DON’T BLAME COVID FOR OUR CRASH
Quarantine keeper Alnwick urges Saints to reverse form slump fast
FOR Jak Alnwick, his return to the St Mirren goal for the first time since contracting Covid-19 earlier this month was a welcome development.
But the outstanding goalkeeper was powerless to prevent a home loss to Kilmarnock that left the Buddies laid low at the foot of the Premiership.
Since the positive tests that decimated the Paisley club’s goalkeeping department — and required Hearts’ Bobby Zlamal to be drafted in on an emergency loan — Jim Goodwin’s side have lost four games in a row.
However, Alnwick insists an overall dismal run of five straight losses and a draw can’t be blamed on the virus and the undoubted disruption it has caused.
‘You can always use excuses but sometimes you just go through bad runs,’ said the ex-Rangers keeper. ‘I’ve been at clubs before thinking we were going to get promoted and we’ve ended up being relegated.
‘It’s just one of those things that can happen. I don’t think you can (blame the virus).
‘Bobby Zlamal came in and did brilliantly. It wasn’t like we played a young lad in goal.
‘It was tough watching from the sidelines but I analysed games to see if I could help the team.
‘It wasn’t nice watching the boys lose three games when I was away and this wasn’t the comeback I was hoping for.
‘We started the season well but hopefully there’s something just around the corner where we can string a run of results together.’
Alnwick’s return from quarantine coincided with a second wave of coronavirus that looks like keeping fans locked out for some time yet. He insists the safety-first approach is correct and believes other players are destined to join him in testing positive.
‘As footballers, we’re not untouchable. It’s something I think a lot of teams are going to have to deal with in coming weeks,’ he added.
‘I was one of the lucky ones in a way that I’ve got over it pretty quickly. I had two days feeling under the weather but not with the symptoms you’d expect.
‘I think we’re second-guessing what the symptoms actually are. Some people get a positive test and don’t have any symptoms at all. Some people get it really bad and end up in hospital.
‘A lot of people are worse than others and, unfortunately, people have died from it. Now the numbers are going up, which is unfortunate because we wanted to get fans back into matches. But until it’s safe to do so, it’s only right we keep them away. We need to stick to every rule going so everyone keeps safe.’
Alnwick could do little about Kilmarnock’s winner after 28 minutes following some fine linkup play between Chris Burke and Alan Power. The pair exchanged passes before Burke laid the ball on a plate for Nicke Kabamba to fire home. It was the least the visitors deserved having enjoyed 70 per cent possession up to that point.
Goodwin was furious in the dugout, roaring at his side for being too easily brushed aside in midfield in the build-up.
The lowest scorers in the top flight last season, Saints could have played until midnight and not troubled Danny Rogers in the Killie goal.
When they finally carved out a late chance, Junior Morias was unable to connect with a cross from Dylan Connolly.
Killie had come closest to scoring again when Greg Kiltie’s curling shot was brilliantly saved by Alnwick.
‘I knew I was going to have to make a couple of saves in the second half when we were pushing for an equaliser,’ said Alnwick. ‘We gave Kilmarnock too much respect in the first half. But we had a go in the second.
‘I was hoping after my save we would kick on. We kept them pressed in but didn’t really do enough to score. The bottom line is you can’t play like we did for the opening 45 minutes if you want to get anything from a game. ‘We’ll dust ourselves down and go again in Aberdeen.’ Killie, by contrast, are looking good. None more so than veteran Burke, who set up the winner for Kabamba. The 36-year-old, who has scored three times already this season, is determined to wring every last drop of joy from his career before eventually hanging up his boots. ‘You have to play every game like it’s your last, especially at my age,’ he said. ‘You never know what’s round the corner but hopefully I can play for as long as I can. ‘Right now, I’m challenging the group and we’re competing in this league.’ Burke hailed Kabamba for adding a lethal touch to his allround game after scoring four in his last four matches, saying: ‘He’s a selfless player but he’s adding more goals to his game. That’s us got two wins on the bounce now, which is hard to do in this league.’
This Friday night, Killie face Motherwell who, like them, had a slow start to the season before picking up.
‘Both teams will think they can get three points,’ added Burke, ‘but if we can get three wins on the bounce that would give us great belief.’