Match report: St Johnstone WFC 3-1 Ayr United

St Johnstone Women welcomed Ayr United to Riverside on Sunday in the fifth meeting of the sides this season.

A first half goal from Steffi Simson and an Olivia Hurrell brace in the second half secured a 3-1 win and made it five wins from five.

The first day of summertime saw Riverside bathed in warm sunshine, with a breeze taking a slight edge off the temperature. Saints had this wind at their back in the first half but weren’t fully able to make the most of it.

An early opportunity presented itself to Megan Wands when she picked up the ball on the left but selflessly elected to square the ball instead of having a strike at goal, and the ball was cleared by the Ayr defence.

There were early opportunities for Ayr too, with one shot going over the bar and then Claire Docherty taking the ball past Saints keeper Bobby Cochran. But Niamh Irvine got back in time to clear it to safety.

Saints opened the scoring after 22 minutes with a fine finish from Simson. A long, looping ball was played forward which seemed to hang in the air as it dropped at the edge of the penalty.

Simson capitalised and, after waiting for the ball to bounce, deftly lifted it over Charlotte Ferguson standing on the edge of her six-yard box.

After the goal, most of the match was played out in the middle of the park with Ayr, although defending against the wind, putting Saints under some sustained pressure.

While there weren’t too many clear-cut chances, there were times when Saints struggled to clear the ball at the edge of the area. They would also rely on Cochran acting in her trademark sweeper role to mop up balls played through or over the defence.

Saints’ only other chances of the half were a half chance for Megan Wands which went wide and a Simson strike which was easily held by Ferguson.

The first chance of the second half fell to the visitors. Chloe Duthie did well to turn Irvine and Rebecca McMillan and get a left-footed shot away, forcing Cochran into a low save.

For Saints, Hurrell also turned a defender and got a strong effort away which produced a good save from Ferguson for a Saints corner.

As the clock ticked over onto the hour mark, Ayr equalised. Veteran striker Docherty picked the ball up 15 yards inside the Ayr half and curled a ball forward which Duthie latched onto.

Having timed her run to perfection to stay onside, she knocked the ball beyond Cochran and slotted home before McMillan could get back to clear.

Natasha Donaghy had a strike go over the bar while Docherty had Cochran make another comfortable save shortly after that goal.

After that early spell of Ayr pressure, Saints began to get into the game more and get further forward more frequently than they had in the first hour of the match.

The prolific Hurrell put Saints back in front after 69 minutes. Hannah Clark launched a ball into the box from the left, which Ayr struggled to deal with.

Simson got a shot away which was well saved by Ferguson and then took the ball out to the right-hand side before passing it into Leah Sidey who, from the edge of the box, passed it inside to Hurrell who side-footed the ball home from eight yards out.

Six minutes later, Hurrell had her second. Sidey won the ball in midfield and played it out to the left where Rachel Howie crossed in low for Hurrell, who took a touch to go past her marker and then struck powerfully with her left foot.

Ellie Jones, Eirinn McCafferty, Jodie Malcolm, and Frankie Shepherd were all introduced by Josh Henderson in the last 20 minutes with fresh legs to help see the game out.

Still, there were chances for Ayr with Maura Patterson side-footing the ball over Cochran’s crossbar from a corner and substitute Sarah Petherick rounding Cochran, but this time Irvine was able to block the goal bound shot.

It was to the substitutes that Saints’ final notable chances fell to. Malcolm had a shot blocked and then, from a corner, Shepherd had a close-range strike saved by Ferguson, the rebound falling to Malcolm, but it too was blocked.

The result means that, with five matches remaining of the season, Saints are 13 points ahead of bottom-placed Ayr and 12 points ahead of second bottom Rossvale. There is now a free week with an international break before a trip to Kilmarnock on April 13th.

 Saints: Cochran, MacIver, Clark, Simson (Shepherd), Hurrell, Irvine, Smith, McMillan (Jones), Sidey, Wands (McCafferty), Howie (Malcolm). Subs not used: Telford, Gibson, McLean.