Five things we learned as debut boy Sam Ashford earns point for Ayr United at Hamilton

dailyrecord.co.uk:

It was a case of squad gains for Ayr United at Hamilton as Lee Bullen's bench came to the rescue for the Honest Men. Debut boy Sam Ashford led a second half surge as Ayr hit back to claim a vital point following Kai Kennedy's early opener.

Ronan Hughes' missed penalty just before the break proved a pivotal moment as Accies failed to hammer home their advantage. And a flurry of Ayr's fresh faces did the trick as Ashford climbed off the bench to ram home a fine finish just just hours after signing on the dotted line at Somerset.

Here are some of the key things we learned on a big day in Lanarkshire: 1. Squad depth improving at Somerset Park For much of this season, Ayr's team has pretty much named itself.But new boss Bullen has already admitted each week is a learning process for him as he seeks to find his favoured XI.Today his bench proved worth its weight in gold with some hefty contributions from substitutes Sam Ashford and James Maxwell helping to turn the tide and dig United out of trouble.Ayr now have real competition for places with three new faces in the door so far this January, and the promise of more to follow.The squad's imbalanced look was one of Bullen's main tasks to address when he arrived in the hotseat, and it looks like early progress is being made in that regard.The head coach is now sure to have plenty of food for thought ahead of Tuesday's trip to Partick. 2.

Super Sam makes a bright start Ayr's new striker only got clearance to take his place in the match squad a matter of hours before kick off.But he grabbed his chance with both hands when stepping off the bench to fire the leveller.And the former Crawley man was unlucky not to bag a late winner with another chance which went astray.Ashford