KENNY SHIELS was hurting.
His Kilmarnock side had "squeezed the flair" out of Dundee United and "taken away all their imagination" so that the visitors were reduced to the kind of football of which the Rugby Park manager is so disdainful. Deliveries were shelled into the home penalty area from the halfway line and throw-ins hurled towards the six-yard box as the visitors frantically searched for an equaliser. That it eventually came from an intelligent pass and clinical finish hardly eased his suffering.
These are testing times for the Northern Irishman, the onset of winter bringing a stern examination of his footballing faith. In the wake of their previous engagement, the 2-0 victory over Aberdeen, Shiels reluctantly referenced a need to counteract the worsening conditions over the coming weeks, yet on Saturday he found his team overwhelmed not only by United's early vigour but also the state of the Rugby Park pitch.
Having apparently not trained on grass for four weeks, the Kilmarnock manager insisted that four or five of his players were "on their knees" for the final 20 minutes, the disparity between solid Astroturf parks and a soft playing surface proving too much for them. "It was really heavy," explained winger James Dayton. "If you're on astro constantly during the week it's hard on your knees, especially for me having done my cruciate twice, but on the pitch my calves tightened up and it didn't really help us with our style of play."
Indeed, it didn't. United's dominance – 19 attempts on goal and 11 corners – was such that Shiels suggested conceding just once was a tactical triumph as his players struggled to impose themselves. All they could muster was flashes of individual inspiration; a Dean Shiels lash against the crossbar and Dayton's astonishing goal, a strike that cut through the chill air like a laser before exploding against the net.
"I just caught it well," he said, before giving an insight into his quest for perfection. "I scored one like that last season against St Mirren but this was better because it was top corner and the other one was only side-netting."
Jon Daly could only smile wryly at such sniffiness. The under-appreciated Dundee United captain can boast a staggering record of 45 goals in 101 starts for the club but spurned a succession of glorious opportunities to secure the points before the interval. So rampant were Peter Houston's side in the first half that manager and captain agreed it to be their most accomplished performance of a fractious campaign that is belatedly showing promise.
Having taken just 10 points in the opening quarter, United have reaped 12 in eight subsequent matches, with games against St Mirren, Hibernian and Aberdeen completing their second set of fixtures. As Shiels pointed out, no team has scored more times away from home but neither has anyone scored fewer at their own ground, an issue Houston must rectify if the Tannadice side intend to haul themselves into continental contention.
"With five places in Europe next year that is definitely a target because had we won today we would have gone two points behind St Johnstone," said Daly. "Motherwell are going to be difficult to catch but there's no reason we can't get up behind them."
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