Ayr self-destruct in defeat to Raith

Ayr finished with nine men as they fell to a 2-0 home defeat to Raith in the Scottish Championship.

Raith scored twice in the first half through Ethon Varian and Dario Zanatta before also having a man sent off as they recorded their first win of the campaign.

Varian headed home the opener after a cross from the left in the 14th minute and Zanatta curled the second into a corner 11 minutes later.

Struggling Ayr, who now have just one point from their opening four games, lost on-loan striker Jonathan Afolabi to a straight red card in the 75th minute following a rash challenge.

Raith’s Blaise Riley-Snow and Ayr’s Aaron Muirhead were also sent off after picking up second yellow cards in separate incidents in the following minutes as the visitors saw out a comfortable win.