2018–19 Ayr United F.C. season

The 2018–19 season was Ayr United’s 109th season of competitive football and their first season back in the Scottish Championship following their promotion from League One in the 2017–18 season.[1] Ayr also competed in the League Cup, Scottish Cup and the Challenge Cup.

Ayr United

2018–19 season
Manager	Ian McCall
Stadium	Somerset Park
Scottish Championship	Fourth Place
Scottish Cup	Fourth Round
League Cup	Quarter-Final
Challenge Cup	First Round
Premiership Play-Offs	Quarter-Final
Top goalscorer	League: Lawrence Shankland (24) All: Lawrence Shankland (34)
Highest home attendance	3,249 v Partick Thistle, Championship, 4 August 2018
Lowest home attendance	1,227 v Stenhousemuir, League Cup, 24 July 2018
Average home league attendance	2,157
Home colours Away colours

Summary

Season

In their first season back in the second–tier of Scottish football, Ayr United finished in fourth place and qualified for the Premiership play-offs, losing to Inverness CT in the quarter-final.

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Scottish Championship

4 August 2018 1	Ayr United	2–0	Partick Thistle	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Shankland  7 pen.', 18'	Report		Attendance: 3,249 Referee: Craig Thomson

11 August 2018 2	Inverness CT	0–0	Ayr United	Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
15:00		Report	Harvie  30'	Attendance: 2,376 Referee: Andrew Dallas

25 August 2018 3	Ayr United	4–1	Dunfermline Athletic	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Forrest  5', 37' Shankland  39' Moffat  81'	Report	Longridge  55'	Attendance: 2,597 Referee: Euan Anderson

1 September 2018 4	Queen of the South	5–0	Ayr United	Palmerston Park, Dumfries
15:00	Dobbie  12', 20 pen.', 22', 84' Harkins  37'	Report	Harvie  79'	Attendance: 2,498 Referee: Colin Steven

15 September 2018 5	Ayr United	3–2	Falkirk	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Shankland  48' Geggan  63' Fasan  65 o.g.'	Report	Rudden  18' Petravičius  25'	Attendance: 2,250 Referee: Alan Newlands

22 September 2018 6	Alloa Athletic	0–2	Ayr United	Recreation Park, Alloa
15:00		Report	Shankland  23', 65'	Attendance: 949 Referee: Gavin Duncan

29 September 2018 7	Greenock Morton	1–5	Ayr United	Cappielow, Greenock
15:00	Telfer  35'	Report	Shankland  19', 75' Moore  73', 81' McDaid  89'	Attendance: 2,273 Referee: Steven McLean

6 October 2018 8	Ayr United	2–0	Dundee United	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Shankland  21' McDaid  74'	Report		Attendance: 2,621 Referee: Greg Aitken

20 October 2018 9	Ross County	2–1	Ayr United	Victoria Park, Dingwall
15:00	McKay  23' Mullin  34'	Report	Shankland  50'	Attendance: 3,140 Referee: Steven McLean

27 October 2018 10	Partick Thistle	0–1	Ayr United	Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
15:00		Report	Rose  77'	Attendance: 3,491 Referee: Bobby Madden

30 October 2018 11	Ayr United	3–0	Alloa Athletic	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45	Shankland  46', 90+2' Forrest  81'	Report		Attendance: 1,742 Referee: David Munro

3 November 2018 12	Falkirk	0–1	Ayr United	Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
15:00		Report	Moore  51'	Attendance: 4,310 Referee: Greg Aitken

10 November 2018 13	Ayr United	1–1	Queen of the South	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Rose  75'	Report	Murray  81'	Attendance: 2,539 Referee: John Beaton

17 November 2018 14	Ayr United	0–0	Greenock Morton	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Moore  62'	Report		Attendance: 2,346 Referee: Willie Collum

30 November 2018 15	Dundee United	0–5	Ayr United	Tannadice Park, Dundee
19:45		Report	Shankland  3', 41', 87 pen.', 89' Moffat  78'	Attendance: 6,097 Referee: Don Robertson

15 December 2018 16	Ayr United	3–3	Ross County	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Shankland  21 pen.', 25' Geggan  43'	Report	Mullin  12' McKay  48 pen.' Cowie  52'	Attendance: 2,030 Referee: Bobby Madden

