Kilmarnock -V- ICT : matchday thread

[Mee]

Good stuff from Cowie, cant wait to see it!

Bet Fraser won't be watching the highlights though  :001:

[ekjules]

Just back in from to-days game thought they where very sloppy.

Happy getting a point, but left the ground on a downer as killie were there for the taking.

The defence was poor again to-day. Brewsters got to get it sorted out.

Great GOAL from Cowie. Great pies from killie :021:

[Div1309]

i agree with ekjules, killie were there to be had but too many sloppy passes. would not be surprised to seee fraser dropped for zibi, they were absolute howlers!!

[EWS]

You have to see the two Killie goals to believe them really, describing it doesn't do it justice.

Though one thing, why doesn't the players ever run to the fans to celebrate?

[Harry Chibber]

Thought we were rotten today.  Players keeping a hold of the ball for too long, Wilson, Niculae, Black and Tokely were caught in possession all through the first half.  We failed to pass the ball from a to b throughtout the match and lacked any real pace up front.  I thought we looked a lot better in the 2nd and had some great possession and were unlucky not to get a goal before the mess that lead to Nish's goal. 

Cowie's goal was top drawer other than that and Killie's left back (?) it was an awful game to watch.

Draw was a fair result but Killie were there for the taking... I wouldn't be surprised to see Malkowski in goals against the dons

[Guest Glen Mhor]

Listened on the radio and am a bit disappointed by the performance and wondered about the sustitution of Niculae..........right or wrong, only those that were at the game can tell, will wait to here the thoughts.

The substitution was probably right. He had a cracking header in the second half which was just over but my own thoughts having seen him play today are that he's not as fit and quick as the rest of the squad. He has some nice touches and I think he has good vision and reads the game quite well.

The Don Cowie goal from the free kick was absolute class. You just thought from the minute he was teeing the ball up there's a goal here.

I think Dean Macdonald came on a bit too late and he got the shock of his life late on to actually get the ball, panicked and didn't have an idea what to do with it.

Overall, I'd say a draw was about fair. I've a couple of mates who are Killie fans and they weren't complaining after the final whistle and I don't think we should either. We got out of jail after the 30 second Killie goal nightmare.

:004:

[Alex MacLeod]

First Killie goal.....Ike thought he was shepherding the ball past the post, unfortunately it struck the post and came back to their player.

First ICT goal......most comical own goal I've seen in a while

Second Killie goal.........our central defenders went on a wee break at that point

Second ICT goal........Ross County must be thanked for the coaching of their set ball players. Cowies free kick today, as has been Rankins in the past, was a blinder and the only real goal in the match.

All in all it was a pretty mediocre game. We played well in patches but seemed to lack any sort of enthusiasm to win.

[RednBlackComeback]

Cowies free kick today, as has been Rankins in the past, was a blinder and the only real goal in the match.

All in all it was a pretty mediocre game. We played well in patches but seemed to lack any sort of enthusiasm to win.

Rankin......will we ever see him again ???? :009:

'mediocre game'............ I only listened to the game but the pundits were raving about what a great spectacle it was ?? :024:

[Div1309]

is rankin injured just now??? how come he isnt in the squad??

[RednBlackComeback]

Pretty sure he's not injured......just dropped !

[kencar]

Hastings & Rankin should be starting ahead of McBain & Wilson. Brewster is showing tremendous loyalty but the left hand side is a real Achilles heel  :029:

[Dmacca]

To sum it all up then, an away point gained, but feels more like two lost.

Still 4 games now undefeated and something to build on.

[alternative maryhill]

Reasonable result, very disappointing performance. I've been at the four away defeats but missed the last two home wins and went along today hoping to see a real improvement in confidence and fluency. Instead, I saw exactly what I had seen in the previous four games: some decent little spells, but too many moves breaking down, too many ineffective final balls and FAR too much comical defending. Worse, the team seemed to have returned to the sort of attitude I noticed against St Mirren: it looked as if the players were thinking "We can step it up at any time and get the win". I'm sure this isn't really what they were thinking, of course, but something was wrong with the  collective mental approach. Even against St Mirren we at least threw everything at them in the last half hour, whereas today that sense of urgency never seemed to emerge. Probably just a bad day at the office, but it's frustrating as Killie looked there for the taking - their two goals were gifts from us, and during our best spell at the start of the second half they seemed to start panicking a bit and were giving away daft fouls.

