Killie bounce back to the top as Dundee rue their missed chances
KILMARNOCK 3
Broadfoot (53), Kusunga (og, 66), Stewart (79)
DUNDEE 1
Miller (90)
It said it all about the season Killie are enjoying, the PA announced the manager as Sir Steve Clarke–and that was before they went back top of the league.
Yet if the Rugby Park staff are getting all hot and bothered with what will be, at the very least, a memorable campaign, the man himself is not be swayed by the thought of such pageantry.
“That was just the daft presenter who gets carried away at times,” said the 55-year-old with a laugh.
“We were good today. Once the game opened up properly for us we played some terrific stuff.
“But being top of the league isn’t important. That we have 34 points from 18 games is important.
“Our points per game is good. The league table is a not a true reflection.
“Celtic have three games in hand and I am looking forward to next week already.”
You can see why, if the weather conditions weren’t great yesterday, the football wasn’t bad at all with the usual suspects to the fore.
Greg Stewart smashed a shot just over the bar from a decent distance after a very tidy Killie move involving Gary Dicker and Greg Taylor.
Then, after being sent clean through by Dicker, he shot too close to Jack Hamilton allowing the Dundee keeper to save with his legs.
His strike partner, Eamonn Brophy, was also quick to catch the eye, curling a free kick wide as the home fans rose to applaud the score.
At the other end Dundee had plenty of good opportunities of their own.
Skipper Kenny Miller side-footed just wide after getting himself on to the end of Glen Kamara’s free-kick with a perfectly judged dart to the front post.
Andy Boyle went even closer, forcing keeper Daniel Bachmann to throw himself across his line to save.
Arguably their best chance of all came when Kenny Miller broke free down the left.
The 38-year-old curled in a hugely inviting cross into the centre
but Curran arrived just a second too late to leave his team-mate shaking his head in frustration.
The visitors were left rueing their missed opportunities when Killie snatched the lead shortly after the break, Kirk Broadfoot stabbing home a right footed shot from close range after Dundee failed to clear Stewart’s corner.
What was a difficult retrieval mission for the visitors then became much harder through the concession of an own-goal.
With Stewart lurking with intent at the back of the box, Generic Kusunga’s intention in trying to clear Eamonn Brophy’s cross was good. The execution, not so much, with his effort flying past the bemused Hamilton.
And the Dark Blues’ first league defeat in five was confirmed when Boyle’s mistake allowed Chris Burke to tee-up Stewart with an open goal.
They at least grabbed a late consolation, Kenny Miller finishing confidently for what was his seventh goal in five games.
Said manager Jim McIntyre: “As I’ve been keen to express in the last number of weeks, there are going to
be ups and downs, slaps in the face, poor results.
“Up until the first goal there was nothing in the game.
“First half, we got into some good positions and, had we been more ruthless, would have gone in at half time with a lead.
“As soon as the goal went in, though, for some reason we looked like a team that I have not seen for a number of weeks.
“We were playing as individuals and making really poor decisions, whether individually or collectively, and that came back to bite us.
“But it’s about how you bounce back, how you handle it.
“I need to see a lot better than I did after the first goal went in because it wasn’t good enough.
“If we play like that we’ll toil, guaranteed.”
Last word went to Greg Stewart whose goal took his running tally to eight goals in 13 appearances.
“My future’s up in the air so I just keep my head down and get on with it. I love playing here with a great bunch of boys.
“But I’m not looking too far ahead. I’m just looking forward to the winter break!”