YOU wait years for the return of one prodigal son, then two arrive in the space of a week.
Having sealed a short-term move back Kilmarnock at lunchtime, Kris Boyd, who has followed in James McFadden's footsteps by returning to an old stomping ground, strode across the Rugby Park turf yesterday to conduct the half-time draw.
The striker is likely to play a bigger role in weeks to come, but in the wake of this 1-1 draw which flattered his side a little, Kenny Shiels said he felt the 29-year-old's impact was already being felt, forcing his potential rival for a starting place, Paul Heffernan, to perform to his best.
"It is great to get Boyd in the squad and he had an impact on the game itself because Heffernan was the best player on the pitch," the Kilmarnock manager said. "He has made a major contribution to this club, gave up some of his money when he left to the youth department – he's a legend here.
"What does he bring [to the team] We know he's the all-time top SPL scorer so the obvious answer is he brings goals. He also has a bit of charisma and a good demeanour about him and that's something I always welcome into the chemistry of the squad. I sense a hunger about him."
Boyd, whose last club was Portland Timbers in the MLS hasn't played since September, although he did spend the best part of two months training at Rangers.
"For James' sake and my sake hopefully we get back playing and scoring," he said. "I've still got years left in me: the most important thing is to get back playing regularly and prolong my career as much as I can."
As for the game, Aberdeen had won their first match of 2013 against Dundee last Friday and were unlucky not to add another here. With Ryan Jack and Gary Naysmith adding plenty after long-term injury, and striker Rory Fallon back in, only an expert close-range stop from Cammy Bell prevented Rob Milson giving them an early lead.
Fallon usually reserves his goals for the cup competitions – you may recall a spectacular volley in last season's Scottish Cup semi-final – but his first on league duty since Christmas Eve 2011 arrived in style.
He cushioned an innocuous long pass on his chest before finding the top corner of Bell's net with an unerring left foot volley from the edge of the box.
Heffernan shot narrowly past after excellent work from Sammy Clingan and young Ross Barbour, but most chances were appearing at the other end. Niall McGinn rattled a post, Milsom again went close and Ryan Jack headed wide before the first half was out.
Such profligacy is always regretted and so it proved as half-time approached. Momo Sissoko's long pass caused apoplexy in the Aberdeen rearguard, and William Gros's dreadful touch only presented the ball to Heffernan, who continued his Boyd-like recent scoring run by sticking the ball away with a minimum of fuss.
The second half only presented the visitors with more agonising missed opportunities. Substitute Jonny Hayes twice forced fine saves from Bell late on, although Aberdeen manager Craig Brown argued that the goalkeeper shouldn't have been on the pitch by then.
McGinn had nicked the ball away as Bell attempted a clearance and was brought crashing to earth inside the box. Referee Euan Norris booked the Northern Irishman rather than pointing to the spot.
"I've seen it because we have a guy who films our matches and without doubt a penalty kick and a red card," Brown said. "It is so tight now that the implications are huge. We could have had two more points and Kilmarnock one less. But that pre-supposes we would have scored with it."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article