Ayr head coach Calum Forrester was pleased to see his side recover from a sloppy start to defeat Boroughmuir at Meggetland in the BT Premiership yesterday.
The Millbrae side travelled to the capital with four wins out of five and with Scotland star Sean Maitland in their ranks, but fell behind 6-0 early on to a fired-up home side.
A penalty by Grant Anderson and then a converted try by the same man just before half time gave Ayr a boost and from 10-6 up they grew into things in the second half.
They started the second 40 minutes sharply and a well-worked try saw Kerr Gossman going over in the corner.
Their third try of the day came in the 57th minute when Anderson ghosted through the defence for the converted score, and that made it 22-6.
With nine minutes to go a try from Ian Martin gave the home side a glimmer of hope, but a try from Blair MacPherson then secured Ayr's bonus point.
Magnus Bradbury got a late try for 'Muir and Gossman got a second for the visitors as the game ended 34-16.
Forrester, whose side now sit third in the table but level on points with leaders Gala, said: "I thought the period just before half time was crucial because we had not started well and the 10 points from Grant gave us a bit of a shot in the arm.
"After the break I thought we added a bit more urgency and fluidity to our play and it was crucial for us to get the bonus point because this league is going to be so tight all season."
Maitland had some good breaks during his 66 minutes on the pitch, but was well watched by the 'Muir defence. His Warriors colleague Dougie Hall was also in the Ayr side.
Forrester added: "It says a lot for the ethos that the Warriors have built up that when the pros come to the club they click with the lads and work hard. We were pleased to have the guys on board in this game."
Gala are still top, but they were pushed very hard by Edinburgh Accies, who have yet to win a match. A converted try with 10 minutes to go from Rex Jeffrey saw Gala come through 26-19 at Raeburn Place, with the match having been tied at 19-19 before his intervention.
Heriot's, in second, were 16-10 down at half time at Currie, but came through 34-28 in the end. For the victors their try-scorers were Gavin Cameron, Jack McLean, Charlie Simpson, Harry Boisseau and Russell Nimmo.
Melrose are in fourth, but the reigning champions lost out 21-20 in the Borders derby against Hawick at Mansfield Park.
Scott McLeod and Joaquin Dominguez scored tries for the home side with Lee Armstrong kicking 11 points while Ewan McQuillin and Tito Mua were among Melrose's try scorers.
And in the Stirling County-Glasgow Hawks match at Bridgehaugh, the home side managed to come out on top 28-19 and sit fifth.
Gary Heatly
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