McCulloch relieved after Killie’s daydreaming nearly becomes nightmare
KILMARNOCK’S daydreaming defenders were given a roasting by caretaker manager Lee McCulloch last night.
But while he was upset by the manner of Inverness Caley’s equaliser, McCulloch also praised his team for showing character after Billy Mckay had cancelled out Kris Boyd’s 19th-minute penalty opener.
‘Again, it was another terrible goal to lose, the way we switched off,’ said McCulloch.
‘We have all the set-play stuff up on the wall and we speak about it, but it was just blatant daydreaming.
‘However, we also showed character to come back into the game, especially at the end.
‘So, on reflection, it’s a good point on the road. We could have nicked it in the end, but I think overall a draw is a fair result.
‘We finished with seven teenagers playing and that shows how young our squad is, but it’s definitely getting better.
‘Greg Kiltie coming back is also a positive. I thought he looked sharp after being out for so long.’
Killie have not managed to win at the Caledonian Stadium on any of their last 11 visits stretching back to December 2010.
But this was a much better result for the Ayrshire men than it was for their Highland rivals.
Inverness have slipped back into bottom spot in the Premiership, after a sixth draw in their last 11 matches, plus Hamilton’s last-gasp winner against St Johnstone.
Despite only two league defeats in nine since the turn of the year, the alarm bells are ringing for Richie Foran’s team with eight matches remaining to save their season and their top-flight status.
One win since October — at home to Rangers five weeks ago — leaves them facing a mounting crisis as they contemplate a difficult trip to Pittodrie to face goal-hungry Aberdeen on Tuesday night.
In contrast, Kilmarnock are eight points better off in seventh place and it would require a major collapse for them to be dragged into the relegation dog fight.
Inverness’ recklessness was once again evident when Brad McKay needlessly conceded a penalty for a rash challenge on Jordan Jones.
There was no doubting the validity of the award or the way Boyd completed his task when he sent Owain Fon Williams the wrong way.
The home side were entitled to feel hard done by to an extent, having dominated much of the play up to that point.
Manager Foran felt his team should have had a penalty when Brad McKay went down under a clumsy challenge by Conor Sammon.
In truth, though, it would have been somewhat harsh had referee Bobby Madden awarded a spot-kick.
But Inverness did respond positively to going a goal down and were level again within six minutes.
Billy Mckay pounced on David Raven’s cross from the left and swivelled before his right-foot shot from 12 yards found the net via the inside of Kilmarnock goalkeeper Freddie Woodman’s far post.
Kevin McNaughton, who has been sidelined for seven months because of an Achilles injury sustained in the second league game of the season after signing from Wigan, had a significant influence on the play.
It was a result of his prompting that Woodman, was forced to make several crucial saves to deny the Highlanders a desperately needed victory.
Foran did his best to seek out some positives after expressing the view that his team were the better side for most of the game.
He said: ‘We are a point closer to Ross County and a victory at Aberdeen on Tuesday would get us right back up there.
‘But we need those wins, that composure and quality to make the chances for Billy Mckay.
‘Billy showed he can finish if he is given half a chance and he scored a goal out of nothing.
‘I was delighted with the lads’ passion, desire and hunger.
‘I thought it was a good performance from us and we are on a good run if you take the Celtic game out of it (Caley lost 4-0).
‘But it was a clear penalty (for Kilmarnock). You cannot dive in against pace. If you do, you are asking for trouble and you could see two or three yards before what was going to happen.
‘However, Brad has been excellent for us and we fought back when we could have folded.’