Individual performances?

Fraser - I've not commented on him before now as I thought he needed time to gain experience and confidence in the SPL, but yesterday was pretty awful. The first goal was a disaster, but every keeper can have one of those. What was more worrying was some of the risks he subsequently took with the ball at his feet. It looked as if he was trying to show his confidence hadn't been rattled, but he almost gave the ball away cheaply a couple of times. I'd need to see it again, but for the second goal it looked to me as if he'd misjudged the flight of the ball. Think Granty was also culpable there though.

Tokely - One of our better performers. Hard in the tackle and got forward OK as usual, although I remember squawking at some mistake of his in the second half. Can't remember what, though (beer).

McBain - Thought he had no presence at all. All their best moves seem to come down the right. Hastings to return?

Munro and McGuire - Considered together because they are far too similar as players. Both decent, mobile central defenders who are capable of good last-ditch tackling, but neither is commanding enough in the area and there doesn't appear to be much communication going on between them. Nish's goal yesterday came right down the middle, where there should have been a central defender preventing him from winning the high ball so easily. We are still clearly missing Dods. Caff definitely isn't the answer. Don't know much about Watt, but I'd be interested to get a look at him when he's fit.

Cowie - Two fantastic moments - the goal and a great piece of skill wide-left in the last few minutes where he turned two defenders inside out and set up a chance for Bayne - but by the very high standards he's set himself this season I thought he was quieter and less effective than in previous matches. Still my player of the season so far, though.

Duncan - Some really intelligent reading of the game and great touches to mop up Killie attacks. Solid and dependable, especially compared to the defenders behind him, but I don't really remember him using the ball to start off good moves.

Black - Again, some lovely touches. The vision is there in flashes with little balls and back heels and he wins himself time and space really well with intelligent turns and hold-up play, but as with Duncan, I don't recall many really effective, direct balls that helped us create chances. To give Kille credit, though, I think they pressed the midfield quite well and didn't give us much opportunity to get the passing game going.

Wilson - Not convinced by him on the left so I guess that means, with Cowie playing so well, that he should drop to the bench. One great run in the first half yesterday, but he doesn't look particularly happy having to cross with his left and cutting inside allows the momentum of a move to drop. Second half he was fairly anonymous even though the rest of the midfield had more of a grip of the game. I'd like to see Rankin get his chance again - he should be hungry to prove himself and that can only be good. Barry will always offer us something from the bench.

Wyness - Started really brightly and looked confident and skilful, but seemed to drop out of things a bit - possibly frustrated with a lack of decent service.

Niculae - Frustrating. As usual you could see the touch and the skill, but he had very few clear chances and didn't create much for Dennis either. Strange actually - I was more impressed with the midfield in the second half, but thought our forwards were better in the first. How does that work? Anyway, I wasn't particularly sorry to see him go off, but on reflection we might have been better sticking with him as Bayne looked way off the pace when he came on.

Subs - Bayne didn't look match fit; Macdonald came on late when any fluency in our play had broken down completely and he just seems to chase around after the ball without actually getting many touches; Hastings didn't really make any impression on me, good or bad.

One last point - what is it with the pitch at Kilmarnock? I lost count of the amount of times players (it always seemed to be ours) slipped and fell over. Surely they can't blame the undersoil heating this time? Was it just water on the pitch? Did we take the wrong boots? It certainly didn't help the performance.     

[tm4tj]

Good stuff alternative, well written in depth report on individual performances gives the fans who were not there a flavour of the game.

:021:

[gordyfromsneck]

Thanks for that, AM. Enjoyed your letter in the "Celtic punished" thread too.

I have a feeling, like several others, that Barry should no longer be a first choice, and feel that Rankin still has a lot to offer.

