RIGHT TIME TO DRAW A BLANK
Stalemate is feather in the cap for Findlay as he seeks Scots call-up
AS utterly forgettable as this match was, claiming a clean sheet from it could still prove a well-timed feat for Stuart Findlay.
The 23-year-old Kilmarnock defender admits he would be thrilled to receive another Scotland call-up when Steve Clarke — his former mentor at club level — this week names the squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Russia and Belgium.
Not allowing Sam Cosgrove a sniff of goal in Saturday’s stalest of stalemates wouldn’t have done Findlay’s chances any harm.
Nor may the fact there is now significant doubt about the readiness of an Aberdeen counterpart ahead of him in the centre-back queue.
The hamstring injury Scott McKenna suffered after slipping on the plastic pitch at Rugby Park will be scanned today. Unless that delivers positive news, Clarke is set to be denied the services of a player picked to start each of his opening two matches in June. Others will have to step forward.
Findlay was one of four Killie employees included in the first 27-man pool selected by Clarke, having previously been drafted in by Alex McLeish following injury withdrawals.
The former Celtic youngster has yet to earn a debut cap and is clear about how much it would mean to extend his Scotland involvement in next month’s double-header.
‘Obviously, I was over the moon to get my first official call-up in the summer,’ said Findlay.
‘All I can do is keep playing here, trying to do the best I can do. Steve Clarke knows what I can do because he worked with me for long enough.
‘Ultimately, it’s his decision. I’d be honoured to be involved but club football is the bread and butter and, if you do that well, everything will come.
‘It was an unbelievable experience to be part of the squad. You are playing with players that are top drawer.
‘You look at how John McGinn is doing in England and you’ve got three or four boys playing week in, week out in the Premier League.
‘Also, it’s a mental thing; it gives you confidence thinking: “I’m here for a reason. I’ve been called up on my own merit”.
‘That gives you the confidence to push on because if the people at the top believe in you, then you should believe in yourself.’
Findlay wore a protective boot on his left foot as he spoke after the match, but is confident he will not join McKenna on the potential casualty list.
‘It’s only a precaution,’ he insisted. ‘I blocked a cross with about 25 minutes to go but I’m sure it will be okay.’
In truth, he didn’t have to work terribly hard to quell an Aberdeen performance devoid of creativity. Picking positives out of this 90-minute serving of attritional gruel was not easy, but what few there were probably sided with Kilmarnock.
A first Premiership point for Angelo Alessio at least got the Italian manager off the mark, albeit his side remain bottom of the nascent league table.
The hosts were more positive in the second half and winger Chris Burke had the clearest chance of the match when he failed to hit the target after being sent through by a fine Gary Dicker pass.
Other than that, bright sunshine couldn’t disguise how bleak a game this was when you consider these clubs were locked in an engaging battle for third place last season.
The artificial surface hardly helped. Sticky in some parts, briefly soaked in others, it may be an upgrade on the previous pitch but it still doesn’t inspire confidence.
McKenna was one of a few players to slip, pulling up to clutch his right hamstring before being replaced by Zak Vyner after just 27 minutes.
Come full-time, both sets of fans offered their own grumbles.
However, following an extra-time Betfred Cup victory against Hamilton the previous weekend, Findlay believes Killie are moving closer to finding stability while adapting to Alessio’s methods.
‘As soon as Steve Clarke leaves, you are going to have people wondering what Killie are going to be like and we’ve got one point from three games — and that doesn’t look good,’ he admitted.
‘But if you dissect what we’ve been doing, I don’t think it’s as bad as some people are fearing.
‘We can take a lot of positives from the games. When we get that first win on board, hopefully we can just pick up from where we left off last season.
‘This was a frustrating one because we were in the game enough to have taken the three points.
‘At the same time, Aberdeen have been the team we can’t beat here since we started picking up over the last couple of years, so to get a point off them is not the worst result in the world.
‘We got a clean sheet, which is something to build on and, hopefully, we can go on and get the result we want next week.’
Greg Taylor was left out after complaining of hamstring discomfort at training last Friday, opening the way for Queens Park Rangers loanee Niko Hamalainen to make his debut at left-back. Alessio insisted Kilmarnock had yet to receive a formal offer for Taylor from Celtic but Findlay — wanted by Oxford earlier this summer — views their interest as a compliment.
‘Greg has been a credit to himself,’ said Findlay. ‘He’s made his Scotland debut and he’s been one of the standout performers week in, week out.
‘The whole back four has done well. Stephen O’Donnell is a regular with Scotland, Kirk Broadfoot and I play well together and Alex Bruce came in today and did well. Even Niko came in today and had an excellent debut.’