When even the players come in after a match and tell you that they had a hard time getting through a game they were playing in, then it’s safe to say that you probably haven’t just witnessed a classic. That was the case on Saturday at Rugby Park, where Kilmarnock and Hamilton played out a goalless draw that had the locals in the main stand questioning the likelihood of either set of players being able to make contact with a bovine bahookie from point blank range with the aid of a banjo.
“I didn’t enjoy it,” said the candid Killie skipper Stevie Smith. “It didn’t feel great, the pressing wasn’t great and there was a few things missing.
“It just wasn’t an enjoyable game to take part in, I’m sure it wasn’t an enjoyable watch either, and I’m sure it will be last on all the highlights programmes.”
That’s if it even makes the cut. Although to be fair, it would be worth tuning in to witness a remarkable catalogue of misses from both sets of players, with Hamilton certainly the guiltier party on that front.
In the first half, Ali Crawford - normally so calm in front of goal - snatched at three presentable opportunities, while Rakish Bingham sent a free header wide from a couple of yards after failing to make proper contact.
It seemed like the jitters in front of goal were affecting everyone though, and even Kris Boyd, who has made a living from the ice in his veins when staring down goalkeepers, was guilty of a poor miss as he steered a header wide from six yards after good work by the impressive Jordan Jones.
When Souleymane Coulibaly wound up for a trademark piledriver just before the break and only succeeded in putting the ball out for a throw, the unmistakable feeling that both keepers might be claiming their clean sheet bonus was growing.
All the chatter at half-time though was centred on penalty claims – two for Hamilton and one for Kilmarnock - that were turned down by referee Euan Robertson when two at least appeared to be decent appeals.
Early on, Dougie Imrie got the wrong side of Luke Hendrie in the area and cut across the young defender to invite contact with his heels, which duly arrived, and sent him to the deck.
“All the lads were saying it definitely should have been a penalty,” said Hamilton keeper Gary Woods afterwards.
“Some days it goes for you and some days it doesn’t. Dougie was through on goal so why is he going to go down? There’s no point – he’s got the ball under control.”
Smith then controlled the ball up onto his hand in his own area, but it looked accidental and again the visiting players were left disappointed as their pleas fell on deaf ears.
At the other end, Boyd hit the deck inside the area after being clipped by Mikey Devlin, but after turning down Imrie’s strikingly similar claim referee Robertson was unlikely to acquiesce to the home side’s urgings for him to point to the spot.
The players made a slightly better fist of finding the target after the break, with Woods saving well from Coulibaly and Jamie MacDonald pulling off a decent stop from Greg Docherty’s looping header.
The introduction of Adam Frizzell for Killie spiced things up a little, and he got a shot away that Boyd actually did turn into the net, albeit from a clearly offside position. Given the meagre entertainment on offer to that point, it was hard not to curse the assistant referee for denying the spectators that moment of sweet relief even given the fact he had made the correct call.
We had to wait to the death for the one passage of play that had genuine quality, as Massimo Donati caught a volley from distance sweetly and MacDonald responded with an equally impressive low save to his left.
Still, the draw wasn’t the end of the world for either side, and they may both look back on the outcome dreary afternoon in Ayrshire as a vital point gained come the end of the season, as the rest of us simply try to blank it out.
KILMARNOCK: MacDonald; Hendrie, Addison (Burn, 25’), Boyd, Taylor; McKenzie, Dicker, Smith (Frizzell, 63’), Jones; Coulibaly, Boyd.
Booked: Burn (36’), Jones (51’),
HAMILTON: Woods; Gillespie, Sarris, Devlin; Imrie (McMann, 84’), Docherty, MacKinnon, Crawford, Donati; Kurtaj (Longridge, 77’) Bingham (Brophy, 71’).
Booked: Gillespie (5’), Sarris (77’)
Man of the match: Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock)
Referee: Euan Anderson
Attendance: 3387
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