Clyde v Ayr United

Recap

Barry Ferguson’s reign as Clyde manager got off to a winning start today, with an impressive victory over Ayr United in the First Round of the Petrofac Training Cup.

Ferguson handed a debut to his four new signings, with Scott Durie, David Gray, David Sinclair and Scott McManus all featuring in the starting line-up.

The Bully Wee were quick to take the game to the League One visitors and created two chances in the opening minutes. Kevin Watt’s shot from the edge of the box just missed the top corner of the goal, before John Sweeney was blocked by a defender as he looked certain to score.

However, Clyde did take the lead after 8 minutes and it was thanks to a brilliant goal. Sweeney’s clever pass released Watt on the right wing and his cross reached McManus, who prodded the ball past David Hutton for a debut goal.

A mix up between David Marsh and Jamie Barclay almost led to an equaliser for The Honest Men, but the play was soon at the other end again and the lead was doubled. Scott Ferguson was brought down at the edge of the box, allowing Sweeney to find the corner of the net from the penalty spot.

As Clyde continued to dominate, McManus and Sinclair both passed up great chances to increase the scoreline before the half-time break.

The second half was more evenly contested and Ayr managed to test Jamie Barclay on a couple of occasions, with an Alan Forrest free-kick also just missing the target.

The Bully Wee’s closest moment to a third goal came when Sinclair’s long-range volley almost caught out a back-peddling Hutton.

There was no further scoring before the full-time whistle though, and Clyde’s place in Tuesday’s Second Round draw was confirmed.