The Toon went into the match having lost just one of their 12 previous league games against the Honest Men, and also having completed a clean sweep over their opponents last season, winning all four meetings.

Bobby Mann had netted four goals in those wins, but it's fair to say the Blue Toon captain is not held in the highest of regard by Ayr fans, after escaping a sending off in the corresponding fixture last term, before netting two late penalties in the second trip.

However, the former Dundee defender was once more left on the bench due to the form of Martin Skinner since coming into the team against Queen's Park last month.
There were two changes to the Blue Toon side that had drawn 0-0 with Stirling Albion last week, with Sean Fleming dropping to the bench as Graeme Sharp made his first start in over a month, after work commitments forced him to miss two games. Dean Cowie replaced the injured Neil McVitie in the centre of midfield.

Conditions were far from perfect as the game kicked off, but the Toon had the wind and driving rain at their backs, so it could perhaps be expected that they would use that to their advantage.
Early signs were promising as Sharp burst through the middle after six minutes, only for a tug on his shirt to end his run. Martin Bavidge had to make a divot to keep the ball still as he took the kick, but shanked his effort onto the roof of the stand.

Despite the conditions, both teams were attempting to play passing football, and Ayr had the better possession, but found it hard to break through a stout Peterhead rearguard despite an assured display from young striker David Gormley, making his first start for the club.
The closest they had come was from a corner kick, though a clash between Skinner and Scott Walker as the former Aberdeen youngster desperately tried to clear saw the play stopped as he picked up a knock.
At the other end, Bavidge pulled down a long ball from defence beautifully, but his strike from a tight angle was beaten behind by Ayr keeper Stephen Grindlay.

Sharp's drilled delivery from the resultant corner caused mayhem in the home defence as another former Don, Bryan Prunty, sliced his clearance towards his own goal but the ball was scrambled.
The Toon were dealt a blow just before the half hour when Skinner's previous knock forced him off, though the Ayr fans were pleased to "welcome" his replacement, Mann, to the play.
The switch, a straight swap, didn't do much to change the flow of the game, and a minute before the interval, the Toon were to be punished for their failure to use the weather to their advantage.

Ryan Stevenson had the chance to run at Davie Donald on the left, and the usually reliable defender was drawn into a challenge which nine times out of ten he would have won. This time, though, he brought down the Ayr midfielder, who picked himself up to drill the resultant penalty kick beyond Michal Kula, who went the wrong way.
The weather calmed dramatically at half-time which made it much easier to get the ball down and play football, though the pattern of play didn't change much.

Two minutes after the restart, a fine Gormley run was ended cleanly with Mann nicking the ball off the striker's toe. It fell kindly for Prunty, but he could only blaze his shot over the bar.
Top scorer Craig Gunn had been quiet so far, but the on-loan hitman showed determination to retain possession on the edge of the box and square for Cowie, whose angled shot was wide of the target.

And just after the hour, a superbly timed ball from Bavidge allowed the tireless Stuart McKay to angle a shot toward goal, which Grindlay palmed onto his crossbar. The rebound fell to Sharp on the left. He shrugged off one challenge and made his way into the box only for referee George Salmond, a former Scotland cricket captain, to ignore the advantage and pull play back for a free kick.

A 1-0 lead is always precarious, but Peterhead's chances of a leveller were dealt a blow when Mann overstretched in making a challenge and was forced off with what looked to be a groin injury. The defender was spared no sympathy as he trudged round the touchline, in front of the large home support behind the goals, and in the main stand.
With no other defenders on the bench, a reshuffle was forced on Cooper, with Cowie pressed into action as an emergency central defender.
The midfielder isn't the tallest, and Ayr quickly pinpointed that as a weakness, a superb chipped ball into the area evading Cowie, but Kula made a fine save from Prunty to keep his side in the match.

The Pole has looked a much more confident figure this season after a number of howlers last term, but when the visitors extended their lead two minutes from the end, it was his slip that presented the opportunity.
A sliced clearance from the keeper fell kindly for Ayr, and with Donald hesitant to commit to a challenge, the Toon were punished. The ball was played to Willie Easton on the left, and his cross was steered home at the near post by substitute Alex Williams, who had only been on the park for a minute.

It was a cruel blow for the Toon, but Ayr were worthy of the points. Importantly, the Toon remain well poised in the play-off places ahead of their next match, at home to East Fife a week on Saturday.
There's no game for the Toon this week due to the international break, which Cooper may well be glad of after seeing two of his three central defenders leave Ayr with injuries.