Ayr feel the benefits of cup campaign

“That victory was down to our British & Irish Cup campaign – we now know how to play for the entire 80 minutes. We simply out-lasted County and were fitter in the final quarter,” he said.

It was the visitors who had started the stronger, Danny Gilmour storming through to put them ahead after 12 minutes, Stuart Edwards converting. Five minutes later, Robbie Colhoun got Ayr back in the game with an unconverted try, with Robbie Fergusson kicking them in front in 25 minutes after Rob McAlpine was sin-binned.

An Edwards penalty put the visitors 10-8 ahead after 49 minutes, but Ayr responded quickly, with Grant Anderson crashing over in the corner.

Ayr’s 13-10 lead was wiped out by another Edwards penalty in 58 minutes as the match came down to the last quarter.

Ayr had Haydn Wisnewski sin-binned in 66 minutes but the home team’s response forced a close-range ruck from which Fergusson scampered home for a try he was unable to covert.

The force was with Ayr and when the County pack collapsed a scrum on their own line for the fourth time, referee Gary Gordon made good his threat and awarded the penalty try which Fergusson converted with the final kick of the game to give Ayr a bonus-point win.

Scorers: Ayr – Tries: Colhoun, Anderson, Fergusson, Penalty try. Con: Fergusson. Pen: Fergusson. Stirling County – Try: Gilmour. Con: Edwards. Pens: Edwards (2).

Ayr: G Anderson; R Dalgleish, R Curle, M Stewart, C Taylor; R Fergusson, AJ MacFarlane; G Sykes, S Fenwick, A Kelly, S Sutherland, C White, A Dunlop, R Colhoun, J Willis. Replacements used: H Wisnewski, G Fisken, M McConnell, A Wilson.

Stirling County: C Robertson; G Lindsay, D Gilmour, B Addison, R Aitken; S Edwards, S Kennedy; M McDonald, A Moffat, G Mountford, C Deacons, R McAlpine, S Swindall, T Clarke, B Bersanti. Replacements used: C Hutton, A Ashe, R Boswell, M Lamb.

Referee: G Gordon.