LEE BULLEN has praised the contribution of Logan Chalmers after the substitute played a key role in securing a point for Ayr away to Inverness on Saturday.

Bullen said the 2-2 draw at Caledonian Stadium was a fair result as the Honest Men saw their advantage at the top of the Championship table cut to a single point following wins for Dundee and Morton.

Chalmers came on in place of the injured Daire O’Connor in the dying moments of the first half with Ayr trailing 1-0 to Nathan Shaw’s early goal, and though Mark McKenzie levelled after the break, and Dipo Akinyemi gave Ayr the lead with just eight minutes to go, Shaw’s late equaliser ensured the spoils were shared.

“I think most people watching the game would have said that Logan gave us the biggest spark, absolutely,” Bullen told Ayr United TV after the match.

“He showed some brilliant pieces of ability and then obviously the piece of skill on the halfway line to go past his man and set up the first goal for Marky was sublime.

“I thought he had actually nicked a winner right at the very end, but the goalie’s made a wonderful save to stop it going in the top corner.

“At half-time would we have taken a draw? Yes, we would have, absolutely because it didn’t seem to be going our way.

“When you go 2-1 up with six or seven minutes to go then you’re walking off the pitch frustrated, but it probably would have been harsh on Inverness to be honest.”

Ayr, and their Championship rivals, now take a break from league business as all eyes turn to the third round of the Scottish Cup this weekend, with Bullen’s side set to play host to Pollok on Monday, November 28 in a tie to be broadcast live on BBC Scotland.

And the Ayr boss says he plans to resist the temptation to tinker with his squad too much.

“I’ll try and stay relatively strong because I want to get through to the next round,” he said.

“We’re not going to patronise Pollok in any way whatsoever. I watched their game against Annan [in the second round] and they were well worthy of the victory.”

Watch post-match interviews in full with both Bullen and Chalmers at ayrunitedfc.co.uk/ayr-united-tv.