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 Scottish Cup, League Cup, and the Challenge Cup.

Ayr United

2018–19 season
Manager	Ian McCall
Stadium	Somerset Park
Scottish Championship	4th
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
← 2017–18 2019–20 →

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

Main article: 2018–19 Scottish Championship

Ayr United v Partick Thistle

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

Inverness CT v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Dunfermline Athletic

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

Queen of the South v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Falkirk

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

Alloa Athletic v Ayr United

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

Greenock Morton v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Dundee United

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

Ross County v Ayr United

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

Partick Thistle v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Alloa Athletic

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

Falkirk v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Queen of the South

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

Ayr United v Greenock Morton

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

Dundee United v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Ross County

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

Dunfermline Athletic v Ayr United

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

Queen of the South v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Falkirk

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

Inverness CT v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Dundee United

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

Ayr United v Inverness CT

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

Alloa Athletic v Ayr United

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

Greenock Morton v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Dunfermline Athletic

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

Ross County v Ayr United

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

Falkirk v Ayr United

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

Dunfermline Athletic v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Greenock Morton

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

Ayr United v Inverness CT

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

Ayr United v Queen of the South

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

Dundee United v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Ross County

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

Ayr United v Partick Thistle

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

Partick Thistle v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Alloa Athletic

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

Main article: 2018–19 Scottish Premiership

Ayr United v Inverness CT

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

Inverness CT v Ayr United

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

Main article: 2018–19 Scottish League Cup § Group E

Ayr United v Greenock Morton

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

Albion Rovers v Ayr United

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

Ayr United v Stenhousemuir

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

Partick Thistle v Ayr United

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

Knockout round

Dundee v Ayr United

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

Rangers v Ayr United

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

Main article: 2018–19 Scottish Challenge Cup

Queen's Park v Ayr United

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

Main article: 2018–19 Scottish Cup

Beith Juniors v Ayr United

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

Auchinleck Talbot v Ayr United

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^[2]

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

Team statistics

League table

Pos	Team v t e	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).^[3]

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: ^[4]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

League Cup table

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

Transfers

Players in Player From Fee Daniel Harvie Aberdeen Free[7] Ellis Hare-Reid Orihuela Free[8] Andy Murdoch Greenock Morton Free[9] Ross Doohan Celtic Loan[9] Liam Smith Hearts Free[10] Aaron Muirhead Falkirk Free[11] Calvin Miller Celtic Loan[12] Nicky Cadden Livingston Loan[13]

Players out Player To Fee Lyle Avci Stranraer Free[14] Jordan Hart Queen's Park Free[15] Craig Reid East Kilbride Free[16] Leon Murphy Glenafton Athletic Loan David Waite Auchinleck Talbot Free Patrick Boyle Peterhead Free[17] Craig McGuffie Raith Rovers Loan[11] David Ferguson Dumbarton Loan[11] Chris Higgins East Fife Loan[18]