Kiltie creativity is key to unlocking top-six spot
No matter how hard they work, every good football team needs an artist to add some creative flair to their steel.
On Wednesday night at Fir Park, St Mirren’s performance was about as pretty and coherent as one of my twoyear-old nephew’s finger paintings.
Behind the Buddies struggle in North Lanarkshire, aside from a sloppy start defensively that handed Motherwell the initiative in the form of a two-goal head start, was a severe lack of inspiration and creativity in midfield.
In Stephen Robinson’s fairly irate post-match press conference, he rightly pointed to a lack of vision and ingenuity behind the inability to break through the Steelmen’s defence.
He was bang on the money. The Saints had plenty of possession in both halfs, particularly in the second as they pressed for a leveller, but critically couldn’t find a way forward - or through - Motherwell’s backline. Instead the passes simply went sideways, or even backwards, in key moments.
That made it an increasingly comfortable outing for a struggling Well team that has found wins at home this season as rare as hen’s teeth.
It’s all well and good chastising the club’s forwards if they aren’t scoring when they’re passing up multiple golden opportunities in each game.
But increasingly St Mirren’s strikers are having to create their own chances, which makes it even less likely they’ll hit a prolific streak anytime soon.
There were a few Buddies that thought the club would cope fine without Ethan Erhahon pulling the strings in midfield after his switch to English League One side Lincoln City.
But there was a big reason why he was one of Robinson’s first names on the teamsheet.
Not only could the 21-year-old dictate proceedings in midfield, he also had an eye for a pass that could break through the lines and open up defences. More often than not, he also had the talent to pull those daring passes off.
It was no surprise to me to see Ethan pick up man of the match awards in his first two appearances down in England, because he’s exactly the kind of talent that both makes the difference in tight games and gets fans excited.
There’s an Ethan-shaped hole in the St Mirren midfield right now and as much as Alex Gogic offers a brilliant physical and defensive presence in the middle of the park, it looks to me like the Paisley club are in need of a playmaker to get them firing on all cylinders again.
Given the transfer window has already shut, the Saints are going to have to look to the talents they already have to fill that gap.
And I fully believe Greg Kiltie has the skillset required to be St Mirren’s creative spark in the middle of the park.
Still only 26, the former Kilmarnock man has a brilliant range of passing, particularly through balls to get strikers in dangerous positions.
He also has a very respectable scoring record from the middle of the pitch, notching a healthy seven for Kilmarnock in his final season at Rugby Park - a campaign in which they were struggling.
The playmaker notched five goals in his first season in the stripes, despite not always being one of Jim Goodwin’s favoured starters, and has bagged another two this season despite having to largely make do with substitute appearances.
Kiltie is now at the stage of his career when he can establish himself in a team and make a bigger name for himself in the Scottish top flight.
Ethan’s departure has opened up the door, and with the struggling Staggies visiting the SMiSA Stadium tomorrow the Buddies’ top-six hopes hinge on being more creative and unlocking defences to plunder much-needed victories to stay in the top half of the table.
It’s time to be brave and give the club’s best playmaker a chance to make a difference from the first whistle, not just from the bench.