Ayrshire Derby madness as Kilmarnock dominance sees Ayr fans leaving and double substitution inside 16 MINUTES

Ayr United suffered a nightmare start to their big derby against Kilmarnock – as fans were seen leaving in the 16th minute.

Lee Bullen's Honest Men went into Ayrshire's biggest fixture as underdogs but a 4-0 Championship thumping of Raith the previous weekend gave cause for cautious optimism.

It was short lived however when Derek McInnes' side stormed into a 3-0 lead in the opening 16 minutes.

Rory McKenzie, Oli Shaw and Jack Sanders inflicted the damage that left Ayr with a mountain to climb.

And it was at that moment a number of home fans had seen enough – with some pictured heading for the Somerset Park exits just moments later.

Bullen then sent for a double substitution before the 20 minute mark as Mark McKenzie and James Maxwell were brought off, the latter looking less than impressed at being sacrificed.

Chants of "one team in Ayrshire" rang around the ground before the nightmare start was compounded when one of Ayr's substitutes, Markus Fjortoft, was sent off after only 10 minutes on the park for hauling down Shaw.

Kerr McInroy did manage to pull a goal back for the hosts before half time as his powerful low strike from distance beat Zach Hemming.