IN their final match of 2014, Ayr came close to pulling the same stunt they had contrived at Hawick a week earlier by letting Stirling County run away from them in the opening half hour.

It took a massive effort in the second half to pull the game around although not to the extent that they collected what could end being a crucial bonus point.

Those Ayr supporters who had been unfortunate enough to have witnessed the early capitulation at Mansfield the previous week suffered a severe attack of deja vu at Millbrae as again Ayr generously gave their opponents a start just to show that they could catch them – sometimes.

A penalty to inside the Ayr 22, a line out catch and drive, splintered defence and a try for Ruaridh Leishman with Joff Hope’s conversion making it 7-0 after only two minutes. Ayr produced three solid scrums, referee Neil Muir gave the penalty and Ross Curle duly obliged but when Stirling were awarded a penalty two minutes later, Ali Price took it quickly and released Danny Gilmour who, along with Curle, has to be one of the top midfield strikers in the Premiership. His break was decisive and his blast to the line unimpeded.

Hope converted, Curle pulled back another penalty but sloppy stuff from Ayr again not only butchered their own chances but allowed Stirling back to the red zone and were duly punished when Scott Sutherland saw yellow then hooker Rayner Kennedy’s try took Stirling into a 19-6 lead before the half hour was up.

It would either get better or it wouldn’t and fortunately for Ayr it was the former and Robbie Fergusson’s try converted by Curle saw Ayr turn only six points adrift but knowing that the game could still slip away.

The fact that it didn’t was down to the pack getting a grip of the setpiece and a huge scrum won the penalty for Curle to reduce the margin to three points but the turning point came as the game entered the final quarter. Man of the match David Armstrong had a superb mid-air take, spun away from the follow up, belted downfield, off loaded to Callum Templeton and the big flanker’s pass saw Danny McCluskey storm in from 20 metres for try which doubled the memorable moments of the game after Gilmour’s score.

Curle converted, Ayr found a bit of passion in their game and a wonderfully constructed line out drive saw Dougie Hall get the touch down. Curle missed the conversion but there were eight minutes remaining for Ayr to clinch the try bonus but sloppy hands allowed Stirling to intercept, race downfield, win the penalty and allow Hope to sink it, collecting the losing bonus and leaving the crowd with a distinct feeling of anti-climax.

Reflecting on Saturday’s match, Ayr coach Calum Forrester admitted afterwards: “It was very frustrating after last week and we blew the chance of another bonus point. We played poorly in the first half but the players have their own standards and they were the ones who had the harsh words to say at half-time. We showed a lot of character in the second half and hopefully that is what we will take into the new year.”