Paul McGowan inspired St Mirren to an emphatic win against Ayr in the Scottish Communities League Cup.

The forward set up Lewis Guy's opener and Steven Thompson's header as the hosts took control.

McGowan added his own name to the scoresheet with a stylish chip and Kenny McLean converted a penalty after Adam Hunter's foul on Graham Carey.

Michael Moffat pulled one back for Ayr before half-time but Gary Teale netted St Mirren's fifth on 58 minutes.

St Mirren were anxious to avoid a repeat of Ayr's win in Paisley in last season's League Cup.

And the Buddies were determined to make the breakthrough with Thompson denied by Alistair Brown early on.

Ayr were then forced into a change when Martyn Campbell limped off to be replaced by Marc Twaddle.

The hosts broke from an Ayr corner to open the scoring on 16 minutes, Guy racing on to McGowan's slide-rule pass and firing past Brown.

Guy headed a McGowan corner over but another delivery from the former Celtic player set up Thompson to nod St Mirren's second.

McGowan was tormenting the visitors and he drove at the visitors' defence before looping a superb chip over the head of the helpless Brown from the edge of the area.

Hunter fouled Carey to give the Buddies the chance for a fourth goal and McLean calmly slotted beyond Brown.

Moffat's shot beat Craig Samson to reduce Ayr's arrears six minutes before the turnaround.

But St Mirren re-asserted themselves in the second half with McLean flashing an effort wide before Jim Goodwin tested Brown.

David Sinclair came close for Ayr with a shot shortly before Teale combined with Thompson and fired low into the net.

Darren Brownlie's goal-line clearance denied Thompson his second of the evening and the striker and Carey were both off target as St Mirren continued to dominate.

Thompson and Teale were involved in a move that created another chance for McGowan, but the forward could not convert in the closing stages.

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon: "First and foremost I'm delighted to get through, the application was great and the statistics would be very positive in terms of possession, corners and the most important one, the five at the beginning of the scoreline.

"Tonight's result doesn't make up for losing to Ayr in the cup last season, I regarded that as a massive missed opportunity, however I am very pleased with how we did this time round.

"We gave Ayr the utmost respect and I think that showed."

Ayr United manager Mark Roberts: "When that fourth goal went in I wanted the ground to eat me up.

"Moffat's goal was our first chance in the game and it was through a mistake from Craig Samson that we managed to score.

"We got a response from the guys in the second half after changing things though and I was pleased with that."

Lineup, Bookings (3) & Substitutions (6)

St Mirren

  • 01 Samson
  • 05 Mair
  • 14 McAusland (van Zanten - 57' )
  • 23 Barron
  • 06 Goodwin Booked (Robertson - 63' )
  • 10 McGowan
  • 11 Carey
  • 17 Mclean
  • 21 Teale
  • 09 Thompson
  • 27 Guy (Parkin - 63' )

Substitutes

  • 12 Smith
  • 02 van Zanten
  • 08 Robertson
  • 07 Imrie
  • 19 Parkin

Ayr United

  • 01 Brown
  • 02 Hunter Booked
  • 03 McCann
  • 04 Campbell (Twaddle - 10' )
  • 05 Brownlie
  • 06 Sinclair
  • 07 McGowan (Robertson - 46' )
  • 08 Crawford
  • 11 Marenghi Booked
  • 09 Moffat
  • 10 Winters (Shankland - 67' )

Substitutes

  • 17 Martin
  • 14 Robertson
  • 16 Twaddle
  • 12 Roberts
  • 15 Shankland
Ref: Tumilty
Att: 2,306

Match Stats

Shots

23 8

On target

11 5

Corners

10 5

Fouls

11 7

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +1:03 Full time

Full Time The final whistle is blown by the referee.

90:00 +0:48

Effort on goal by Anthony Marenghi from just inside the penalty area goes over the target.

89:50

Graham Carey produces a right-footed shot from just outside the box that goes wide right of the goal.

86:58

Gary Teale takes a shot. Comfortable save by Alistair Brown.

85:52

David van Zanten takes a shot. Blocked by Alistair Brown. Short corner worked by Gary Teale.

