Ayr United toast their return to the Ladbrokes Championship
Published:
Ayr United secured promotion to the Ladbrokes Championship over the weekend after beating Stranraer 4-3 on penalties in their play-off final.
The sides were locked at 1-1 after two legs, with neither side able to build on the 1-1 draw from last week.
After extra time and penalties it was the Honest Men who were jubilant and given their shoot-out history it was perhaps unsurprising to see Ian McCall’s men win through ( more on that later though).
United goalkeeper Greg Fleming proved to be the hero on the day as he saved spot kicks from Paul Cairney, Jamie Longworth and David Barron to send Ayr back into the second tier of the Scottish game.
Having seen Ross Docherty hit the post from 12 yards it was up to Andy Graham to take the decisive penalty and 32-year-old defender duly obliged sparking a pitch invasion and celebrations than reverberated on social media – here’s the best of what we saw.
BBC Scotland were quick of the mark to congratulate the Honest Men on their achievement…
Ayr United celebrated winning promotion to the Scottish Championship #Sportscene pic.twitter.com/wTUmbOpY83
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) May 15, 2016
The Somerset Park club have friends in high places and Irvine-born Nicola Sturgoeon, First Minister of Scotland, was also quick to show her appreciation…
Congratulations on promotion @AyrUnitedFC. My dad @birdfish11 will be cheering himself hoarse right now!
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) May 15, 2016
The shoot-out may have been a nervy occasion for some of United’s fans but if they – like the SPFL – knew their stats the result would never have been in doubt, as this eagle-eyed fan highlighted…
Penalty success rate
Ayr United’s success rate in penalty shoot-outs (78%) is better than any other club in the SPFL (via @SPLstats) https://t.co/k9duo2V1xd
— Аlistair Gemmell (@albinoanaconda) May 16, 2016
And, while the some are still celebrating promotion, others have already turned their attention to next season – licking their lips in anticipation of a potential derby…
Brilliant to see Ayr United promoted, hopefully we’ll see four Ayrshire derbies next Season in the Championship, they’d be some occassions.
— Inside The SPFL (@AgentScotland) May 15, 2016
So, congratulations Ayr United – welcome to life in the Ladbrokes Championship.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
