Over the spoon

Daily Record
17th Feb 1997

Heads you lose… agony for keeper Steve Ellison as he fails to stop Duncan George’s header

S’HOUSEMUR 1
AYRE UNITED 2
Bv RONNIE MACKAY

ALEX FERGUSON has Never boasted mystic powers-but Gordon Dalziel reckons his predictions are safer than Uri Geller’s.
Spoon-bender Geller recently tipped Ayr to win Division Two, and he could be on to a winner.
Victory over Stenny stretched their winning streak to six games and moved them eight points clear at the top.
Later Dalziel revealed Fergie had also napped Ayr for the title.
He joked: “If we win the league, I’ll probably send Uri a spoon.
“Anyway, he also tipped Liverpool to win the FA Cup and Newcastle for the Coca-Cola Cup and look what happened to them.
“The only compliment I’ve had was from Alex Ferguson when I saw Man United against Wimbledon.”
“He said we would be champions and you can’t get a better compliment than that.”
Dalziel admitted he’d just come through one of the hardest games of the season – and he reckoned he could have done with painkillers after standing next to Stenny boss Terry Christie.
He said: “After listening to wee Terry roaring from the dug-out for 90 minutes, you need paracetamol.
“But they are a very difficult team to break down.”
Two goals in the last five minutes of the first half rescued Ayr after Stenny took the lead in l2 minutes.
Alan Banks swung in a free-kick from the left and Chris Innes -back from injury after eight weeks headed home from eightyards.
Stenny should have been there ahead but wasted glaring chances before the killer double blow.
Paul Watson’s free-kick from the left was headed home by Duncan George from close range in 40 minutes, then Robert Scott ran clear through to slot past keeper Steve Ellison for his 100th senior goal.
Christie was seething over Scott’s goal.
He said: “We’ve been done by the officials. The goal was miles offside and proved to be a big turning point.”
“It was a dreadful decision everybody there saw that it was offside.”