What Frankie Musonda says about Scott Brown’s Ayr United Championship challenge

“We have a nice combination of youth and experience in our group, so it was important for us to score as soon as we did following their goal. We should have begun better because we were a little awakened by the early deficit, but we still played a pretty polished game. They are a good team, but this is not an easy place to come.”

George Oakley pulled even two minutes after George Taylor’s goal in the sixth minute, thanks to a header from a cross by Jay Henderson. Then Ayr seized complete command, as Musonda headed them ahead after latching onto a driving ball from captain Ben Dempsey.

Marco Rus was suspended, so United had to adjust to life without his creative spark, but they kept pushing on. Just after halftime, Anton Dowds extended the lead after Curtis Lyle made a fantastic stop to deny Musonda a certain score. Ayr missed several opportunities to score additional goals until Henderson’s backpost header gave them a fourth.

Musonda went on, “It’s wonderful that there are a lot of lads clamouring to join the team because we have a really strong depth in the squad this season. The gaffer decides where to play individuals; naturally, I’d like to play centre half, but I’ll play anywhere they tell me to. Fortunately, the gaffer offered me a chance tonight, which I took.

“Having participated in this league for four seasons, I’ve seen that the teams with the most depth are typically towards the top. Everyone is forced to push one another, and training standards are rising daily as a result. We can’t wait for the league season to begin because even the newer boys have shown initiative and healthy competition.”

Ayr hopes that winning by three goals against Highland League Buckie Thistle at home on Saturday will guarantee them a spot in the knockout stages, contingent on the outcome of the match between Falkirk and Stenhousemuir and the best second-place finishers from other groups.