22 December 2018 17	Dunfermline Athletic	0–0	Ayr United	East End Park, Dunfermline
19:45		Report		Attendance: 4,916 Referee: Steven McLean

29 December 2018 18	Queen of the South	1–1	Ayr United	Palmerston Park, Dumfries
15:00	Todd  29'	Report	Moffat  41'	Attendance: 2,349 Referee: Alan Newlands

5 January 2019 19	Ayr United	0–1	Falkirk	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00		Report	Rudden  56'	Attendance: 2,729 Referee: Bobby Madden

12 January 2019 20	Inverness CT	1–0	Ayr United	Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
15:00	White  64'	Report		Attendance: 2,283 Referee: Alan Newlands

25 January 2019 21	Ayr United	1–0	Dundee United	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45	Moore  4'	Report	Gomis  89'	Attendance: 2,232 Referee: Don Robertson

29 January 2019 22	Ayr United	2–3	Inverness CT	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45	McDaid  53' Shankland  85'	Report	Austin  9', 12' Polworth  18'	Attendance: 1,559 Referee: Nick Walsh

2 February 2019 23	Alloa Athletic	1–3	Ayr United	Recreation Park, Alloa
15:00	Trouten  30'	Report	Moffat  29', 88' Shankland  52' (pen.)	Attendance: 957 Referee: Mike Roncone

16 February 2019 24	Greenock Morton	0–0	Ayr United	Cappielow, Greenock
15:00		Report		Attendance: 2,335 Referee: Colin Steven

23 February 2019 25	Ayr United	0–1	Dunfermline Athletic	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00		Report	Longridge  71' (pen.)	Attendance: 2,202 Referee: David Munro

26 February 2019 26	Ross County	3–2	Ayr United	Victoria Park, Dingwall
19:45	McKay  35', 70', 75'	Report	Shankland  62' Murdoch  73'	Attendance: 3,489 Referee: Nick Walsh

8 March 2019 27	Falkirk	2–0	Ayr United	Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
19:05	McGhee  27', 40'	Report		Attendance: 4,344 Referee: Alan Muir

29 March 2019 28	Dunfermline Athletic	0–1	Ayr United	East End Park, Dunfermline
19:05		Report	McDaid  31'	Attendance: 4,671 Referee: Gavin Duncan

2 April 2019 29	Ayr United	1–1	Greenock Morton	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45	Shankland  21 pen.'	Report	Kiltie  71'	Attendance: 1,802 Referee: Willie Collum

6 April 2019 30	Ayr United	0–1	Inverness CT	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00		Report	McKay  66'	Attendance: 1,566 Referee: Craig Thomson

9 April 2019 31	Ayr United	1–0	Queen of the South	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45	Shankland  43 pen.'	Report		Attendance: 1,582 Referee: Greg Aitken

12 April 2019 32	Dundee United	2–1	Ayr United	Tannadice Park, Dundee
19:05	Šafranko  63' McMullan  74'	Report	Bell  24'	Attendance: 4,392 Referee: Bobby Madden

19 April 2019 33	Ayr United	1–3	Ross County	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:05	Miller  12' Docherty  90+5'	Report	Graham  42', 46', 71'	Attendance: 1,692 Referee: Euan Anderson

23 April 2019 34	Ayr United	0–1	Partick Thistle	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45		Report	Gordon  17'	Attendance: 2,429 Referee: Alan Newlands

27 April 2019 35	Partick Thistle	1–2	Ayr United	Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
15:00	Gordon  9'	Report	Smith  17' Muirhead  56'	Attendance: 3,855 Referee: Nick Walsh

4 May 2019 36	Ayr United	1–1	Alloa Athletic	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Shankland  37'	Report	Shields  33'	Attendance: 1,665 Referee: Willie Collum

Premiership Play–Off

7 May 2019 Quarter-final 1st Leg	Ayr United	1–3	Inverness CT	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45	Rose  65'	Report	Trafford  33' White  51', 76 pen.'	Attendance: 2,171 Referee: Alan Muir

