Marr 6 - 19 Ayr: Unbeaten home record goes

Marr defended ferociously and made light of having to play 50 minutes one man down following Kyle Hatherell's first-half red card, but an under-strength Ayr still proved too strong for them in this derby match.

Marr head coach Craig Redpath said: 'We re-group and move on.' Picture: Gary Hutchison/SNS

The first half had been even, the sides tied at 6-6, when, on the half hour, Hatherell was sent off for a tip tackle. Scott Lyle scored his third penalty, against two from Colin Sturgeon, and Ayr led at the break.

The second half was virtual one-way traffic but it took Ayr until the final eight minutes to make their advantage pay. A penalty try, after Marr illegally halted an advancing Ayr five-metre scrum, gave the champions breathing space, before Lyle’s fourth penalty made the game safe with five minutes left.

So, Marr surrender their long unbeaten home record. “We re-group and move on.” said coach Craig Redpath.

Ayr coach Calum Forrester said it was “a proper derby, in front of a great crowd”, and praised his stand-in youngsters. “We had two teenagers at half-back and that we won shows the depth of our squad, but credit Marr for making us work for it.”