Cove Rangers’ desperate search for a win continued as they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Ayr United at Somerset Park.
Goals from Daire O’Connor and Dipo Akinyemi had the hosts 2-0 up at the interval, with Jayden Mitchell-Lawson netting in the second period as Cove’s defensive woes came back to haunt them once again.
It is now five defeats on the bounce for Paul Hartley’s side and they have lost 10 of their last 13 games, dropping them further into the relegation mire.
Arbroath’s picking up points at leaders Queen’s Park drops Cove to ninth and bottom side Hamilton Accies, who are a point behind, have two games in hand.
Cove made three changes from the 6-1 defeat to Raith Rovers, with Scott Fox, Iain Vigurs and Shay Logan coming in for Kyle Gourlay, Cieran Dunne and Miko Virtanen.
Ayr won back-to-back games against Cove in January and were given the perfect start here after seven minutes.
Morgyn Neill went up for a header and felt he was fouled, however the Cove defence stopped as Chris Maguire was allowed to break forward. Maguire, who Paul Hartley signed for Hartlepool earlier in the season, had time to play O’Connor through and he clipped the ball beyond Fox.
The visitors tried to atone immediately, with Neill forcing Charlie Albinson into a smart stop, while O’Connor’s chances of a quick second were snuffed out by the Cove goalkeeper.
Fragility at the back evident again
But Cove were left to count the cost of further defensive lapses on 25 minutes as Akinyemi doubled the lead.
First Neill conceded possession cheaply in his own half and when the ball broke to Jason Naismith to clear, it rebounded straight off Akinyemi. The striker was then able to clear the ball out of his feet and bury his shot into the bottom corner.
Things were starting to go wrong at will for the away side as Logan then gifted Maguire an opportunity to shoot from the edge of the box. Fortunately for Cove, he screwed his effort wide.
Sam Ashford was next to try his luck, with Fox gathering at the near post, as Cove struggled to muster anything in response.
Naismith was replaced by Luis Longstaff at half-time as Cove shifted to a back four and they then lost midfielder Connor Scully seven minutes into the second half.
There was a paucity of chances coming Cove’s way, with Albinson rarely tested in the Ayr goal.
Akinyemi continued to make a nuisance of himself in attack and the visiting defence struggled to get to grips with his influence on the game.
Substitute Mitchell-Lawson put the cap on an assured Honest Men performance, meeting Maguire’s cross from close range to score.
Away day blues continue to be an issue for Cove
The trip to Somerset rounds off a run of three straight away games for Cove and has just added to their problems on the road.
They have won just once on the road this season – a 1-0 win over Partick at the start of February – and when points have not been picked up regularly enough at home either, you get the situation Cove find themselves in.
Given they have to face both of their relegation rivals on the road before the end of the campaign, that statistic becomes even more troubling.
AYR UNITED (4-4-2) – Albinson 6; Hewitt 6, McAllister 6, McGinty 6, Reading 6, McAlear 6 (Murdoch 73), Dempsey 7 (Bryden 78), Ashford 7 (McKenzie 73), Maguire 7, O’Connor 7 (Mitchell-Lawson 59), Akinyemi 7 (Smith 77). Subs not used – McAdams, Bilham, Watret.
COVE RANGERS (3-4-1-2) – Fox 5; Naismith 5 (Longstaff 46), Neill 5, Reynolds 5, Logan 5, Vigurs 6, Scully 5 (Virtanen 52), Longridge 5, O’Halloran 5 (Weston 81), Megginson 6 (Dunne 81), McIntosh 5. Subs not used – Gourlay, Dunne, Toure.
Referee – Craig Napier 6.
Attendance – 1,710.
Player of the match – Dipo Akinyemi.
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