83:27

Unfair challenge on Paul McGowan by Robbie Crawford results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Graham Carey.

83:16

Mark Shankland is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Craig Samson restarts play with the free kick.

82:32

Shot from just outside the box by Graham Carey goes over the crossbar.

80:01

The official flags Michael Moffat offside. Free kick taken by Craig Samson.

79:17

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Robbie Crawford by Gary Teale. Free kick taken by David Sinclair.

77:50

Free kick awarded for a foul by Paul McGowan on Anthony Marenghi. David Sinclair takes the free kick.

76:41

The ball is swung over by David van Zanten, Sam Parkin produces a right-footed shot from close in that clears the bar.

73:46

The offside flag is raised against Sam Parkin. Austin McCann takes the indirect free kick.

72:32

Paul McGowan takes a shot. Save by Alistair Brown.

69:36

Shot from just outside the area by Steven Thompson goes over the bar.

68:48

Unfair challenge on Darren Brownlie by Jon Robertson results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Darren Brownlie.

67:33

Steven Thompson produces a left-footed shot from inside the area that goes over the bar.

66:56

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Anthony Marenghi by Jon Robertson. Adam Hunter takes the free kick.

66:01 Substitution

Substitution (Ayr) makes a substitution, with Mark Shankland coming on for David Winters.

65:16

Shot from deep inside the area by Darren Brownlie clears the crossbar.

62:53 Substitution

Substitution Jon Robertson replaces Jim Goodwin.

62:53 Substitution

Substitution Sam Parkin comes on in place of Lewis Guy.

61:54

David Sinclair takes a shot. Save by Craig Samson. Outswinging corner taken by David Sinclair from the left by-line, clearance made by Jim Goodwin.

59:29

The ball is delivered by Gary Teale, Steven Thompson takes a shot. Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Gary Teale by David Sinclair. Austin McCann makes a clearance. The free kick is delivered right-footed by Gary Teale from right channel, Anthony Marenghi makes a clearance.

57:29

Steven Thompson provided the assist for the goal.

57:29 Goal scored

Goal - Gary Teale - St Mirren 5 - 1 Ayr A goal is scored by Gary Teale from inside the box to the bottom left corner of the goal. St Mirren 5-1 Ayr.

56:03 Substitution

Substitution David van Zanten on for Marc McAusland.

54:24

David Sinclair takes a shot. Blocked by Gary Teale. David Sinclair takes a outswinging corner from the left by-line to the near post, Craig Samson makes a save.

52:31

Shot from inside the area by Kenny McLean clears the bar.

52:00

Anthony Marenghi takes a shot. Save by Craig Samson.

48:42

Effort from the edge of the box by Austin McCann goes wide of the right-hand upright.

47:50

Paul McGowan takes a shot from long range which goes wide of the right-hand post.

47:07

Paul McGowan fouled by Robbie Crawford, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Craig Samson.

46:43

Steven Thompson concedes a free kick for a foul on David Sinclair. Free kick taken by Anthony Marenghi.

45:42

David Sinclair takes a inswinging corner to the near post, Jim Goodwin manages to make a clearance.

45:01

The referee gets the second half underway.

45:01 Substitution

Substitution Ross Robertson on for Micheal McGowan.

45:00 +0:59 Half time

Half Time The match has reached half-time.

42:18 Booking

Booking Jim Goodwin booked for unsporting behaviour.

41:57

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Robbie Crawford by Jim Goodwin. Darren Brownlie takes the indirect free kick.

40:57

A cross is delivered by Steven Thompson, clearance by Marc Twaddle. Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Graham Carey, Michael Moffat makes a clearance.

40:32

Lewis Guy takes a shot. Save by Alistair Brown.

38:48 Goal scored

Goal - Michael Moffat - St Mirren 4 - 1 Ayr Michael Moffat fires in a goal from deep inside the penalty box to the bottom right corner of the goal. St Mirren 4-1 Ayr.

37:53 Goal scored

Goal - Kenny McLean - St Mirren 4 - 0 Ayr Kenny McLean scores a placed penalty. St Mirren 4-0 Ayr.

