killie.net

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Update

I've been trying to resurrect this with a new design but it's all went bananas. Sorry about that. I'm working away and trying to get it back into order.

¶ 11:47 PM 0 comments links to this post

Monday, May 02, 2005

Post Split Trauma

True to form this season, my laziness has meant that there has been a whopping eight matches since my last post here. True to Killie's season, it's been a mixed bag of results too. The record reads P8 W3 L4 D1 and in those games we've managed to beat - and get beat by – both Dundee and Inverness Caley. Go figure.

The latest run started pretty miserably. Despite my bold assurance that we'd never lost at the Almondvale Shopping Centre, Livi went and done us 3-1. With the kind of irony kept only for football it seems, they hadn't won a match since...oh, since they last played us. We even drew first blood with a Johnstone effort but after that we fell to bits. A few days later we blew the chance to make amends by surrendering meekly (again) 1-0 at home to Aberdeen; albeit to a fantastic strike by Kevin "too-scared to play against France" McNaughton.

The omens were mixed going into the next home match against Dundee Utd. Sure, last time they headed down our way Kris Boyd put five goals past them (even if Utd's manager Ian McCall failed to notice). But, last time out at Tannadice they were in dire need of a result and we duly obliged by handing them 3 goals silver service style. With Utd still languishing at the foot of the table, once again McCall was under pressure and a fired-up team of Arabs was expected. As it turned out, Utd were shit, missed a penalty, we coasted to a 3-0 victory (2 from Boyd (1 pen) and a scorcher from Danny Invincibile), and shortly afterwards wee Ian got the bullet.

Was that us back on track? Er, no. A dreadful 1-0 defeat away to Dundee followed, the Dark Blues scoring from a somewhat dubious penalty in their only venture into our half. We huffed and puffed a lot – even hit the bar at one point – but a goal never looked really likely. To make matters worse, in their wisdom (some cock and bull idea that the ground might be packed) Dundee decided to house the away fans in what is officially known as The Worst Away Section in a Football Stand in Scotland, i.e. at the end of that stupid bent main stand of theirs behind the customary pillars. I wouldn’t mind Dundee getting relegated if only to stop us having to go to Dens Park.

That game was poor, but the following week’s home defeat to the Highland Flingers was harder to take. Once again we dominated things without a real cutting edge. Once again we got beat 1-0 with a goal scored in Caley’s only real attempt to decamp from their own half. They did this to us earlier in the season at Rugby Park, whilst still under wee Robbo’s control, getting an undeserved equaliser that day. To deepen the gloom this result killed off our fading hopes of making the mildly more lucrative Top Six. According to the manager, though, any higher a finish than tenth (our lofty position last season) would mean progress. Technically, he’s right, of course, but realistically he’s talking bollocks.

The last game before the split, then, saw us heading to Fir Park – the silliest ground in Scotland. Not having ANY stands that match, or even vaguely complementary to each other, is an architectural achievement of some note. Add that to the fact that the pitch has a slope you could ski down in winter and you have a ground that, quite frankly, I don’t much like. Anyway, it’s football we’re here for. Games with Motherwell are a bit like fencing contests where the players seem to believe that points are awarded for hitting and/or injuring your opponent. I blame Billy Davies for this. Amid the wailing and gnashing, Killie took the lead through a smashing Peter Leven free kick and led almost till the death, when Well’s Stephen Craigan took a throw-in having run from somewhere in the car-park to launch it. It fooled Alan Combe anyway as he slapped it into his own net. 1-1 and Motherwell secured their places in the filthy half dozen.

So Killie headed into the post-split fixtures with mouth-watering ties against Dundee (H), Caley (A), Utd (A), Livi (H) and Pars (H) to look forward to. In the first of these only 3770-odd hardy souls thought the match worth their time on a Saturday afternoon. Killie did play pretty well, but Dundee were appalling. It took us till the 84^th minute, however, and a Dargo poke, to settle things. And so to last Saturday and the long trip to the Highland Capital.

As it turned out it wasn’t so long for me as I ended up missing just my second match of the season. It’s not a long story, but not an interesting one either. Bottom line is I wasn’t there. Unforgivable I know but I’m learning to live with it. Unlike Easter Road on the first day of the season, the match wasn’t on the radio (and I couldn’t be arsed with the internet broadcast knowing just how bad it would have been) so – another first for me – I “watched” the match by a combination of radio updates and the Sky Sports News vidiprinter. Disturbingly I was transfixed by the latter. How can something so mundane be so compelling? At one point I temporarily forgot about the Killie match, so engrossed was I in the updates from St. Mary’s where Southampton and Norwich were banging them in every few minutes. Radio Scotland were first to tell me that “there’s been a goal at Inverness…”. Don’t you just love that? You can almost feel their glee at keeping you in suspense for just that few seconds more. Then they tell you who’s scored: “….and it’s come for the away side. A good run down the flank by Fowler, who’s cross was bundled into the net by Gary McDonald. 1-0 to Kilmarnock.”. Just then the Sky vidiprinter caught up: GOAL: SPL Inverness CT 0-1 Kilmarnock Gary McDonald 21. Beautiful in it’s simplicity. Of course, by the time I finished celebrating Inverness had equalised via a penalty. GOAL: SPL Inverness CT 1-1 Kilmarnock 1 Ross Tokely (pen) 28. With Inverness CT highlighted in yellow this time. It’s astonishing how deflating a change of font colour can be to a man. Half-time came and went and things got a bit quiet (even Southampton and Norwich had taken a breather) then: GOAL: SPL Inverness CT (It’s not yellow!! It’s not yellow!!!!) 1-2 Kilmarnock Leven (pen) 71 flashed up. Well, I jumped around like a moron. For a moment it all seemed too unreal. Why hadn’t Radio Scotland announced it? Then, music to this fan’s ears: “There’s been another goal at Inverness….”. Fuck your dramatic pause, I thought, I’m already celebrating.

Postscript: it finished 4-3 to Southampton, so it looks like ex-Killie hero Gary Holt may be heading back to the English Championship. Hang in there Gary.

¶ 10:13 PM 1 comments links to this post

Monday, February 28, 2005

Losing Heart

I was intending to hold off with an update only until our titanic triumvrate of matches with Hearts had passed. Things being as they are, though, another two games have come and gone; but more of them later.

The Cup match at Tynecastle was, for me, just like the old days - and went some way to reinvigorating my belief in football. Killie took around 3000 fans to Gorgie. The atmosphere was terrific and the great game we hoped for duly unfolded. Hearts took the lead early on and, to be fair, looked to be in control, yet the gamed surged from one end to the other and the boys equalized through Colin Nish. Hearts scored again to regain the advantage just on the stroke of half time. As the second period wore on things started to look bleak but with just about the last kick of the match young "kid goals" Steven Naismith popped up to belt home the leveller to take us back to Rugby Park. I haven't celebrated a goal as much for a long time. This kind of drama is what football is all about.

Unfortunately, the league game back at Tynecastle a week later was everything the Cup match wasn't. A low crowd, a dull match, and a skelping 3-0 reverse. The whole atmosphere surrounding this match was wrong. Everyone from the management to the fans seemed to see it as an unwelcome diversion just four days before the Cup replay. JJ's post-match comments almost admitted as much as he tried to warn of a "different" Kilmarnock turning out in the Cup game.

I could have just about stomached the pathetic display had we indeed seen a much-improved battling Killie back at Rugby Park. Unfortunately, if anything, given the significance of the match, the performance was worse. Another 3-0 defeat doesn't tell the half of it. Hearts were quicker, fitter, more inventive and hungrier than us throughout and fully deserved their win. If the first Cup match lifted our spirits the replay crushed them to dust.

Next up were Dunfermline at Rugby Park and, to be honest, it was just nice to be rid of Hearts. Killie, possibly stung by criticism in the wake of the Hearts matches, put in a decent showing and ran out comfortable 2-1 winners with goals from Naismith and Kris Boyd. Thus our quest for a top-six place - and whatever dubious merits that bestows - got back on track.

And so to Saturday just passed and to Castle Greyskull. The bookies had us at something ridiculous like 19-1 to win the match, but then they don't lose much money do they? True to form Rangers eased into a 2-0 lead, ably assisted by Simon Ford's contender for World's Worst Pass-Back, yet Killie, strangely, were playing quite well. McDonald in particular was doing well in midfield and you had a sneaky feeling we weren't quite out of it. As the second half wore on the natives got more restless (especially with the unusually unbiased referee who had clearly not read the chapter entited "How to suck up to Rangers at Ibrox" in his handbook). And just to make matters tasty, Boyd struck home from a Leven corner with 10 minutes remaining. It's at moments like these that you hate and love football all at once. Suddenly you think: "Hey, we're in with a shout of a draw here", but deep down you know the inevitability of the situation and hope fades to even greater disappointment. And so it proved. It was all too little too late (games at Ibrox have a habit of turning into a cliche). But a good performance and one that should hopefully give us the confidence to go on a bit of a run - starting at Livi on Wednesday. We've never lost there you know...

¶ 9:42 PM 0 comments links to this post

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

It's been a long time....

Christ, bang goes all my hard work - and just when I thought that I could get into the flow of this. Since my last post all those weeks ago Killie have plumbed the depths and recovered to just about get their head above water. It went something like this...

