Ross Millen risked the wrath of his old man by helping the Pars earn a replay at East End Park on Wednesday.
Opinion in the Millen household is sure to be divided as the young defender and his father Andy, Ayr’s assistant coach, debate who should already be through to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
Millen jnr was in little doubt that the Pars could and perhaps should have finished the job at the first opportunity.
Those in the home camp had other ideas, which was reflected in the topsy-turvy nature of a thrilling clash which could, ultimately, have gone either way.
Ayr had shaded the early chances before Millen swung over a pinpoint cross from the right and Andy Geggan, the former United midfielder, met it with a fine half-volley which gave David Hutton no chance.
Pars keeper Ryan Scully kept his side level with a string of excellent saves before Michael Donald hit the equaliser early in the second half.
Both sides carved out chances to win it in the closing stages but Millen jnr said: “We’re disappointed rather than relieved because I think we could have won it today.
“I think we maybe deserved it but we’ll take the draw and look forward to Wednesday.”
Young Millen played down the possibility of a family feud when he added: “My dad probably won’t talk to me tonight but that’s about it.
“To be fair, I still stay at home and we do discuss football a lot. He still gives me a lot of advice. I used to love watching him here a lot when he played for Ayr United.
“I was just a kid and I was the mascot a few times. I don’t know if I was ever a lucky mascot for them certainly not today.”
Scully had already made some excellent saves from Kevin Kyle and Michael Moffat before Dunfermline took the lead against the run of play.
Millen took possession on the right and his delivery into the box was perfect for Geggan to drill a shot high into the Ayr net.
United responded by dominating the remainder of the first half and only Scully denied them parity with a further string of great saves.
However, the visiting keeper was beaten on the restart when Kyle cleverly knocked the ball into the path of Donald ,who steadied himself before firing low to at last get the better of the Pars keeper.
Neither side looked content to settle for a replay and both had chances, with Ryan Wallace and Shaun Byrne going closest for the Fifers.
Dunfermline boss Jim Jefferies was left to bemoan his side’s failure to convert chances into goals.
He said: “It was end-to-end stuff but I don’t think that we worked their keeper enough. Our goalie had several saves to make but theirs didn’t even though we had enough chances to put him under pressure.
“It’s maybe a better result for us because not even Premier League teams find this an easy place to come.
“I’m sure people will say the advantage is with us back at East End Park and if we go and play as we can we’ll have a really good chance.
“But Ayr have more experience than us and we will have to cope with that. Hopefully, by Wednesday, the draw will have been kind and there will be a real incentive for both clubs.”
United player-boss Mark Roberts paid tribute to his former team-mate Geggan.
“That’s two games he’s played against us and he has scored two great goals,” he said.
“It was a sublime finish today and I hate him for it! Once we equalised, I thought it would be us that would go on and win.”