11 May 2019 Quarter-final 2nd Leg	Inverness CT	1–1 (4–2 agg.)	Ayr United	Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
19:45	Donaldson  79'	Report	McCowan  19'	Attendance: 2,323 Referee: Steven McLean

Scottish League Cup

14 July 2018 Group Stage	Ayr United	3–1	Greenock Morton	Somerset Park, Ayr
15:00	Shankland  48', 72', 75'	Report	Tidser  14'	Attendance: 1,586 Referee: Willie Collum

21 July 2018 Group Stage	Albion Rovers	0–2	Ayr United	Cliftonhill, Coatbridge
15:00		Report	Forrest  15' Bell  80'	Attendance: 519 Referee: Mike Roncone

24 July 2018 Group Stage	Ayr United	5–0	Stenhousemuir	Somerset Park, Ayr
19:45	Shankland  2', 8', 46' Moffat  41', 86'	Report		Attendance: 1,227 Referee: David Munro

28 July 2018 Group Stage	Partick Thistle	0–2	Ayr United	Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
15:00		Report	Moffat  6' Shankland  66'	Attendance: 2,871 Referee: Nick Walsh

Group E Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AYR	PAR	GMO	STE	ALB
1	Ayr United (Q)	4	4	0	0	0	12	1	+11	12	Qualification for the Second Round		—	—	3–1	5–0	—
2	Partick Thistle (Q)	4	3	0	0	1	6	3	+3	9			0–2	—	2–1	—	—
3	Greenock Morton	4	2	0	0	2	9	5	+4	6			—	—	—	2–0	5–0
4	Stenhousemuir	4	1	0	0	3	4	9	−5	3			—	0–2	—	—	4–0
5	Albion Rovers	4	0	0	0	4	0	13	−13	0			0–2	0–2	—	—	—

Source: [2]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[3]
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.

Knockout phase

8 August 2018 Round 2	Dundee	0–3	Ayr United	Dens Park, Dundee
19:45	Moussa  77' Kusunga  90+3'	Report	Shankland  51', 86' Moffat  89'	Attendance: 3,151 Referee: John Beaton

26 September 2018 Quarter-final	Rangers	4–0	Ayr United	Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
19:45	Katić  16' Middleton  31', 70' Morelos  49'	Report		Attendance: 35,042 Referee: Bobby Madden

Scottish Challenge Cup

14 August 2018 First Round	Queen's Park	0–0 (4–2 p)	Ayr United	Hampden Park, Glasgow
19:45		Report		Attendance: 834

Scottish Cup

24 November 2018 Third Round	Beith Juniors	0–3	Ayr United	Bellsdale Park, Beith
15:00		Report	Shankland  64' Docherty  79' Moffat  88'	Attendance: 1,780 Referee: Colin Steven

19 January 2019 Fourth Round	Auchinleck Talbot	1–0	Ayr United	Beechwood Park, Auchinleck
15:00	McCracken  78'	Report		Attendance: 3,100 Referee: Euan Anderson

Squad statistics

Appearances

As of 11 May 2019[4]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		League One		League Cup		Scottish Cup		Other
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Ross Doohan	47	0	36+0	0	6+0	0	2+0	0	3+0	0
2	DF		Chris Higgins	5	0	0+3	0	0+0	0	2+0	0	0+0	0
3	DF		Daniel Harvie	44	0	31+2	0	6+0	0	2+0	0	3+0	0
4	MF		Mark Kerr	30	0	18+4	0	5+1	0	0+0	0	1+1	0
5	DF		Michael Rose	44	1	34+0	0	5+0	0	2+0	0	3+0	1
6	MF		Andy Geggan	28	2	22+1	2	3+0	0	2+0	0	0+0	0
7	FW		Michael Moffat	44	10	29+5	5	4+2	4	2+0	1	1+1	0
8	MF		Robbie Crawford	44	0	30+3	0	5+1	0	2+0	0	2+1	0
9	FW		Craig Moore	26	4	8+12	4	1+3	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
10	MF		Alan Forrest	25	4	10+7	3	6+0	1	0+0	0	0+2	0
11	FW		Declan McDaid	45	4	20+14	4	1+5	0	2+0	0	3+0	0
12	MF		Craig McGuffie	16	0	0+9	0	1+3	0	0+2	0	1+0	0
14	DF		David Ferguson	6	0	1+2	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
15	DF		Steven Bell	33	2	21+5	1	2+2	1	1+1	0	1+0	0
16	MF		Jamie Adams	19	0	9+4	0	5+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
17	FW		Lawrence Shankland	41	34	29+2	24	6+0	9	1+0	1	2+1	0
18	MF		Andy Murdoch	44	1	33+1	1	6+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
19	GK		Ellis Hare-Reid	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
20	MF		James Hilton	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
22	DF		Finn Ecrepont	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
23	MF		Ross Docherty	23	1	9+10	0	0+0	0	1+1	1	2+0	0
25	MF		Luke McCowan	9	1	2+3	0	0+0	0	0+1	0	2+1	1
27	DF		Liam Smith	39	1	32+1	1	1+0	0	1+1	0	3+0	0
28	MF		Nicky Cadden	11	0	6+4	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
29	MF		Calvin Miller	14	1	8+5	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
30	DF		Aaron Muirhead	11	1	8+1	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0

