Midfielder Stevie Fulton fired home the winner as
Killie dumped Ayr to claim the first West Sound trophy.
The midfielder's deflected shot in the
18th minute broke the deadlock in a hard-fought derby match.
Ayr defender David Craig felled Killie
striker Colin Nish on the edge of the box and deflected Fulton's shot
past helpless keeper Ludovic Roy.
Early Ayr raids had Killie on the back
foot and in just three minutes David Craig's goalbound header was well
saved by Rugby Park keeper Francois Dubourdeau.
Stewart Kean's thundering low shot after
six minutes tested Dubourdeau as Money's side pressed for the opener.
Killie fought back with a powerful Kris
Boyd free-kick that ripped through the defensive wall and forced Roy
into a smart goal-line stop.
Roy pulled off an incredible full-length
stop from Colin Nish's header to keep his side level on 12 minutes.
This was the first Ayrshire Cup Final in
five years and there was plenty of blood and thunder on show for the
3000 crowd.
Boyd came close with a towering header in
the 15th minute before Fulton scored the game's only goal. The Rugby
Park skipper came close to grabbing a second eight minutes later with
a shot from 10 yards but Roy pulled off a great save low to his left.
Ayr finally tried to claw their way back
into the match with Marc Smyth coming close on two occasions.
His curling right foot effort towards the
top corner was well saved by Dubourdeau, who six minutes later
acrobatically tipped another Smyth piledriver over the bar.
Nish passed up a fine chance to give
Killie a comfortable lead on the stroke of half time when his feeble
chip was easily saved by Roy.
The showdown lost its edge in the second
half after four substitutions at the interval.
Killie replaced Boyd with Gary
McSwegan while Ayr brought onkeeper John Hillcoat for Roy, Robert
Burgess for Stuart McGrady and Mark McColl for Andy Ferguson.
Garry Hay passed up a great opening at the
far corner of the six yard box by screwing his shot across the face of
goal in 46 minutes.
There was little to entertain the fans
until after the hour mark as the game entered a dour spell.
Rhian Dodds seized on a poor headed
clearance at a corner in the 65th minute before cutting inside pasta
defender to rattle a low shot towards goal.
But Hillcoat was equal to it and smothered
the danger with a fine save in 65 minutes.
Sub McSwegan nearly sealed it with a low
angled shot that crashed off the right post but Nish failed to react
quickly enough to the rebound and a defender scrambled the ball out
for a corner.
Nish had some Killie fans on their feet in
the 70th minute when he appeared to head home from Stevie Murray's
swinging cross.
But the effort was booted clear as the
striker continued to claim the ball had crossed Roy's line.
Nish nearly scored two minutes later when
Murray pulled a pass tohim after a good run on the left into the box
but he woefully scooped his shot over the top from just six yards.
Stephen Naismith replaced Nish after 81
minutes and within seconds almost scored with a neat turn in the box
and low shot but Hillcoat reacted well to smother his effort.
Sub Paul di Giacomo nearly snatched a late
second for Killie but his low drive rattled off Hillcoat's legs.
Kilmarnock: Dubourdeau, McLaughlin, Dindeleux, Fowler,
Dillion, Invincible, Fulton, Dodds, Murray, Nish & Boyd
Subs: McSwegan, Naismith, Di Giacomo & Hessey
Attendance: 3,033
Cards: None
Man of the Match: Rhian Dodds
Jim Jefferies Post Match Comments...The Killie boss told the press: "We controlled the
game and I think 1-0 flattered them. We hit the post and one of our boys thought
another one crossed the line. But we won and it was a chance to give a
few of the lads a run out. Now the match is to be an annual event."
Stevie Fulton's Post Match Comments..."We just couldn't
put the ball in the net. However, we have hardly started a game the right way this
season and that is something we definitely need to work on. But it was
good to get a win."
Fixtures & Results
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Sandy's Photos
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Manager's Comments
(over 35's)
Kilmarnock 2 Ayr
United 1
(West Sound Challenge Match -Rugby Park,
Nov 11th Nov 2003)
Before the main event kicked off Killie's
old crock side notched up another win over their rivals when Paul
Wright rifled home the winner in a 2-1 win to make up for missing a
penalty.
Henry Templeton had fired Ayr ahead before
Willie Watters squared things with a spot-kick.
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Sandy's Over 35 Photos
