Ayr United's Football Academy 17s Create a Barrowload at Celtics Lennoxtown Faci

AUFA 17s Create a Barrowload at Lennoxtown

Ayr United's under 17 side faced Celtic in a friendly on Tuesday night at Celtic's new training facility in Lennoxtown.

With all the money Celtic spent on this new complex, you would have thought they could have bought a entrance sign for the place. Instead you have to rely on gut instinct and hope to guess the correct entry road once you are in the village of Lennoxtown.

Back to the business of the match at hand. While Celtic have their pick of players from Scotland, England, Ireland to name a few countries, Ayr rely on local talent from in and around the Ayrshire area but have established a great squad of players that would not look out of place in the SPL development teams.

Due to SFL guidelines regarding the non competitive nature of these games, the results are not meant to be published but this was a friendly so we're all right to go ahead.

Manager Allan Paul was keen to point out to the players involved, what the merits of playing for Ayr United mean and stressed that outside the SPL teams, the Ayr United Football Academy have a great setup which is the envy of most other clubs in the youth development system.

Always one to boost the players confidence, Allan Paul's pre match pep talk was inspiring, pointing out the players that they were the best he had ever been involved with but to make this match competitive they would have to start the match firm, have great discipline, be first in tackles and win the challenges in the air.

Right from the start, the Ayr players were up for this match and had early chances from Dale McCormack and Adam Forsyth, both coming close but both times the Celtic keeper saved well. However it was Celtic who took the lead with their very first chance at goal.

Ayr continued to press the Celtic defence in search of their opening goal with Robbie Brown and Tyler Campbell having the next pops at goal with Robbie's just floating over the bar with the keeper stranded. The referees next decision confounded the Ayr players and coaching staff as he gave the home side a penalty when the ball was clearly won by the Ayr defence. With the refs decision made, the penalty was slotted home with Ayr's stand in keeper Bobby McLatchie sent the wrong way and unfortunately for him, the only two things h had to do so far was pick the ball out of the net.

Five minutes before half time, Celtic struck again when a break down the left hand side went unchallenged and the ball was struck home from 10 yards out.

The Ayr players were rightly annoyed at themselves at halftime, due mainly to the fact they had controlled large parts of the match but had failed to convert all their hard work into goals while their Glasgow opponents had scored three from three attempts.

Manager Allan Paul pointed out to the players how well they were playing. Working the channels, winning the headers and how he hoped they would learn from this experience and finish off opponents when the opportunities arose.

Scott Aiken came on at half time and within five minutes had three chances at goal and was unlucky not to score with the goalie saving two and a defender stopping the other.

Cammy Marlow was pinging the ball about the field Beckhamesque like and also earned a rare free kick for the Ayr side just outside the box, which he took himself and stung the hands of the Celtic stopper and yet another chance was gone.

JJ Hawkshaw then fired a couple of long free kicks towards the Celtic penalty area but Scott Aiken knocked the first just wide and then Cammy Marlow's strong shot was again saved by a perfectly positioned Celtic keeper.

Steven Hutchison was next for a chance at beating the Celtic goalie but like his fellow players he was unable to make Ayr's dominance tell. Soon after JJ Hawkshaw fired in another free kick that was met in the air by Scott Aitken who played it into the path of Jack McClymont but was closed down quickly by Celtics goalie and the chance was lost.

Lee Lockhart was next up for a chance to beat the keeper after receiving a nice pass through the middle from Cammy Barr and his 30 yard thunderbolt nearly caught out the keeper but he managed to hold the ball but his hands must have been stinging. Soon after Lee Lockhart crossed a free kick in that was met by captain JJ but yet again the keeper blocked the path to the net.

It says a lot about the Ayr performance that the Celtic keeper was clearly the hosts man of the match and he saved again with a diving effort minutes from time stopping Cammy Marlow's cross come shot at the far post.

Celtic finished the game off with another counter attack and another show of clinical finishing and proves you do not need to be the better team to win.

Manager Allan Paul was ecstatic with the performance the boys had put in although was clearly bemused with the result as his team had chances enough to win 10 matches never mind just the one.

Celtic manager and ex Ayr United player, John Sludden, was full of praise for the Ayr players and was keen to point out how well the Ayr team had played throughout and was clearly surprised at the level of play on show from Ayr. His main point being Ayr's emphasis on passing throughout the match, even until the end of the 90 minutes.


It was a great performance from the Ayr team that had seen the bulk of play but unfortunately couldn't be transferred into goals. The players may have felt downhearted with the result but they can take heart from their performance and on another day they would have beaten this Celtic side by a barrowload.