Very worried by Fraser's recent form, but can also confirm for those that didn't see Zibi Stardust at the Gretna game, that he is certainly not the answer. Start shopping now for the January sales, you backroom team.

[Kingsmills]

A bit of a lost opportunity against a badly depleted Kilmarnock side. Still, at least we've maintained our recent unbeaten run.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Before I even study Mary Hill's feedback here is the Smileymometer.

Killie were there fer the taking but in the end a draw was definitely the correct result. To say that we went from the sublime to the ridiculous is probably a fair comment. We played some lovely stuff at times along with some comical schoolboy errors. I honestly think that we went out there with the mind set that we would walk it against a made up X1. The first half was pretty dire apart from one excellent move that ended up with Cowie's blaster being parried by Combe. We picked up in the second half and the substitution of Wilson allowed us to play more through Cowie and we looked decidedly better. It petered out in the last 15 minutes with both sets of players looking fer a winning goal and both sets of fans worrying that it would be through a defensive mistake.

FRASER  :001: Poor Mikey - a feckin nightmare. Got to say that Rosscoe was sleeping for the first goal, the attempted clearing header from McGuire was terrible, the shot was hit into the ground and Mike finished a Monty Pythonesque shot. He basically crumbled and his nerves were shot at. The second was another mistake from Granty but for the first time this season Mike decided to come off the line. Apart from one excellent shotstopping save and two held crosses in the second half he was dire. He knew it, our players new it, the Killie fans knew and I have never seen the away fans cower so much when the ball headed into our goalmouth. I have said it all season - he stays on his line too much and does not control his area - shurely that is what is coaching should be aiming to remedy. His next game will be the biggest test of his career. Best of Luck son.

TOKELY  :001: :001: :001: Apart from waking up at 15.01 he was rock solid. He actually suffered two crunching tackles earlier on but got his own back in his own inimitable fashion. Had a right handful with ? Bryson and was not much of an attacking force as usual.

McGUIRE  :001: :001: :001: Have to say that the jury is still out. Horrendous mistake for the first goal but was solid enuff afterwards. He certainly appears to be the man shouting the line but Granty and him were a bit like Caff and Granty in that they were often practically holding hands and both appear to have a preference for the left hand side.

GRANTY  :001: :001: A bad day at the office given his standards. He may well ascribe it to a heavy knock that he got in the second minute - he looked as if he was going off at one stage. He certainly wasnt as mobile as usual and was not as quick at coming forward as he usually does. He struggles when he marks big target men like Nish.

ROYSTER  :001: :001: :001: Made the third smiley fer his second half performance, especially when he went into midfield. Dissapointed after what I have seen of him at left back but had much more of a defensive role and did not look so comfortable.

COWIE  :001: :001: :001: :001: Made the fourth smiley fer the superb free kick. Apart from that he was far more subdued than usual but the tactic throughout the first half was to hit Bazza as often a possible. This relegated Don from feeding on scraps in a relatively wide right position. We looke far more dangerous down the right with the Tokely-Cowie combination but Brew went for the old school tactic. It was noticeable how much more Don got involved when Bazza went off.

DUNCAN  :001: :001: :001: :001: My MAN OF THE MATCH. Mr feckin reliable showed some great touches today and appears to be learning that the easy ball is the better ball. Was always there when an attack broke down or they flew forward. His understanding with Black is becoming a real plus.

BLACK  :001: :001: :001: I suggest that Killie had targetted him as he was the player who they were most intent on closing down quickly. Some great control skills, flicks and passes. He raerly gets the chance fer a killer pass becos of our choice of forwards. He lost the rag at one stage today, as he always seems to do at Killie, and was very lucky not to get booked. Still he is learning to control his temper and used the adrenaline to put in some fair hard tackels.

BAZZA  :001: :001: Suggest it may be time to give somebody else a run. He was evidently the intended play amke today and played wide left - as Brew always favoured. Had a couple of great runs to hit the bye line but if anything he slows things down - especially on the left. Better teams will know not to let him cut inside and that he does not have the pace.

