Ayr thrash 10-man Stenhousemuir

Ayr moved level on points with second-placed Peterhead with a thumping 4-1 win against 10-man Stenhousemuir.Both sides had decent early chances, with Stenhousemuir goalkeeper Jamie Barclay parrying a Craig Moore shot to safety, while at the other end Colin McMenamin's effort was blocked by Greg Fleming.Barclay pulled off a superb stop to tip over a Paddy Boyle free-kick midway through the half as Ayr pushed forward.Alan Forrest had come close to the opening goal shortly before Ayr took a 65th-minute lead. A free-kick from Ryan Stevenson was parried by Barclay and Craig Moore was on hand to slot in the rebound.Their joy was short-lived as the visitors were soon level. Jason Scotland brought a fine save from Fleming from a free-kick, but there was nothing the goalkeeper could do from the following corner as Jamie McCormack powered home a header.Stenhousemuir were reduced to 10 men when Alan Cook was sent off for a second bookable offence and that proved costly as Ayr took the lead through Stuart Malcolm's own goal.It was 3-1 six minutes from time as Stevenson let fly with a stunning shot into the top corner and Alan Trouten completed a comfortable win with a neat finish to some fine build-up play.