Scott Brown hailed rising star Dylan Watret after the full back’s worth continued to soar at Airdrie today.
The teenager thundered a sensational winner from 25 yards as Ayr got back to winning ways with a vital three points on the road.
And boss Brown praised the mature performance of a player who is quickly making a name for himself, with a string of English giants already having watched the 18-year-old in action this season.
Brown said: “I’m delighted for the wee man getting his goal – but not just that it was his overall display. He showed a composure on the ball all day and a willingness to go and receive the ball off the goalkeeper. He came back into the team today and showed his quality.
“We want our full backs to press high and get themselves into areas where they can score goals and create chances. We can’t just be relying on big Geo for that and Dylan has now got two goals already.”
Ayr had to grind out the victory – their eighth on the trot against Airdrie – as a clean sheet proved the base to return to form. Brown confessed the return of Scott McMann was key in adding stability for United at the heart of defence.
He said: “The clean sheet was good and Scotty coming back in is great because he’s so calm and understands the way we want to play. He’s a natural left sided defender and not a lot of people do him for pace over there. He shows a willingness to improve every week and a desire, which is exactly what you want.
“Today we had to be patient and we never got frantic. We weren’t converting the chances and shots in the early part of the game and that’s something we need to improve.”
Brown recalled McMann to the heart of defence while Frankie Musonda started at left back with Watret at right back.
But Ayr almost had a nightmare start when Ben Wilson raced clear inside 15 seconds only to fire wide of the target.
The early warning brought a reaction from United and George Oakley fired wide before the same player touched over a header from Musonda which was heading towards goal.
Brown turned to his bench early in the second half and brought on Jamie Murphy and Alfie Bavidge in search of more creativity and Ayr began to probe with more effect.
McMann had the ball in the net from a corner, only to be denied by the assistant’s flag before Oakley drew a smart stop from Murray Johnson at point blank range.
Up stepped Watret with his moment of magic to break the deadlock as, after a fine driving run from Connor McLennan, the ball broke to the right back and he lashed the ball into the top corner before racing to celebrate with the travelling support.