WYNESS  :001: :001: Appeared to relish the fight initially but practically disappeared as the game went on. We paly far too deep away from home and Dennis is a predator not a Dargo. It looked like we were playing him on their last man but he rarely got the service and he doesnt have the pace either.

NICULAE  :001: :001: :001: Left him till last and I will put all my points on here !!

A lot of people around me were having a go at him but I actually thought that he had improved - but he is still only an average albeit good player. His positioning is class, his ball control is class, his passing is class, his touch is more than class. But as the better players pass and move he passes, admires and watches. He makes great space and feeds back to our midfield but he doesnt move forward afterwards. He has no pace and no forward movement. He may well be an asset at home but should not figure from the start away.

There was one off the ball move in the first half that took Killie defenders with him and left a hole fer Black. (That was sheer class) There was a supreme flick to Denzil in the second half which wasnt read and if Rosscoe had struck the cross rather than flighting it Marius may have finally got the goal he needs.

He is a good signing - he is an above average player in regard to technique - but he is hampered by old injuries and he has suffered from being overhyped. But he will play his part but more as an experienced extra than a Messiah.

As fer the subs - I thought Bayne fer Marius was a good move but it made little difference. Bayne needs more matches. Now if only we could clone Bayne and Marius !! ; Hastings actually made the left more solid or was that McBain going forward - too little time to say ; all I can say about Deano is that he literally looks like a kid in an adult team. He never gets enuff time to let me make a real comment. Although he had one excellent cahnce to make a name fer himself and completely botched it with a terrible attempt at control.

The Steward were feckin brilliant and even helped me put up the flag.  :rotflmao:

[Kingsmills]

Aberdeen's comprehensive victory over St Miren combined with Celtic's late win over Gretna puts us another place up the table so maybe not such a bad weekend after all.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Aye - the reports are fairly similiar. And I was completely pished - twice as bad as lat week.  :001:

Was it not Wyness and Niculae that were doing all the slipping ?

[alternative maryhill]

I think it was mostly Wyness and Niculae that were going over, but a couple of other players slipped and all. Think I counted seven or eight falls due to the pitch during the game.

Glad there's a bit of consensus about the game. I was waiting for someone to come on here and tell me I was talking out of my @rse in that post, because I was fairly pished by kick off too. Got considerably more so after the game in the quaintly-named "Fanny by Gaslight". Would recommend it actually - good music on and only one minute's stumble from the station - although we did have to put up with a bit of interrogation from a local bam.

Also enjoyed a bit of banter, of the sheep-shagging ******** variety, with a group of disappointed huns exiting the station as we were running for our train. They're so creative in their insults...   

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

"fairly pished by kick off too" - you were lucky you got in.  :023:

[CaleyD]

Who's volunteering to write the full Match Report for the site then?

[EWS]

I was drinking in the Hunters Arms or something up by the Lidl with Joe Dimaggio, InterthenetJNR and IHE.  I can confirm reports that IHE was, as is his reputation, off his tree that he had to be carried to the game by 15 stewards (only if they could remove him for Drunk and Incapable).

On a brighter note, I didn't notice no trouble with the Stewards today with most of the guys near the back standing.

[caley100]

Hastings & Rankin should be starting ahead of McBain & Wilson. Brewster is showing tremendous loyalty but the left hand side is a real Achilles heel  :029:

Bollocks..... Hastings was absolute gash before he was injured, he was the reason we lost our first 3 games, Rankin is a good player gone off form, he needs a wake up call.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

I was drinking in the Hunters Arms or something up by the Lidl with Joe Dimaggio, InterthenetJNR and IHE.  I can confirm reports that IHE was, as is his reputation, off his tree that he had to be carried to the game by 15 stewards (only if they could remove him for Drunk and Incapable).

On a brighter note, I didn't notice no trouble with the Stewards today with most of the guys near the back standing.

Disturbingly I also felt that the standard of the cells in Kilmarnock were higher and the Custody Sergeant was far more approachable.