Falkirk 0 - 0 Ayr United: Bairn supremacy, but no win

THE well-known Danish brewers don’t do frustrating football, but if they did this would be the perfect 90 minutes for their adverts. Falkirk dominated Ayr United and had two “goals” disallowed, but ultimately had to content themselves with an exasperating stalemate.

With Ross County slipping up against Queen of the South, the failure to land three points will have resonated deeper within the home dressing room at full-time.

Manager Steven Pressley spent longer than normal on his perch in the main stand, such was his satisfaction with his team’s first-half play, but he found it unbelievable they had not found their rewards by full-time. “When you look at the domination of the 90 minutes,” he mused, “it is just incredible we didn’t manage to achieve the victory. We had so much of the ball and created numerous chances, and I think if we had made the breakthrough we would have gone on to win the game comfortably.

“I was sitting in the stand today and normally I’m down numerous times in the first half, but I found myself sitting there for the majority of it and that’s testament to the way the players went about their business. I found myself very satisfied in all aspects of our play – we just couldn’t get the breakthrough.”

That the home side did not come away with victory had much to do with the display of Ayr United keeper Kevin Cuthbert.

It was clear from the outset, such was their domination of possession, that this match would be all about whether the Bairns could penetrate the Honest Men’s stiff rearguard.

The visitors were barely afforded a meaningful touch of the ball during the opening half, as Falkirk poured men forward and, with just six minutes gone, they were denied a goal by Cuthbert as he touched away Farid El Alagui’s volley.

Cuthbert proved an immovable force again ten minutes later. The Bairns strung a dozen passes together but Higginbotham’s resultant shot found Cuthbert’s chest.

David Weatherston’s drive nestled into Cuthbert’s bread basket in the 26th minute and just moments later he was again the curse of Falkirk. Weatherston was the Bairns’ “third man running” but Cuthbert denied the winger before holding Sibbald’s shot from the rebound.

Cuthbert’s fingertips denied Kieran Duffie, whose rasping long-range effort appeared destined for the top corner, before it was the turn of the linesman’s flag five minutes from the break. Stewart Murdoch’s 12-yard header crashed back off the bar but El Alagui was deemed to have been offside before nodding in the ricochet.

In the second half, Falkirk reprised their domination but frustration was the overriding emotion as the clock ticked on. They continued to remain patient in their build-up play but time became the enemy of the Bairns.

With 11 minutes to go, the normally reliable El Alagui blotted his copybook. Weatherston knocked Millar’s cleared corner back into the mix and the 21-goal striker should have done better than head tamely over.

Suddenly, it looked as if Falkirk had got a dramatic winner, but Darren Dods was flagged offside before United’s Adam Dodd knocked into his own net to stop the celebrations in their track.

Ayr manager Brian Reid was happy: “It’s a difficult place to come. Falkirk are probably the form team and, overall, it was a decent point for us and we are quite pleased with it.”