A nightmare start led to a torrid afternoon for Airdrie as Ayr United took full advantage to secure a 4-2 victory.

The Diamonds headed to Somerset Park hoping that a new man in the dugout could change their fortunes against the Honest Men, who had won the last ten meetings between the sides, but it wasn’t to be as Scott Brown’s side prevailed in miserable conditions.

Aidan Wilson returned from illness to lead Airdrie out, with Rhys Armstrong and Dean McMaster also reinstated to the starting line-up. Craig Ross, Jamie Barjonas dropped to the bench while injury ruled out Dylan MacDonald.

With the first attack of the game, Ethan Walker put the home side ahead after just three minutes, exploiting a space on the left of Airdrie’s backline and stroking the ball beyond Matty Connelly and into the net.

The dust had barely settled when Mark McKenzie added a sixth-minute second, stooping to send in an angled header as a cross from the Ayr left found the incoming striker unmarked.

The dazed Diamonds hit back through Charlie Telfer, but a defensive block sent the midfielder’s shot looping into the hands of goalkeeper David Mitchell on nine minutes.

Four minutes later the home side were on the counter-attack again, but on this occasion the Airdrie defence managed to avert the danger with Connelly gathering gratefully.

The Diamonds keeper prevented Walker from grabbing a spectacular second with a good save on the quarter-hour mark, and seconds later a close-range header came back of the Airdrie crossbar.

The home defence stood firm to clear a low Euan Henderson cross after the midfielder had outpaced his man on 18 minutes, but four minutes later Ayr had the ball in the net again, McKenzie smashing home his second from a tight angle after pouncing on a missed interception.

Mitchell claimed a 25th-minute Henderson header, but the former Partick keeper was powerless to stop Lewis McGrattan finding the net three minutes later, the midfielder taking a pass from Armstrong and curling a first-time effort beyond Mitchell from the edge of the box.

Scott McMann saw a long-range effort clear the bar by some distance before referee David Dickinson almost put Walker through as a pass ricocheted off his torso, but he recovered in time to blow the whistle and stop play.

The hosts restored their three-goal advantage six minutes before half-time, Jamie Murphy glancing a header beyond Connelly as a cross from the right entered the box.

Some nice footwork from Cole McKinnon in first-half stoppage time saw the former Ayr loanee juggle the ball past a defender and into the box, but his second touch allowed Mitchell to nick possession.

An early second-half change saw Jamie Barjonas, Tate Xavier-Jones and Cammy Cooper introduced, and it seemed to give the Diamonds a spark as they tried to fight their way back into the game.

Xavier-Jones pounced on a slack pass from Mitchell four minutes after coming on, but the recovering defender did well to steal in.

A minute later Nick McAllister flew into a rash challenge on McKinnon, earning a yellow card for the Ayr defender and a dangerous free-kick for Airdrie, which Charlie Telfer despatched with aplomb for his first goal since returning to the club.

Ayr made their own changes as they attempted to regain control of the match, including the introduction of Anton Dowds, so often a thorn in Airdrie’s side in recent seasons. The striker’s first action was a defensive one as he booted clear a dangerous Cooper pass across goal.

Connelly produced the save of the match on 67 minutes, backpedalling and diving to touch a powerful headed effort onto the bar.

Four minutes later Airdrie’s penalty claims fell on deaf ears as Cooper was dragged down in the box.

McKinnon and Dowds exchanged half chances inside the final ten minutes, and Ayr finished the game strongly with Walker clipping the bar before Connelly produced another top-drawer save to keep out a netbound header.

The final whistle ended a more spirited second half from Airdrie, but the damage had been done in the early stages and the points remained in Ayrshire.

A home tie against Morton is next up for the Diamonds, who will be looking to end a difficult first quarter on a high.