Going to East End Park back in November dreaming of another 6-0 win was something of a mistake (we got humped 4-1). The only plus point was the enjoyment of taking my son to his first away game. His tears did threaten to get out of hand when the Pars hit their fourth. I could have cried myself. Wales hit the consolation strike. We headed into the home match with Ferranti Thistle thinking the defeat in Fife was a blip. A minor stumble. Blame it on the plastic. This turned out to be far from the truth as the the 3-1 defeat to a - then managerless - Livi and ensuing dark weeks demonstrated. Consolation this time was provided by Johnston.

Talk leading up to the Aberdeen match at Pitoddrie in early December was all about "making amends" and putting on a "fighting performance". We did actually play pretty well. Hell, we even led twice (the second a wonder free-kick from Peter Leven), but some comedy goalkeeping amongst other things saw us head back down the road dodging the speed cams on the back of a 3-2 reverse. That's three defeats on the bounce and 10 goals conceded if you're counting. A week later and it's Tannadice. We always win there and Ian McCall's coat is on the shoogliest of pegs. Time to get back to winning ways. We got beat 3-0. To say we were pish in this game doesn't begin to explain. 4 defeats, 13 goals.

Next up it's Rangers at Rugby Park. Hardly the best fixture to halt your losing streak but, hey, Rangers are shit this season so optimism abounds. Like so often in these games, however, we play well - and Rangers are indeed shit - but not well enough. We're even shitter and lose 1-0. That's five in a row. Word on the street now is that the shoogley peg now has oor Jim's parka on it.

In retrospect we just had to win the games against Dundee and Caley Thistle, so the 3-1 (Invincible, Ford, Boyd) and 2-0 (Invincible brace) wins weren't that surprising in the grand scheme of things. Football's a bit like that isn't it? The fact that we won them with a bit to spare - especially at Pitoddrie - was surprising and just a little bit frustrating considering the dross we had watched in the previous 5 outings. But a corner turned and the screws tightened on Jim's coat-hook.

With the team now on a bit of a roll, we approached the Cup and league double-header against Motherwell (both at RP) with great optimism. To win both games 2-0 (McDonald, Boyd then Boyd double) was a tremendous achievement and beyond the expectations of most Killie fans. We now had a run of 4 wins on the bounce with 3 clean sheets!!

It couldn't last, of course, and things have returned to earth with a bump in the last couple of games. The 3-0 defeat at Easter Road was pretty hard to take as we've already dumped Hibs twice this season. In the end, despite creating some decent openings, a hat-trick by boy-of-the-moment Riordan royally undid us. The 1-0 reverse to Celtic last weekend brings us up to date in predictable style. A decent performance - with on-loan Liam Fontaine from Fulham making his debut - but we surrendered pretty meekly despite a penalty from Sutton being the only difference between the sides.

So it's been a mixed couple of months. Inconsistency in selection, particularly due to injuries at the back, have contributed greatly to the flaky results, but we go into Saturday's fourth round Cup tie at Tynecastle in good heart (no pun intended). The signs are that we'll be filling most of the Roseburn stand in blue and white so here's hoping we've got something to sing about by 10 to 5. As I write this Hearts have just been beaten in the CIS Cup semi by Motherwell (3-2 AET). Whether this makes our job harder on Saturday remains to be seen...

¶ 10:47 PM 0 comments links to this post

Friday, November 19, 2004

Nothing in reserve

You may have noticed that I have singularly failed to keep this site up to date with reports from the away Reserve fixtures. There are a few reasons for this, the principal one being that, since they changed the format of the league from "U21" Monday night games to "Reserve" play-them-whenever-they-feel-like-it games I've not actually made it to any yet! In actual fact, they have only played 8 games so far, the 4 away matches all being played at the work-unfriendly time of 2pm. I notice also that the next home game versus Motherwell has been switched to the same KO time. In my opinion this is a missed opportunity, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that the clubs don't want supporters at these matches. Considering the average crowd can be 3-400 (bigger than some Second & Third division league games) this is perplexing. Perhaps a strongly worded letter is called for...

For the record, results to date have been as follows.

10/8/04 Hibs (H) 2-1 (Dargo 2)
24/8/04 Hearts (H) 0-1
14/9/04 Livingston (H) 1-0 (Dargo)
28/9/04 Dundee Utd (A) 0-2
12/10/04 Aberdeen (A) 0-0
19/10/04 Dundee (H) 2-1 (Naismith 2)
02/11/04 Celtic (A) 0-4
16/11/04 Dunfermline (A) 1-0 (Naismith)

¶ 11:52 PM 0 comments links to this post

Hanging in there

I was just about in danger there of letting this all slip again. Three matches have come and gone since my last post and, in keeping with the recent trend, it's been a mixed lot. The 3-1 humbling of Hibs at Rugby Park provided as entertaining a first 45 as I've seen for a while. Memories of the 6-2 drubbing we handed them (last season was it?) came flooding back as we raced into a three nil lead, however the second half, as is often the case, never quite lived up to expectation. Nevertheless, this was a fine win notable for further impressive performances from the pairing of Leven and MacDonald in midfield, likewise from new recruit Simon Ford at the back, and another brace from Van Nish-telrooy.

Naturally, then, we headed to the theatre of Potatoes with a degree of confidence. Unfortunately, the 50-odd year hoodoo remains as we went down 2-1 to Ceptic. This, however, was a tremendous performance from a very young Killie side. Killie actually dictated the play for much of the first half, and it took a dubious free-kick award on the stroke of half-time to present an out-of-sorts Ceptic with the opener - albeit finely struck by Aiden "I'd rather play for Ireland because they're, erm, Irish" McGeady. Still, Killie started the second period with great intent but all it took was some blatant cheating (or "simulation" in FIFA-speak) by Camara, when Ford had the audacity to run within six yards of him, to earn the obligatory penalty and put the game out of Killie's reach. Yet, the Ayrshiremen had the last word, scoring the best goal of the match (that man Nish again) right at the death. It was just too late to be anything more than a consolation, though.

The mood going into the next home match with Hearts (already our third meeting this season) remained positive. Like our previous two encounters, this proved to be a tough physical test (despite new Hearts manager John Robertson's assertions that he would be introducing a more passing style of game to the Gorgie men), however this time Killie rose to the challenge and had by far the better chances in the match. We had to settle for 1-1 in the end, a cracking goal from Peter Leven cancelled out by a counter-attacking strike from Wyness, but on possesion and chances Killie should have had Hearts buried before the hour mark. Earlier in the season I felt we were well short of the standards being set by Hearts. This game suggested that we have come a long way in a few short months. A solid win in Dunfermline tomorrow would cement that view and keep Killie well placed in the top half of the SPHell. With Killie, though, you never quite know what to expect next. A repeat of the 6-0 win there a few years back would do very nicely thank you....

¶ 11:21 PM 0 comments links to this post

Saturday, October 30, 2004

Script for a supporter’s tear

It’s been an eventful week these last seven days at Killie. We went into last Saturday’s home match with ICT thinking, surely, this was three points for our taking. And for much of the match this looked to be the case. Like Dens Park the previous week, Killie took the lead in the opening few minutes, this time a rare goal from wee Stevie Murray. Such was Killie’s dominance in the opening stages that, even when Caley equalised via a sloppily conceded (and deflected) goal soon after, Killie appeared to have the match under control. Greer promptly re-established the lead with a fierce volley (his first Killie goal? I’m not sure) and, when the Highlanders were reduced to 10 men early in the second half for a dubious “last-man” foul on Dargo we sat back and waited for the goals to be racked up. Unfortunately so did the Killie players.

It’s one of the truisms of football that teams often play better with 10 men than 11, especially if spurred on by a perceived injustice. What is also true, though, is that the opposing team’s reaction to the situation is to think their work is done for the day. On the hour match Killie reverted to what I call “fanny-about mode”; a disguise we wear quite well. We missed a pile of chances – Invincibile especially profligate when faced with only the keeper to beat – but the lack of urgency was frightening. And sure enough, with only about 6 minutes left on the clock, Caley stuck the ball in behind our defence and scored. 2-2. Killie, to their credit, stuck with the clichéd script and battered the Caley goal for the last 5 minutes but to no avail. Had they tried this half an hour earlier we would have won by 5 or 6. A lesson learned you hope.

It was a short wait until Wednesday’s game at Fir Park and our chance to shake off the lethargy of the Caley game. Killie’s preparations were dampened by the news that Kris Boyd will be out for up to six weeks following a knee operation. Gary Locke, taken off in the Caley match, was also still injured. It’s always a tough/shit match at Motherwell and the manager appeared to be making some sort of statement with his team selection. Nobody in the stand quite knew what he was saying though… In came Nish for Boyd, and Johnstone for the (goal-scoring) Murray. Peter Leven went to midfield with Freddie filling the left-back spot. His centre-back position was taken by new signing Simon Ford. It’s pretty well known at Rugby Park that Dindeleux can’t play left-back – his lack of pace being even more exposed. Bringing in Ford to partner Lilley was tantamount to dropping the Frenchman, yet Jefferies appeared to bottle this decision and put him at left-back instead. In the opening tussles this looked like being our undoing. The back four was a shambles. Dindeleux and Ford spent more time running into each other than anything else and Greer just concentrated on kicking Clarkston every time he got within range (OK, most of us would do the same). Lilley just about held us together.

Yet, somehow, they eventually got themselves organised. Motherwell spurned their early gifts and as the game wore on Killie looked more in command. Dargo hit the post with Marshall beaten, then Nish popped up with a trademark poke from a yard out after an Invincibile shot was only parried by the ‘Well keeper. Killie then defended their lead like their lives depended on it; showing exactly the kind of tenacity, aggressiveness and urgency missing from the Caley match. After what seemed like an eternity (90 minutes in Motherwell normally does) the three points were ours and the Killie fans trooped away a happy bunch.

It’s Hibs at home today – and a chance for us to move above them in the league. If we put in the effort I’m sure we’ll do it.

¶ 7:52 AM 0 comments links to this post

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Word just in...

...the Reserves beat Dundee tonight 2-1 thanks to a Naismith brace. Check out Hippo's report at killiefc.com for full details.

¶ 9:48 PM 0 comments links to this post

I’m sure I’ve seen this movie before

Once again, a couple of weeks have lapsed since I last got my Killie-angst off my chest. Perhaps I should consign myself to fortnightly updates rather than some deluded notion that I can keep this up more frequently.

Defeat at Ibrox, one tended to think, was inevitable – and so it proved. 2-0 in the end, yet it all could have been so different had Boyd’s shot crept in at 1-0, rather than scuffing the post and rebounding to safety. Often at the likes of Ibrox and the Tattiedome, goals are leaked early on and the rest of the game is no more than a parade by the home team. This can be, naturally, quite dispiriting, yet it can also have a strangely relaxing and sanguine effect as your thoughts turn away from events on the park to matters of more gravitas, even fabricating some sort of wider moral victory.

What really hurts, though, is that period in the match where you dismiss expectations of a gubbing and start to hope – believe even – that you might get something out of the match. A pessimist is never disappointed. The optimistic football fan, on the other hand, tends to get kicked right in the knackers. And so it was at Ibrox. There was a period of about 10-15 minutes in the second half (at 1-0 down) when urgency seemed to grip the Killie players and Rangers creaked and looked like cracking. This pressure culminated in Boyd’s effort, coming agonisingly close to being the equaliser. Yet, like so many times before, Rangers promptly skelped the ball up the park, Novo turned Freddie like a top, 2-0, game over, goodnight. And it fucking pissed down all the way back to the car.

There is one footnote to this game worth mentioning, in that Jim Jefferies saw fit to make two changes to the team that destroyed Dundee Utd the previous week, with both Fowler and Locke restored to the starting XI. I have to ask: why?

Next up were Dundee at Dens on Saturday. There’s not too much to say about this game. Yeah, we got beat 3-1 (Boyd opening the scoring). Yeah, it was pish. The team had a particularly disjointed look about it. Murray came in for the injured Johnstone, otherwise it was the team that played in Glasgow. Boyd took his goal well and Invincible worked like a Trojan, but there endeth the positives. Killie had new signing, centre-back Simon Ford (ex-Grimsby), on the bench and, much as it pains me to say it, he could well be taking Freddie’s place sooner rather than later. (Leven was stretchered off before half time but reports suggest he will be fit for the weekend.)

This Saturday we take on the mighty Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Rugby Park and 3 points are essential. My one plea to the manager would be to revert to the system that saw us take Utd apart in our last home match: put Leven back in midfield and put Fowler…well, anywhere except on the park.

Side-issues

My “other” teams of Stirling Albion and Scotland haven’t exactly set the heather alight recently either. The Binos held A*r United to a 1-1 draw (a match I so wanted to attend – and could have done so as Killie weren’t playing until the Sunday – but domestic matters got in the way), but got dumped 5-1 at home to Brechin at the weekend. They’re still holding their own in the Second Division mind you. Scotland, though, are on a fast-track to fuck-knows-where. I was at Hampden for the God-awful defeat to Norway and I think that could be my last. The draw away to Moldova certainly hasn’t whetted my appetite for the upcoming friendly against Sweden. I invest far too much of my time, money, and emotion into supporting one less-than-average football team. I just can’t take any more. I’m sorry, but for me, actively supporting Scotland is just too much to bear on top of everything else.

Reserve Update

As I expected, I never made it to Montrose for the match against Aberdeen. It finished goal-less, so maybe it’s just as well. The boys are playing Dundee tonight at Rugby Park – I’ll post the score of this in due course. I’ve a funny feeling Inverness away next Tuesday might, once again, might be a match too far…

¶ 9:41 PM 0 comments links to this post

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Reserve Update

There's not been much in the way of U21 action (or "The Reserves" as they are known again) so far this season, and I've managed to miss what there has been. After the 2-1 victory over Hibs, the youngsters/injured/crap (delete as appropriate) have been beaten by Hearts 1-0 and inflicted the same result on Livingston (Dargo netting the winner). All of these matches have been at Rugby Park. The first away fixture was yesterday but yours truly couldn't make it as the KO was changed to the work-unfriendly 2pm. As it happens we got beat 2-0 and by all accounts were well beaten. If you want to read Hippo's reports of the home games head over to killiefc.com. I'll continue to post reports of the away matches here, KO times permitting (although whether I make it to Montrose to see the Aberdeen game on Oct 12 is anybody's guess...).

¶ 8:09 PM 0 comments links to this post

Fowler's howlers and Boyd goes Nap

A couple of weeks have passed since my last post, a period which has seen Killie plumb some pretty deep depths only to recover in astonishing style at the weekend.

Just like our trip to Tynecastle earlier in the season, the optimism and fervour that preceded our home match with Aberdeen was misplaced and, perhaps, misguided. The expected bumper crowd didn’t turn up and neither did many of the Killie players. The 1-0 defeat, neatly encapsulated by the calamitous own goal scored by Jamie Fowler, was probably our poorest 90 minutes of the season to date. Often it is said that fans will accept just about anything from their team – a complete lack of skill even – just as long as they see complete commitment from the players. Sadly, this is just what Killie lacked against Aberdeen. The carrot of second place in the SPHell dangled but just didn’t seem that tasty. Jim Jefferies said as much in his post-match excuses and it’s that kind of attitude that should gravely concern the manager.

Our return to Tynecastle just 4 days later gave us the chance to make amends for the display against Aberdeen and progress in the Wee Cup. In the end we made a half-arsed attempt at the former, but ultimately failed in the latter, Hearts running out 2-1 winners. JJ juggled the team about for this one. Locke, injured in the Dons match, was replaced with Eric Joly making his first start in the blue & white. Peter Leven also debuted at left-back at the expense of Dillon, and Gordon Greer came in at right-back with Fowler pushing into the centre. Not much changed in the performance though. The midfield combination of Fowler and Joly was an experiment too far, with Fowler at fault for both Hearts goals (scored by an impressive Paul Hartley). Boyd and Dargo (latterly as a sub) battled away up front with little reward, but Invincibile and Johnstone could have stayed on the team bus and had as much influence on the match. The goal – a neat finish from Leven – was the only highlight in an otherwise drab night in Gorgie.

Quite what changed between that Wednesday and last Saturday is hard to fathom, but when Killie emerged from the encounter with Dundee Utd at Rugby Park 5-2 victors everything once again seemed OK with the world. The fact that Kris Boyd scored all 5 goals – and had a legitimate sixth disallowed – will be talked about for years to come.

Changes in personnel certainly helped. Out went Fowler (his first time on the bench in JJ’s reign) and Joly. In came Dillon and Dargo, with Leven switching to his more natural position in midfield alongside MacDonald. The biggest change, though, was in Killie’s verve and tenacity – qualities sorely lacking in the previous two outings. The attacking combination of Invincibile, Johnstone, Boyd and Dargo was just too much for a lethargic Utd defence. Leven and MacDonald, too, probed and pressed the match into the opposition half to great effect. In the end it was Boyd who took all the plaudits, finishing almost every chance or half-chance that came his way – a feat that puts him on a par with Kenny Miller, Marco Negri and Paul Sturrock as the only players to have scored five goals in one match since the Premier League was formed. Boyd would be out his own, but for the failure of the referee. Make no mistake this was one of the best performances by a Killie player ever seen. We might now even have to talk of Kris in the same breath as the great Willie Watters!

Of course, what this now means is that we head to Ibrox on Sunday full of confidence and optimism of perhaps springing a surprise result. Experience tells me that this is kinda dangerous. As soon as we think we’re a good team we get humped. Hopefully, this is a lesson we’ve learned even this early in the season…

¶ 8:05 PM 0 comments links to this post

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Keeping the sheets clean

Turns out we're not that bad after all. Since my last post Killie have managed to put the skelping at Tyncastle behind them to turn in three pretty decent performances that now sees us sitting joint second in the SPHell (with Aberdeen) and in the next round of the CIS Cup.

The 3-0 cup win over Hamilton Accies came first, with second-half goals from Danny Invincibile (2) and Gary MacDonald easing us through after a forgettable first period. We now face Hearts, again at Tyncastle, on Wednesday in the third round, giving us an early opportunity to put in a better showing than our last visit.