Team statistics

Final League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
2	Dundee United	36	19	8	9	49	40	+9	65	Qualification for the Premiership play-off semi-final
3	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	36	14	14	8	48	40	+8	56	Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
4	Ayr United	36	15	9	12	50	38	+12	54
5	Greenock Morton	36	11	13	12	36	45	−9	46
6	Partick Thistle	36	12	7	17	43	52	−9	43

Source: SPFL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Points in head-to-head matches; 5) Goal difference in hth matches; 6). Goals scored in hth matches; 7). Play-off (only for deciding promotion, play-off participation and relegation).[5]

Division summary

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	H
Result	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	D	D	W	D	D	D	L	L	W	L	W	D	L	L	L	W	D	L	W	L	L	L	W	D
Position	1	3	1	6	3	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	3	3	4

Updated to match(es) played on 28 April 2018. Source: [6]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Transfers

Players in Player From Fee Daniel Harvie Aberdeen Free[7] Andy Murdoch Greenock Morton Free[8] Ross Doohan Celtic Loan[8] Liam Smith Hearts Free[9] Aaron Muirhead Falkirk Free[10] Calvin Miller Celtic Loan[11] Nicky Cadden Livingston Loan[12]

Players out Player To Fee Lyle Avci Stranraer Free[13] Jordan Hart Queen's Park Free[14] Craig Reid East Kilbride Free[15] Leon Murphy Glenafton Athletic Loan David Waite Auchinleck Talbot Free Patrick Boyle Peterhead Free[16] Craig McGuffie Raith Rovers Loan[10] David Ferguson Dumbarton Loan[10] Chris Higgins East Fife Loan[17]

References

1. "Scottish League One: Ayr United pip Raith Rovers to title and automatic promotion". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
2. "Summary - League Cup Group E". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
3. "Format". SPFL. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
4. "Ayr United FC Player Appearances". soccerbase.com. Soccerbase. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
5. "Championship 2017/2018 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
6. "League One 2017/2018". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
7. "Harvie signs for United". ayrunitedfc.co.uk. Ayr United FC. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
8. "Thursday treble signing". ayrunitedfc.co.uk. Ayr United FC. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
9. "Smith is latest signing". ayrunitedfc.co.uk. Ayr United FC. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
10. "Muirhead signs 18 month deal". ayrunitedfc.co.uk. Ayr United FC. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
11. "Celtic kid Calvin Miller hopes to impress Brendan Rodgers with Ayr United loan switch". dailyrecord.co.uk. Daily Record. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
12. "Livingston winger Nicky Cadden vows to help Ayr United's Championship title bid after deadline day move". dailyrecord.co.uk. Daily Record. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
13. "Avci signs for Stranraer". stranraerfc.org. Stranraer FC. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
14. "We've signed a keeper". queensparkfc.co.uk. Queen's Park FC. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
15. "East Kilbride new boy Craig Reid hoping promotion experiences can pay off for Kilby". dailyrecord.co.uk. Daily Record. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
16. "McInally says Boyle signed due to blue toons reputation among the players". eveningexpress.co.uk. Evening Express. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
17. "Chris Higgins Joins On Loan". eastfifefc.info. East Fife FC. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.