Clark delighted with clean sheet
WONDERS will never cease. A Kilmarnock win and a clean sheet? Given that they had a goal difference of minus 11 and had leaked 10 in their last two league outings coming into this encounter, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d have more chance of seeing Joey Barton in the Pictorial Guide to Rangers Greats as you had of witnessing the Ayrshire side keeping things tight at the back.
But keep it tight they did. A stout, spirited defensive showing, allied to Scott Boyd’s scrambled breakthrough late in the second half, gave Kilmarnock a first league win since August 13.
It was also the first time they hadn’t conceded in the Premiership this season either and that was the top pick for relieved manager Lee Clark.
“The clean sheet is just as crucial for me,” said Clark, who had watched his side lose 6-1 to Celtic and 4-0 to Aberdeen prior to the international break. “It’s been a long couple of weeks with plenty of soul searching. The Celtic game hit us hard, though, but we got back together and have showed that we can progress.”
Kilmarnock were a team reeling on the ropes and the last thing they needed here was another bloody nose. They suffered an early blow barely 15 minutes in when Jonathan Burn took a sore one in the face and had to be replaced by Boyd. St Johnstone tried to deliver a few more meaty dunts as they applied the pressure but Jamie MacDonald, the Kilmarnock, responded with a couple of counter punches himself to repel the offensive.
On 19 minutes he flung himself to his left to palm away a Liam Craig header before getting down low to get a hand on Blair Alston’s low drive moments later.
The visitors certainly found themselves embroiled in a variety of defensive chores but they managed to stave off the menacing advances of their hosts and slowly managed to gain a foothold. The pace of Jordan Jones, in particular, provided a handy outlet of relief.
They had to breathe a sigh of relief just before half-time mind you when Steven MacLean pounced on Gary Dicker’s ditherings and scuffed a shot into the net but the offside flag was already fluttering to temper any St Johnstone celebrations. There was time for another let-off too as Boyd sent Steven Anderson spinning to the floor with a barge in the box but referee Steven McLean, standing just a few feet away, swatted aside the penalty claims. “It looks like a penalty but you get some and other weeks you don’t,” conceded Tommy Wright, the St Johnstone manager, in a good old philosophical way.
There wasn’t a tremendous amount to stir the senses as proceedings ploughed on in the second period. Rory McKenzie whistled a long range effort past the post on the hour before Chris Kane had a header comfortably plucked out of the air by MacDonald at the other end.
It was going to take something special to invigorate affairs during a hum-drum half but in the absence of that, then something scrappy would suffice. With 15 minutes to go, Killie earned their first corner and made it count. An inswinging cross from Jones led to a pile of bodies being drawn to the ball like moths to a lamp. Amid the general flapping Boyd got the decisive touch to give Kilmarnock the lead which they held on to, despite a late St Johnstone flurry.
“We had chances in that first half so we only have ourselves to blame,” added Wright.