matchday thread Kilmarnock -V- Inverness CT

[AlexJones]

Lopez leaves... our unbeaten run ends. Coincidence?

[12th Man]

5 hours ago, TopSix said:

Not a good result. Was sincerely hoping we could pick up 3 points today. Truly in the relegation mix now. 

Our form says otherwise, our points tally over the last 6 is only bettered by Aberdeen and Celtic.

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

A poor performance, I'm afraid. 

Killie's first goal was as a result of a beautiful lay off by Tansey. We then didn't cover back, leaving Kiltie with a simple finish. We then managed to get ourselves back into the game to go in level at half time. 

Warren forced a good save from Macdonald, before we conceded again. I though that the build up to the free kick they ultimately scored from came from (yet another) unpunished foul by Hammil. We failed to clear properly and the ball fell to Slater who smacked it in from the edge of the box via the crossbar. Fon Williams seemed unhappy about something, but the goal stood. 

We created a number of chances thereafter, but the final touch was missing.

It's clear that teams don't fear us having the ball. They are happy for us to pass the ball around in front of them, as they seem to have sussed that we will struggle to cut them open. On a day where the pitch was covered in snow and underfoot conditions must have been less than ideal, we spent far too much time either passing the ball backwards or playing our football in the middle third of the park. We should have put more pressure on Killie in the final third and see if the conditions could force some mistakes. 

Positives - I though Tremarco had a decent game at centre-half. The substitutions were both timely and positive - I thought Mutombo did ok when he came on, but unfortunately we didn't get the ball to Sutherland enough. 

Negatives - we allowed ourselves to be bullied by Hammil in midfield. The stuff the ref allowed him to get away with was beyond belief, and once it became clear that ref wasn't going to sort things out someone should have sorted him out. Wedderburn looks out of his depth at this level, and when he, Draper and Tansey all play we have too many defensive/holding type midfielders. We are crying out for some guile and creativity in midfield, and I actually think that the biggest thing we need to do in the remainder of the transfer window is find a replacement for Christie. Oh, and we need to learn to defend, and play to the conditions. Yesterday was not a tippy tappy kind of day. 

And that ref was fecking brutal. Hammil got away with murder - almost literally! Draper just about had his shirt removed in the penalty box in the second half and nothing was done. And given that Fon Williams gets booked for time-wasting - how the hell did Macdonald not get pulled up yesterday?

If we finish in the bottom six come the split, then we face a nervous last 5 games. I would not fancy us to get much in 5 survival dog-fights. 

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

10 hours ago, 12th Man said:

Our form says otherwise, our points tally over the last 6 is only bettered by Aberdeen and Celtic.

I don't think we are in the relegation mix - yet!

However, if we don't learn to defend, and score goals we will be in the bottom 6 after the split, and I'm not sure we have the guts to slug it out in 5 survival battles. And I really wouldn't fancy our chances in a play-off. 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

The table suggests that we are in the mix !!

[rocky1]

Conditions yesterday made the game a leveller and as already pointed out not a day for tippy tap football as I have never seen a snowplough clearing a pitch half way through a game! . Hit man in fisher with Storey running onto the lay offseason way forward yesterday .

If Wedderburn not suited Mutombo is gash and barely a championship standard player he is next out dott and Roberts must have some issue with Hughes .We will never know if he is worth retaining if he does not play him and if he is no good then like Lopez release him and use wages for someone else .

[Huisdean]

27 minutes ago, rocky1 said:

Conditions yesterday made the game a leveller and as already pointed out not a day for tippy tap football as I have never seen a snowplough clearing a pitch half way through a game! . Hit man in fisher with Storey running onto the lay offseason way forward yesterday .

If Wedderburn not suited Mutombo is gash and barely a championship standard player he is next out dott and Roberts must have some issue with Hughes .We will never know if he is worth retaining if he does not play him and if he is no good then like Lopez release him and use wages for someone else .

Roberts has been injured for most of the season and is only getting back to fitness now. Probably still needs to work on his match fitness and cannot just walk into the team. Suggesting Hughes has an issue with Roberts is just pure speculation on your part and is not helpful.

[rocky1]

I think a forum allows you to have an opinion. 

If he is not fit why is he on the bench ?

[Ronaldo]

I think in fairness to Rocky there is a point there.

Roberts was viewed, prior to his injury, as being a very good addition to our squad. With respect H I think that Rocky and I are not the only ones to be wondering why he has not had a run out if considered fit?

[Renegade]

Lost by goals that could've been easily avoided, the story of our season.  Like someone else was saying, Tremarco was quite good and I honestly think that's his best position.  I was also quite impressed with Mutombo.  He seems to have lost the headless chicken stuff and now has some idea what he's doing with the ball and when to release it.

I think had the game gone on a couple more minutes, we'd have equalised.  The kamikaze 50s style 3-2-5 we were playing (which involved Tremarco and Draper playing as attacking wing backs) had Killie on the ropes.

Edited January 17, 2016 by Renegade

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

2 hours ago, Ronaldo said:

Roberts was viewed, prior to his injury, as being a very good addition to our squad. With respect H I think that Rocky and I are not the only ones to be wondering why he has not had a run out if considered fit?

I wonder if Yogi wants to ease him back in a game we are in an unassailable position? If do, we may not see him at all this season!

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

19 hours ago, AlexJones said:

Lopez leaves... our unbeaten run ends. Coincidence?

Probably.

Bear in mind that our unbeaten run included a get out of jail equaliser against the worst team in the premiership, a blown two goal lead against the champions-elect, a win against Hamilton that also featured a blown two goal lead, and could easily have been a defeat and a 0-0 draw with a fourth tier side in the cup. 

[RiG]

I thought it was a poor game, certainly from an ICT perspective, but it was made quite enjoyable with the conditions. Killie just shaded it. I think we had more shots on target but a lot of them didn't really test MacDonald. A header from Warren in the second half and a couple of long range efforts from Tansey were probably as close as we came to drawing level. I can't recall us creating an awful lot in the first half but we did have some long range efforts that MacDonald struggled with a wee bit in the conditions something I would liked to have seen us try and replicate in the second half more often given how much the ball was squirming about.

I think we were a bit unfortunate with the first goal. We struggled to clear our lines and Tremarco, who had a reasonable game at CB, seemed to fire his clearance off a Killie player and it looped up in the air and found Kiltie unmarked who coolly slotted past Fon Williams. On another day the ball might deflect somewhere else so bad luck for us but still a good finish.

Rare goal for Draper to get us back into it. Corner from Tansey was played back to him by Wedderburn and the second cross wasn't cleared and Draper swept the ball into the next from close range. Tansey, as mentioned above, had a couple of long range efforts in the second half. One from a free kick that clipped the net and looked, from our angle, as though it had gone in and the second was a shot across goal which bounced just wide of the post.

Great goal from Slater for the winner. We didn't cover ourselves in glory again at the back struggling again to clear our lines. Looked like Raven could actually have taken the ball down as he didn't appear to be under any real pressure but regardless, the finish from Slater, under pressure, was superb. A wonderfully controlled volley over Fon Williams which you just knew was in as soon as he hit it. Few crumbles from ICT supporters that we should have had a free kick prior to the goal but the referee had allowed us to play on as we had an advantage but we wasted it and then allowed Killie to go up the other end of the pitch and score. No issues with it for me.

Still a concern about how narrow we are playing just now. Storey continues to have run all across the front line and finds himself with little support. As I've said before a player like Watkins or Doran who can attack down the flanks and play balls in for Storey is desperately missed. Tansey and Draper played well and Tremarco, as mentioned, was competent enough in the centre of defence. Big game v Partick next week. We're only four points off the relegation spot and we need to start putting some daylight between us and 11th spot.

EDIT: Just watched the highlights and it was a block by Raven not Tremarco that saw the ball deflect up for the first Killie goal.

Edited January 17, 2016 by RiG

[TopSix]

6 hours ago, Renegade said:

Lost by goals that could've been easily avoided, the story of our season.  Like someone else was saying, Tremarco was quite good and I honestly think that's his best position.  I was also quite impressed with Mutombo.  He seems to have lost the headless chicken stuff and now has some idea what he's doing with the ball and when to release it.

I think had the game gone on a couple more minutes, we'd have equalised.  The kamikaze 50s style 3-2-5 we were playing (which involved Tremarco and Draper playing as attacking wing backs) had Killie on the ropes.

Sign some Fijian players and we'll be sorted 

[DEANO96]

Am I the only one who doesn't think we'll be in a relegation battle! Clearly there's a confidence problem atm after the Stirling game but on league form that's our first loss in 6!!! Killie will drop away...that was their first home win since October, and they'll begin to slip up again! Motherwells confidence has taken a hit after their thumping! And Patrick, I think, could well struggle as well! In all honesty I cannot see us being so poor until the end of the season that we're in danger of finishing below that 3! Worst case scenario is 8th place! But I still think pushing st J is a very real target. A good performance and some goals on Tuesday night will get them going and hopefully take that on to sat and hope that Aberdeen do us a favour on Friday.

[+DoofersDad]

I find it hard to believe anyone actually thinks we are not already in a relegation fight.  There are only 8 points between 4th and 11th position and all those clubs are capable of beating each other and all of those clubs will have good runs and bad runs from time to time.  The truth of the matter is that we are both in a relegation battle and in the mix for a possible European place.  Partick and Motherwell may have got thumped at the weekend but both were on a good run before that.  Fortunes can change quickly and we are one of several teams who could become a little isolated in 11th place with a bad run of form.  Similarly, if Dundee Utd go on a little run like Partick did recently, they could be well and truly back in the mix as well. Personally I think we will be safe enough but nobody should take anything for granted at this stage of the season. 

[Sneckboy]

I agree with that DD. It's very tight. 4th place (and potentially European qualification) is as much a possibility as relegation the play-off...we're just 4 points away from either!
By definition, we're equidistant from both scenarios.
It would be negative to suggest we're only in the relegation-mix without acknowledging that 4th-place is also a possibility; and similarly it would be silly to suggest that while Europe is a target, relegation is unlikely - both possibilities remain alive, as we approach the season-defining part of the season.
We need to make the next 3 league games count - unusually, all are at home. That will take us to the 25 game mark - approx. 3/4 of the way through the 'regular' season. We can then re-evaluate our situation ahead of the 8 remaining fixtures to the split...but, I think, 6 of those are away! It's all-to-play-for!

[PerfICT]

I agree with DD. For me, DU are too far detached to really get back on course and I suspect it will be Hamilton that will end up in 11th, but there is no way we are safe. It is critical that we pick up points against those teams around us, which is why losing on Saturday was such a blow. I reckon 35 points will avoid relegation and ~40 will avoid 11th, so there'as still plenty of work to do. Equally, 4th is easily do-able too: the joys of a competitive league!

[Yngwie]

3 minutes ago, Sneckboy said:

 4th place (and potentially European qualification) is as much a possibility as relegation the play-off...we're just 4 points away from either!
 

The annoying thing is, if we'd won at Rugby Park, like pretty much everyone else has (Killie have only 3 home wins, and two of them are against us!) then we'd be 10 points clear of 11th and only one point off 4th.  We'd be having a very different discussion just now.

[GaliantGrunt]

Well 4th place it is and another Cup final win.  That's the target !

[Alex MacLeod]

A win on saturday, and assuming Aberdeen and Motherwell also win, puts us 5th. A loss with those other results and we stay 7th. 4th to 11th is very tight and all those teams have a right to win. We just need to fight a bit harder and for the full match. I believe we can make 4th place by end of season and maybe even better simply because I dont think Aberdeen or Hearts are a great deal better than we are.

[AlexJones]

Has there ever been an SPL campaign as competitive and unpredictable as this? Armageddon indeed.

[gingerjaggy]

I agree with what has been said that we are in a fight for 4th and also a relegation battle but i think it is far to early to get overly worried. We are inconsistent this season but unfortunately success does bring downsides like our best players being in the shop window and up for grabs. But i do believe we have a better team than most down the bottom and will be OK. The thing is everyone behind Hearts are not safe it is that congested but if we can go on another decent run then we should be fine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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