Ndjoli brings joy as Killie continue where they left off
ON this weekend last year, Kilmarnock, under Lee McCulloch, lost their first league fixture at home to yesterday’s opponents. They are a completely different proposition now, however.
The improvements made by Steve Clarke since he took charge of the Ayrshire club last October show no signs of slowing down as they took full points on the opening day for the first time since 2009.
All told, including the Betfred Cup, it’s now four wins and a draw for Killie thus far but Clarke, in typical fashion, refused to be carried away by this victory over St Johnstone.
‘These records are made to be broken but we aren’t here to set records — we are here to win football matches,’ he said.
‘We wanted to have a good start and we managed to do that but we have to keep our feet on the ground because we have a difficult game against Livingston next week.
‘It was a difficult match because they came with a game plan to make it hard for us. They sat in and defended well, especially in the first half. When the game opened up, it made it easier for us and it was a pleasing way to start the season.
‘There seemed to be more space for us after the break. I don’t know if their back three dropped a bit deeper because that would’ve been hard to do. Jordan Jones started well in the second half. He is a confidence player and that came back quickly. He was one of a number of good performers.’
Each team fielded wide attacking players on both flanks but the wingers failed to take flight during an opening period which too often resembled a war of attrition, with the ball frequently — and aimlessly — hoofed from one half to the other while the front men attempted to feed off the scraps.
Indeed, it took over half an hour before either side recorded an effort on target, a 20-yarder from Killie’s Lee Erwin, which Zander Clark gathered comfortably.
The keeper’s reflexes were tested properly shortly after when he threw himself to his right to turn over a piledriver from Alan Power.
There may have been little action to quicken the pulse during that opening 45 minutes but supporters of a certain age were on their feet applauding during the interval when Bobby Williamson, the manager who took Kilmarnock to Scottish Cup success in 1997, appeared on the pitch to make the half-time draw.
Williamson, 56, is in remission following a successful operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his throat.
Jones certainly began the second period with more purpose, cutting in from the left to curl a shot just wide of Clark’s left-hand post.
He then stung the goalkeeper’s fingers with a full-blooded shot from 15 yards.
David Wotherspoon was then shown a yellow card for hauling down the winger 30 yards out but the wall did its job in repelling Kris Boyd’s free-kick.
However, there was an urgency about the hosts which had previously been missing. The tempo had been raised and the spark ignited — and it came as no surprise when the deadlock was broken.
It began with an act of desperation, as Wotherspoon took the legs from Erwin at the corner of the 18-yard box. Erwin fired in the free-kick himself and Clark ought to have collected it but, perhaps distracted by Kris Boyd loitering with intent, he spilled the ball into the path of Killie defender Scott Boyd, who lashed it home to equal his goal tally for the previous campaign. That strike changed everything. Saints were forced to come out of their shell in order to salvage something from the contest and the game became more open as a result. Visiting manager Tommy Wright made changes in personnel and shape but Kilmarnock continued to look the likelier side.
Clark went some way to making up for his earlier gaffe by diving to his right to turn away a netbound shot from Chris Burke.
Jones also smashed a shot from 20 yards against Clark’s crossbar, with the goalkeeper a spectator and he was equally helpless when substitute Mikael Ndjoli scored the second goal of the game and his fourth of this season.
The striker, on loan from Bournemouth, collected the ball 20 yards out and assessed his options before sending a heat-seeking missile of a drive into the top right-hand corner of Clark’s net.
It could have been more as a miscued cross from Jones deceived Clark and spun along the goal-line before going out of play.
Saints manager Wright made no attempt to mask his disappointment.
‘That wasn’t the start I wanted and it certainly wasn’t the performance I was hoping for either,’ he said.
‘We knew this would be a bigger test than we’d had in the pre-season games and the Betfred Cup. I’ll take full responsibility but I did not see that coming. There was a severe lack of bravery on the ball and we kept giving it away whenever we had it.’ KILMARNOCK (4-2-3-1): MacDonald; O’Donnell, Broadfoot, S Boyd, Taylor; Power, Dicker; Burke (Wilson 78), Erwin (Ndjoli 74), Jones; K Boyd (Brophy 85). Subs not used: Mackay, Waters, Kiltie, Thomas. Booked: Burke. ST JOHNSTONE (5-4-1): Clark; Comrie, Gordon, Anderson, Kerr (Craig 76), Tanser; Wright, Davidson, Wotherspoon (McMillan 66), Kennedy (Scougall 81); Watt. Subs not used: Mitchell, Alston, McCann, McLean. Booked: Wotherspoon, Comrie, Anderson. Referee: John Beaton. Attendance: 4,644.