Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin praised his supersubs for making the difference against Ayr at Tannadice in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.
The Terrors had struggled to break down the dogged Honest Men, with Goodwin making a half-time change and four more in the 65th minute.
That paid dividends, with Nikolaj Moller netting the opener and another sub in Pan Camara sealing the victory late on.
Goodwin said: “It’s all about getting through, we knew it wouldn’t be easy or straightforward against an experienced and well-organised Ayr United side.
“We wanted to bring players on to freshen it up because it was getting a bit flat and pedestrian.
“Thankfully the subs worked out well – they were involved in the goals.
“We’re in the next round, that’s the main thing – we know we can play better but it’s about being in the draw.”
Goodwin was delighted to see Moller break his duck for the club.
The Irishman added: “I’m really pleased for Niko, he’s not had enough game time but we know the quality he’s got.
“He’s a modern number nine, he holds the ball up well and the thing that has been missing has been the goal.
“He got the goal, it was good play from Ryan Strain and hopefully he can take confidence from it.”
Ayr boss Scott Brown was angered that Jamie Murphy was booked for simulation after a tackle that left him injured and was also disappointed with Strain’s challenge on Marco Rus that led to Moller’s goal.
Brown said: “I thought the first-half performance was very good.
“We started the game on the front foot and got after them. We won our individual battles and picked up a lot of second balls.
“We lost Murphy with a groin issue at half-time. He is a big miss because he brings calmness and quality.
“The ref got that one wrong. It was clear and obvious.
“The second half we didn’t cover ourselves in glory, if I am being honest, until 20 minutes in when we started to play again.
“I think the goals, it was a foul on Marco and there is only one guy in the box and we should do a little bit better, but he misplaced the cross and it ended up at the striker’s feet.
“That is what happens when you play against good teams. They have some good players and physical players.
“You can see the quality they had to bring on. It is a brilliant learning experience for the lads.
“It shows where we want to be and where we want to get to. We knew it would be a hard game with the game midweek and them being fresher than us.”
