McBookie Ayrshire District League

IRVINE VICTORIA 1

WHITLETTS VICTORIA 1

A SECOND half strike from Adam Forsyth saw improving Whitletts come from behind to gain a share of the spoils against the league leaders at Victoria Park.

This was a cracking advert for Ayrshire District League football and both side could point to instances in the game where the match could have swung their way but at the end of the day the Dam Park side were disappointed not to come away with all three points.

Morgan Brown, signed on loan from Troon earlier in the day, turned in a man-of-the-Match performance for Whitletts and could prove another important signing for the Ayr side in the run-in.

In a tense start the hosts had the better of the early play and Sean Mears should have given them the lead in 16 minutes when a defensive clearance broke off a Whitletts defender into his path but the midfielder fired wide.

Louis Kerr had the ball in the net for Whitletts a minute later but was adjudged to be offside, but in 20 minutes the home side took the lead with a goal that visiting

'keeper Marty Fraser will want to forget. There appeared to be little danger as the visiting number one raced from his line to collect a long pass forward but he misjudged the run of the ball as it ran past him, allowing Irvine full back David Smith to cut the ball back from the byeline to give David Adams a simple tap in to put the league leaders in front.

In recent months Whitletts heads would have gone down but they re-grouped and produced a spirited fightback. Forsyth found the side netting with a shot on the turn from a Craig Fisher free kick and then home keeper Chris Lamb saved a Louis Kerr drive from the edge of the box.

Irvine had a goal ruled out just before the break for a narrow offside decision after Mears found the net but they had to settle for a one goal lead going in at the break.

The hosts started the second period strongly and Fraser redeemed himself with a save at full stretch to turn a Jordan Craig strike round the post but Whitletts withstood that early pressure and in 51 minutes were back on level terms. A Raymond Buchanan free-kick into the area beat George Bonner and Forsyth nipped in behind to control the ball before firing past Lamb.

A sneaky Craig Fisher free-kick under the defensive wall almost caught out Lamb who saved at full stretch as Whitletts took charge, but despite their possession they couldn’t find a way through a resolute Irvine defence.

The Victoria Park side worked a neat free kick when former Whitletts player David Cunningham played a neat one-two with Kenny Parris but the midfielder's strike flashed just wide.

Meanwhile Whitletts' best chance came when Louis Kerr raced onto a through ball only to be thwarted by Lamb, who raced off his line to block and in the dying moments the visitors thought they had won all three points but Isaac Kerr’s header from a Fisher free-kick flew inches over the bar.

IRVINE VICTORIA: Lamb;Smith.Wood, Young. Bonner, Craig, Mears, Davidson, Parris, Adams, Cunningham (Adam 82). Subs (not used): D Wilson C Wilson 15. Bolton, Singleton.

WHITLETTS VICTORIA: Fraser; Anderson, Brown, Mullen, I Kerr. Buchanan, Fisher. L Kerr (Milligan 87); Forsyth, Barbour (Boyd 68); Sloan. Subs (not used): Ogston, Dempsey, McClymont.