Ayr United let lead slip in defeat against St Johnstone

The Honest Men looked to be in the driving seat early in the Friday night fixture at Somerset Park before a late rally saw Simo Valakari's team claim a 4-2 win.

Goals in the first 15 minutes from Mark McKenzie and Jamie Murphy put the home side 2-0 up at the break.

Matthew Foulds pulled one back for the visitors just two minutes after the interval but United remained ahead until the final 15 minutes.

The game then flipped on its head as a Josh McPake double and late Kai Fotheringham effort saw St Johnstone head home with all three points.

“First half, I thought we were very good," Brown told Ayr United TV. "We had a desire to get after the ball but we had a desire to keep the ball as well.

“The two goals we score are brilliant, we are ruthless. We created a lot of chances with running often and unselfish movements as well. Defensively [we were] solid.

“We go in, team talk, make sure for the first 10-15 minutes we are solid at the back. Within two minutes we lose a very sloppy goal.

“A lot came down this left-hand side if I’m honest, too many easy crosses. It’s hard when the lads are there to deal with it all the time. You can do so much defensively but you need to be able to stop that.”

Brown said that Ayr's growing injury list, compared to the depth of squad their opponents had to call upon, proved pivotal in the match.

He added: “You can see the squad is depleting week after week. It’s hard when you are bringing in young ones as well.

“We had experience, but we wanted legs on the park because you can see the quality they have got on the bench.

“They bring on pace, power, players that have played in the Premiership. We’re bringing on 16 and 17-year-old kids.

“We are where we are. We are disappointed to lose four goals. That 45 minutes was disappointing - it was slow, nobody wanted to keep the ball, nobody led the team.”

Next up for Ayr is a trip to face Dunfermline on Saturday, December 20.