Ayr 1 - 1 Alloa: Draw enough for Wasps to beat drop

Alloa Athletic celebrated safety after a well-taken strike from Connor Shields earned them the point they required to climb above Queen of the South and condemn the Doonhamers to the relegation play-offs.
Lawrence Shankland scored for Ayr. Pic: SNS/Ross MacDonaldLawrence Shankland scored for Ayr. Pic: SNS/Ross MacDonald
Lawrence Shankland scored for Ayr. Pic: SNS/Ross MacDonald

An equaliser by Lawrence Shankland, his 34th goal of the season, was not enough for Ayr to retain third spot and means they will now entertain Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the first leg of the promotion play-offs on Tuesday evening.

Jim Goodwin, the proud manager of the Wasps, was ecstatic at full-time. He maintained: “It’s a fantastic day and all that hard work we put in over the last ten months has paid off.

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“It was probably the longest half of football I have experienced in my career but the most satisfying.

“It was very emotional in there, the boys are over the moon to be part of the Championship again next season. I’m delighted for everyone within the club from boardroom to players, supporters and all those for sticking with us.

“Everyone had written us off before a ball was kicked, we were bottom of every prediction table. The players deserve every credit for ramming that down people’s throats and proving that we are more than capable of being in this league.

“I knew if I could get the right loan players in to add to the quality we already have, I genuinely believed we had as good a squad as anyone.”

Alloa spurned gilt-edged opportunities before taking the lead in 33 minutes when on-loan Sunderland striker Shields fired a superb shot into the bottom corner. However, Ayr took only four minutes to respond when Shankland volleyed home a cross from Nicky Cadden.

Ayr boss Ian McCall claimed: “That was two teams who were tipped for ninth and tenth at the start of the season and we finished fourth.

“I thought a draw was fair, their boy had a great chance in the first-half. Alloa are celebrating today and rightly so, but the bottom line is if you talk about clubs who have over-achieved, it’s our club who has over-achieved more than any other in Scotland and I am very proud of them.”