Easy Cup Win for United

United first played the men from Banff in an end of season tour match on 30th April 1949 when the boys from Ayr recorded a 3-0 win in the sixth match in 7 days of a hectic Highland tour.

The long tour to the Highlands was on again over half a century later that when a pre-match pitch inspection gave the go ahead for a Scottish Cup match on 5th January 2002 and began the the long, long journey north to the town of Banff for a small band of Ayr United fans. It wasn’t just the frost that made this a very slippery 3rd round Scottish Cup tie for United. Deveronvale were riding high in the Highland League and posed a huge banana skin for the Honest men.

But It took United only four minutes to dispell any thoughts of a potential banana-skin as former Dundee 'keeper, Barry Thomson, allowed Eddie Annand's drive to slip through his fingers for the opener. Eddie added his second just six minutes later when he found himself with bags of time to finish off Craig McEwan's cross.

Thomson then redeemed himself somewhat with a good save from Pat McGinlay, before touching over a long-range effort from McEwan. However he was beaten again in the 37th minute as Paul Sheerin struck home from the edge of the box.

Pat McGinlay added a fourth with a clinical finish just before half-time to confirm United's place in the fourth round draw.

United continued where they left off in the first half as Scott Crabbe pounced in the 50th minute to score after Thomson had parried McEwan's cross.

Ayr replaced David Craig and Eddie Annand with Brian McLaughlin and Lee Sharp after this and then Marvyn Wilson got a run-out in place of Sheerin after 66 minutes.

The scoring was completed by James Grady with the best goal of the day as he dived to head home, and United even had the luxury of a penalty miss by Grady before the end of the game.

Scott Crabbe was voted man of the match by the sponsors in a good 6-0 win.