Then came the victories against Dunfermline 1- 0 at home (Invincibile) and Ferranti Thistle 2-0 away (David LIlley and that man Invincibile again) that have lifted us to lofty heights in the league. Aberdeen come calling to Rugby Park on Saturday - a fixture that looks much more attractive than it would have in previous seasons given Aberdeen's good form and a travelling support that has swelled in numbers recently.

It's not hard to see what this turnaround in form is based on. That's six matches into the season and we've had four clean sheets. We only managed three in the whole of last season. The arrival of Alan Coombe in goal has certainly steadied us, and the big man has at times kept us in matches with successive saves. He's starting to look like a very good buy indeed.

The biggest influence, however, has been the form of David Lilley at centre-back. At a time when we were crying out for a presence in the heart of defence, Jim Jeffries has somehow transformed this average right-back into a formidable - and our best - central defender. He's got that kind of no-nonsense uncompromising style that all fans love; powerful in the air and fearless in the tackle. And with Lilley at his side, Frederic Dindeleux also looks a more settled player, able to concentrate on what he does best. The emergence of Lilley - easily Killie's player of the season to date - has been a real boon for the side. His importance being underlined by the fact that in the two games we have lost this season (where we shipped 7 goals), Lilley was sent off in the first and suspended for the second!

Fans of a certain vintage may remember that we had another right-back arrive at the Club from Dumbarton back in 1988. He turned into one of the best centre-backs and Captains Killie has ever seen. It's a lot to live up to, but Lilley is certainly on the right road...

¶ 8:15 PM 0 comments links to this post

Monday, August 23, 2004

Same old same old

Oh dear. And it was all going so well, too. Saturday’s fixture at Tynecastle was always going to benchmark how far we had progressed from last season; Hearts, after all, finished comfortably third again last year and are now the recognised “best of the rest” outside the gruesome twosome and a legitimate standard to aim for. Unfortunately, what it did prove was that we haven’t progressed much further than an asthmatic ant with heavy shopping (as someone once said).

In going down 3-0, the team again ably demonstrated it’s now legendary generosity to opposition strikers be they tall, small, or histrionic foreigners. Jefferies has made continued noises about our need to strengthen our defence, yet so far he has opted to sign three midfielders and a striker instead. Without any stiffening of the back line – and with the suspended Lilley also missing – on Saturday we saw a re-run of a script all too familiar from last season.

On last season’s form Killie, on average, had to score three times in a match to win it. In other words, if we don’t take the few chances that come our way we’ll get beat because we almost never keep a clean sheet (2 in 38 matches last season!). Hearts once again demonstrated this theory without even having to play particulary well. Indeed, Killie had their fair share of possession and spurned chances in the first half but went into the interval a goal down thanks to a simple cross into the box headed home by the unmarked (and especially small) Weir. As the second period wore on it was obvious that there would only be one winner. Hearts dominated the middle of the park; McDonald buzzed about with no great purpose, Locke resorted to type and constant fouling, and wingers Invincibile and Johnston took the chocolate-fireguard option.

The second goal duly arrived - another simple cross into the box and - what do we have here? - some foreign bloke to head home unmarked. Jefferies changed it about a bit after that but it was a lost cause. In fact, substitute Murray’s main contribution was to concede a penalty and hand Hearts a three goal advantage. You felt for the wee man. It was one of those days. Unfortunately, we’ve seen too many of these in recent times and it looks like there’s a lot more to come. On Saturday’s evidence we’re still some distance behind the Gorgie pacesetters. With or without heavy shopping.

¶ 8:05 PM 0 comments links to this post

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

So, after Hamilton scudding Ayr United 4-1 tonight, it's the Accies we face in the second round of the CIS Cup. I think I'm right in saying we haven't played the Lanarkshire lot since a certain nervy 0-0 draw at Rugby Park over 10 years ago saw us promoted to the Premier League. This actually serves as a reminder that, despite our travails of recent years, the Club has now had it's longest sustained period in the top flight since the heady days of the 60s and perhaps we should be thankful for that. In the early 90s clubs such as Hamilton, St. Mirren, Partick, Raith and Airdrie were our direct rivals for promotion. Whilst these teams have bounced around the lower leagues (and even temporarily out of existence in the case of Airdrie) with only brief forays into the top league, Killie have held their own over a long period. This has much to do with the foresight of Bobby Fleeting and his progressive plans, but also to the run of decent managers who have inched us up the ladder of Scottish football. The current incumbent has had his work cut out emulating and succeeding the success of Bobby Williamson, however the signs this season so far are promising. What he doesn't need, of course, is another exit in the Cup at the hands of lower league opposition - a trend of recent Killie teams ably demonstrated by our defeat away to Brechin City last year in the same competition...

