Kilmarnock 3 St Mirren 1: Light and shade from Shiels as victory brings out impish side

Sunday 23 September 2012

THE words trailed away on the cool air: "Nothing controversial this week ..." Kenny Shiels' impish remark was born out of comments made following defeat by Hibernian a week ago which had drawn scorn from the Edinburgh side and a statement from its board.

St Mirren's Gary Teale battles James Dayton Photograph: SNS

Custom byline text:

Chris Tait

The lighter mood from the Kilmarnock manager yesterday was fuelled by an entertaining win over St Mirren that had brought three goals and just as many points.

The visitors had started so assured in establishing a foothold at Rugby Park that Kilmarnock were left clinging on diligently in the first half. Their willingness to probe for a route to goal by incisive passing was similar to St Mirren, but the hosts appeared unable to emulate them fully – their best chance coming from a Michael Nelson volley. It was a little surprising when they managed to go one better after 26 minutes then.

Danny Racchi manipulated space out on the right with a neat exchange of passes before putting in a cross for Cillian Sheridan to guide in. The striker looks the nonchalant type and he barely moved his head as he diverted the ball past Craig Samson.St Mirren's response was to change nothing. The narrative of the half remained the same. Kyle Letheren was unable to claim a cross from Kenny McLean, allowing Paul Dummett to plant a shot at goal. Lewis Guy was slipped in behind the Kilmarnock defence to cut a pass back towards Steven Thompson. The striker was crowded out at the near post and the ball was cleared.If St Mirren manager Danny Lennon was somewhat bemused to be behind at the break then he certainly wasn't the only one. The Paisley side fell further behind before the hour; Fowler was cute in drawing Paul Dummett to the edge of the penalty area, before releasing Racchi into the space behind the full-back, and assertive in striking low past Samson after the ball had rebounded off Sheridan. "What a goal," said Shiels. "The best goal I have seen in the SPL in a long time, Fowler's goal. What a fantastic move it was." James Dayton's was simply "spectacular". The Kilmarnock winger has only been able to hint at his abilities – a series of injuries having cost him playing time under both Mixu Paatelainen and Shiels – but glimpses of his skills are worth the wait. The Englishman picked up possession in St Mirren's half after 61 minutes and darted into the penalty area before clipping a sumptuous shot into the far corner.It had taken three goals in a little over an hour, but Kilmarnock had found their composure. Emboldened by the comfort of their lead, the hosts knocked passes around with abandon and compelled their opponents to chase possession. Their desperation to recover the match was reflected in Lennon's decision to make a triple substitution minutes after Dayton's strike, but it was those he left on that continued to carry the greater threat.Paul McGowan floated a pass over the Kilmarnock defence for Guy to flick on to the crossbar, but the rambunctious forward was belatedly offered something for his enterprise with just seven minutes to go. The ball broke to him inside the penalty area and he sent a low shot into the net, the futility of the strike causing him to turn away disdainfully."We created numerous chances and only took one," said Lennon. "All credit to Kilmarnock, they took theirs. We started the game very well, but there was a wee bit of self-destruct in the second half and we were very much punished for that. We got a goal back, but the game was very much beyond us by that stage."

Contextual targeting label:

Sport

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Kilmarnock 3 St Mirren 1: Light and shade from Shiels as victory brings out impish side

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED