Park on Friday night for a 7.45pm kick-off against Raith Rovers, with the match set to be shown live on BBC Scotland.