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Ayr United and Arbroath first met at Somerset Park on 22nd August 1926 in a Second Division match when the Honest Men won by 5-0. Gayfield Park, Arbroath has not always been a happy hunting ground for Ayr, but United started well on their first visit there on 2nd January 1926 when they recorded a 3-1 win. A 1-1 draw was recorded on 29th January 1927, Ayr having already won well at Somerset park by 3-1 on 18th September 1926.
Things wouldn't always go United's way at Gayfield as shown when Ayr lost 3-1 in their first division match their on 11th September 1935, confirmed in a 4-0 drubbing on 28th August 1937.
Ayr won again at the wind swept, sea surf washed Gayfield Park on 19th January 1946 when Ayr ran out 4-2 winners to register only their second ever win there. They repeated the performance the following year to win 5-2 in, again in a 'B' division match, on 22nd March 1947. In October 1947 the honours were even at 2-2 and Ayr secumbed to a solitory goal on 30th October 1948.
Ayr had aready beaten Arboath at home in the League Cup on 11th September 1948 by 4-2 but lost 1-0 at Somerset Park in the 'B' Division match on 12th February 1949.
Ayr's were getting the hang on winning there had a good result there on 28th October 1950 with a 2-0 win and the same score was repeated almost a year later on 27th October 1951. Draws and defeats dominated the next few seasons until the second division clash on 14th March 1959 when United won 3-1.
Wins were not easy to come by, but it could be argued that most of the matches were ending in draws. It was another 5 years before Ayr recorded their next win, by 1-0, in the second division campaign on 29th February 1964. Ayr continued to win well at home and recorded a 2-1 win 18th December 1965 and by 3-1 on 23rd December 1967 in another Second Division match, although the Red Lichties won 2-0 in a Scottish Cup tie at Somerset Park that season.
There was a 1-1 draw on 23rd September 1972 in the first division at Gayfield with Ayr winning 2-0 on 13th January 1973. Ayr's next win at Gayfield Park took place in a first division match on 29th March 1975 having already won at Ayr on 23rd November 1974..
The premier league inaugural years kept the clubs apart until United's relegation and they the clubs played two first division matches there within a fortnight. The first on 24th March 1979 ended in a 4-1 win for Arbroath whilst the second on 7th April 1979 provided Ayr with a 3-2 win.
United obtained a 1-1 draw at an intensely cold Gayfield on 22nd December 1979 which meant that Ayr were unbeaten in fifteen games. Arbroath were on their way to relegation when Ayr cuffed them 5-0 on 19th April 1980.
Due to Arbroath's extended stay in the lower leagues it was 29th November 1986 before Ayr found themselves playing the Red Lichties, this time in second division football. Ayr thrashed the home team 5-2 on this occasion although the Arbroath recorded a 2-0 win later in the season.
Season 1987/88 was a championship winning year for Ayr and an extra time league cup win on 12th August 1987 was a sweetener for the season to come. Ayr had won at Somerset Park by 2-0 on 10th October 1987.
By the time that Ayr United took the field against Arbroath on 16th January 1988 they had already gone 11 months undefeated away from home. Ironically Ayr's last away defeat had been at Arbroath on 14th February 1987 so nobody came to Gayfield looking for it easy.
Confidence was, nevertheless, high amongst Ayr's table toping sqaud. The game started well for Ayr at the picturesque gayfield Park. Picturesque, but wild as it's position on top of a coastline cliff meant cross winds and a constant brusque gale to freeze any fan coming unprotected. Despite Ayr's lofty position, Arbroath were a team to be feared and it was little surprise to those present that Ayr were 2-1 down with time running out. Were Ayr going to stumble at Gayfield yet again? Unlikely if Ayr's deadly duo of John Sludden and Henry 'Diego MaraHenry' Templeton had anything to say.
The Somerset aces struck through 'Sluddy' in 68 minutes to level the score followed a short time later by a Templeton strike to put the Honest men in front. Ayr's 4th came in the last minute from John Sludden and a 4-2 win sent the Somerset faithful away happy.
United finished a comprehensive season against Arbroath with another league win on 2nd April 1988 winning 3-0 at Somerset Park
The Arbroath faithful had a bit more to cheer about when Arbroath finally managed to catch up with Ayr in the first division with a 3-2 win on 18th September 2001 in front of a mere 438 fans. 700 fans managed to brave the elements when Ayr redressed the balance with a fine 2-0 win on 12th January 2002 with goals from Annand and Sheerin being decisive.
The clubs met in Division 2 encounters in 2004/05 with the first match in November 2004 ending 0-0. However, United won 2-0 in the 29th January 2005 match.