St Johnstone 1 Ayr 2: Saints OUT of Viaplay Cup following home defeat

dailyrecord.co.uk:

St Johnstone have crashed out of the Viaplay Cup before the knockout stage after losing their penultimate group fixture against Ayr United.The Perth side slumped to a 2-1 defeat at McDiarmid Park on Tuesday night.George Stanger had given the visitors the lead before Max Kucheriavyi netted his first Saints goal to level ahead of the break.But Ben Dempsey’s deflected second half strike secured maximum points for Ayr, who also missed a penalty late on.Steven MacLean’s side sit third in Group A but four points behind Stirling Albion and five back of Ayr.Early doors, Cammy Ballantyne, fresh from a top performance against Alloa, had gone close following clever work from Kucheriavyi.An even better opportunity arrived not long after when Luke Jephcott carved open the Ayr rearguard with a clever through ball to send Stevie May clear.Inside the box, May went for the low route but his effort was saved by the legs of goalkeeper Charlie Albinson.Ayr, who finished second in the Championship last term, had a chance of their own when former Saint Jamie Murphy tried his luck with a near-post free-kick.Murphy turned architect with a delivery on 29 minutes as the visitors nudged in front from Stanger’s header.The reaction wasn’t immediate but a leveller did arrive on the stroke of half-time.Carey’s cross from the left flank bounded into the box and, needing to improvise, Kucheriavyi stooped to head beyond Albinson.Clear-cut opportunities were few and far between in the early moments of the second half but Jephcott did swivel and pull wide of the mark on 68 minutes.There had been little between the teams and Ayr got their noses back in front in the 71st minute.