¶ 8:50 PM 0 comments links to this post

Monday, August 16, 2004

On another day...

Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at home to Celtic encapsulated everything that is at once exhilirating and punishing about watching Kilmarnock. In a breathless first half hour Killie played some of their best attacking football for a long while, pressing an unusually porous Celtic defence into several errors, and twice taking the lead through goals from Gary MacDonald and Gary Wales – his first for the Club. Kris Boyd chased, harried and generally upset Valgaren to an extent that his presence seemed to grow with every move. The belief the team so obviously had in themselves was infectious and as fans we sat, stood, cheered, bit our nails and dared dream that we might, just might, get a result. Christ, even the scoreboard agreed. Yet, Celtic still came back us each time levelling first through Hartson then Thompson.

Then, just as the first half shuddered towards it’s conclusion, David Lilley slapped away a through-ball under pressure from Sutton, referee Mike McCurry flashed him the red card, Lilley walked and we fell silent in disbelief. Before Killie even regrouped to assess the damage, Thompson had fired in the free-kick and the game was over.

The second half was everything the first period wasn’t. Robbed of numerical equality, Killie’s pressing counter-attack game bit the dust in the afternoon heat and they could do little to wrestle the ball from a Celtic team almost embarassed by their let-off. Harston added a fourth as the game petered out, no longer a contest or a spectacle. Killie were spent.

Much had been said about McCurry prior to the game – he was the man who chalked off a perfectly good Boyd goal in the last meeting between the two sides at Rugby Park. His appointment for this fixture was the typical flexing of muscle and chest-beating superiority we’ve come to expect from the powers that be. Why avoid controversy when you can sustain it? The refs just love it don’t they? By his own standards McCurry had a normal match, failing to penalise Celtic’s front men for persistent fouling and awarding free-kicks for any old Petrov swan dive (the fourth goal came from one such travesty). But let’s not kid ourselves. Mike McCurry didn’t beat Killie. Lilley’s naivety did that. It’s doubtful McCurry would have done the same at the other end – and he clearly relished his moment in the spotlight, but Lilley gave him the excuse.

Anyway, enough. There was much to be proud about on Saturday. Killie have in the past crumbled to Celtic, but this wasn’t the case here. Celtic didn’t even have a single corner in the match. And with the injured trio of Invincibile, Johnston and Dargo to return perhaps this season may not be as bleak as first predicted. It’s Tynecastle on Saturday. We don’t win there very often. But you’ve got to dream don’t you…?

¶ 9:12 PM 0 comments links to this post

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Ayr we go again

As now seems customary each season, Killie have been drawn from the CIS Cup purple bag paired with Ayr United (if they can get passed Hamilton Accies that is). The tie will take place at Rugby Park which gives us a better than even chance of progressing into the third round. Let's hope it's at the expense of our neighbours from down the A77.

¶ 7:14 PM 0 comments links to this post

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Ally Graham's a loser (again)

I took myself along to see my 'other' team tonight, Stirling Albion, in action at Forthbank against Queens Park in the first round of the CIS Insurance Cup. The Binos ran out 3-2 winners in the end but were made to sweat after a spirited second half performance by the Spiders. The home side took a comfortable 2-0 lead into the break thanks to goals from Martin Glancy and Scott McLean. A fire in the East Stand meant we were all evacuated at half-time - and it was Queens who came out fired up in the second period quickly levelling things through Frankie Carroll and a quite wonderful strike by Ross Clarke. Stirling gradually regained their composure and secured the tie with a fine strike and second goal from McLean.

In attending lower league games, one's attention often focuses on players, perhaps more famous in their yesteryear. It was with no little amusement then that I watched ex-Ayr United, Raith Rovers and Motherwell man Ally Graham lumbering about up front for Queens. This guy put Killie to the sword on more than one occasion during the early Nineties, so I have to be honest and say I felt at least a little satisfaction at him being dumped out the Cup. Other familiar faces included ex-Killie nutter (ahem) Kenny Brannigan in the Queens' dug-out and one-time Killie youngster Damiano Agostini in the squad from Galsgow. Greatest ex-Killie player in attendance, though, had to be the legendary Gus MacPherson who took the game in from the stand.

Killie Foster new sponorship deal

KFC will announce at a press conference tomorrow a 5-year £1M sponsorship deal with brewers Courage under their Fosters brand. This will see the development of a Sports Bar under the West Stand at Rugby Park, replacing the current Killie Club and shop. In a week of positive news stories from the club this is an excellent deal that brings some much needed revenue into the coffers and promises a freshening up of the facilities in and around the ground.

¶ 10:11 PM 0 comments links to this post