37:05

Foul by Adam Hunter on Graham Carey, Penalty awarded.

32:25

Direct free kick taken by Jim Goodwin, The ball is sent over by David Sinclair, clearance made by Gary Teale. Corner taken by Kenny McLean from the right by-line played to the near post, Steven Thompson takes a shot. Corner taken by Gary Teale from the right by-line, Shot by Lee Mair from deep inside the penalty area misses to the left of the target. Alistair Brown makes a save.

32:25 Booking

Booking Adam Hunter receives a caution for unsporting behaviour.

32:16

Steven Thompson fouled by Adam Hunter, the ref awards a free kick.

31:39

Corner taken by Micheal McGowan, save by Craig Samson.

29:58 Goal scored

Goal - Paul McGowan - St Mirren 3 - 0 Ayr Paul McGowan finds the net with a goal from the edge of the area high into the middle of the goal. St Mirren 3-0 Ayr.

27:53

Marc McAusland concedes a free kick for a foul on Michael Moffat. Free kick crossed right-footed by Micheal McGowan from left wing.

26:54

Jim Goodwin gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Michael Moffat. Marc Twaddle takes the free kick.

25:36

Foul by Darren Brownlie on Lewis Guy, free kick awarded. Shot comes in from Graham Carey from the free kick.

23:41

The assist for the goal came from Graham Carey.

23:41 Goal scored

Goal - Steven Thompson - St Mirren 2 - 0 Ayr Steven Thompson finds the net with a headed goal from inside the penalty box. St Mirren 2-0 Ayr.

22:57

Gary Teale produces a cross, Darren Brownlie manages to make a clearance. Graham Carey takes the inswinging corner,

21:40

Adam Hunter challenges Kenny McLean unfairly and gives away a free kick. David Barron takes the free kick.

19:37

The ball is crossed by Paul McGowan, Austin McCann manages to make a clearance. Gary Teale decides to take the corner short. The ball is sent over by Kenny McLean, Lewis Guy has a header from inside the six-yard box and clears the crossbar.

18:32

Shot from deep inside the area by Marc McAusland goes over the bar.

18:06

Corner taken short by Gary Teale.

16:59 Booking

Booking Anthony Marenghi goes into the book.

15:57

The assist for the goal came from Paul McGowan.

15:57 Goal scored

Goal - Lewis Guy - St Mirren 1 - 0 Ayr Lewis Guy finds the net with a goal from deep inside the penalty box low into the middle of the goal. St Mirren 1-0 Ayr.

15:16

David Sinclair takes a shot. Craig Samson makes a save. Corner taken right-footed by Micheal McGowan, clearance by Kenny McLean.

14:33

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on David Winters by Gary Teale. Direct free kick taken by Micheal McGowan.

13:00

The referee blows for offside against Paul McGowan. Indirect free kick taken by Alistair Brown.

11:04

Gary Teale concedes a free kick for a foul on Anthony Marenghi. David Sinclair restarts play with the free kick. The referee blows for offside. Craig Samson takes the free kick.

9:45 Substitution

Substitution (Ayr) makes a substitution, with Marc Twaddle coming on for Martyn Campbell.

7:38

Steven Thompson takes a shot. Save made by Adam Hunter. Corner taken right-footed by Gary Teale from the right by-line, Darren Brownlie makes a clearance. Outswinging corner taken right-footed by Gary Teale, Micheal McGowan makes a clearance. Corner from right by-line taken by Gary Teale. Shot from just outside the area by Kenny McLean goes over the bar.

3:26

Free kick awarded for a foul by Jim Goodwin on Robbie Crawford. Free kick taken by Robbie Crawford.

2:54

Centre by Gary Teale, clearance made by Robbie Crawford.

2:20

The ball is delivered by Gary Teale, clearance made by Darren Brownlie.

1:01

The ball is delivered by Gary Teale, clearance by Anthony Marenghi.

0:30

The ball is crossed by Graham Carey, save by Alistair Brown.

0:00

The game begins.

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