Kabamba so relieved to be hero after goal blunder
CHARACTER. It was the one word mentioned more than anything by the Kilmarnock camp after recovering from the sending-off of Eamonn Brophy to record a second victory in three games.
Certainly, in the case of matchwinner Nicke Kabamba, it was the attribute that made it possible for him to pop up and make the difference after making a ricket of so much else.
That is rather a harsh statement, for sure. Maybe a little unnecessary. The 27-year-old was, after all, entrusted with leading the line on his own after Brophy was dismissed for a high foot on Scott McMann midway through the first half and did put in a heck of a shift.
It’s just that, in the moments that really mattered prior to his all-important strike, Kabamba was left wanting, shall we say.
Take Hamilton’s 18th-minute goal to cancel out a crisp, early finish from Greg Kiltie. He was supposed to be keeping an eye on Hakeem Odoffin. Almost from the moment David Templeton delivered the ball from a corner, Kabamba had stepped forward and lost all track of him.
Odoffin’s initial header was saved by goalkeeper Danny Rogers but he still had time to latch on to the rebound and volley it home.
Later in the first half, Kabamba was sent clean through by Chris Burke. A chance to atone, it seemed. Until he fell over the ball and ended up doing the dying fly on the AstroTurf as Odoffin moved in to mop up the danger.
Anyone’s head would be inclined to drop in those circumstances. Kabamba’s, to his great credit, didn’t. And when Ryan Fulton parried a fizzing shot from Gary Dicker into his path just before the hour mark, he didn’t flinch, burying a left-footed effort into the corner of the net to complete the journey, if we may employ a touch of tabloidese here, from zero to hero.
‘I was happy to grab the winner, especially after losing my man for their goal at that corner,’ he conceded. ‘Hakeem and I had a good tussle throughout the game and I’m one of those strikers who loves to battle and fight with defenders. That’s why I’m here.
‘But it was good to bounce back after that. It was a very tough shift, especially after going down to ten men, but we showed character and we proved we can stick together.
‘We deserved the win. We were more dangerous than they were and those gaps kept opening up for us.
‘It was more satisfying than the 4-0 win over Dundee United. Winning by a big margin is pleasing, but this was grinding out a result when you’ve been reduced to ten men. We’ll be looking to take maximum points from our next three fixtures. Our aim is to finish in the top six.’
Brophy’s expulsion sparked real anger within the Killie ranks. Burke had a go at linesman David Roome over the decision to redcard the striker after he’d attempted to cut out a McMann clearance and caught him on the follow through.
There was no malice. However, as Accies manager Brian Rice pointed out, leaving your foot in a little high gives the referee the option of taking action. And Nick Walsh certainly did.
‘I didn’t think it should have been a sending-off,’ said Kabamba. ‘Eamonn hasn’t tried to go for the man. He’s attempted to block the clearance. It was a striker’s tackle.
‘That meant I had more work to do after being left on my own up front, but I thought our defensive performance was brilliant.’
It should have seen Accies go to work, too, but they didn’t. Their passing was slack. The quality of their delivery from wide areas was awful. Will Collar did have a chance to level after a spot of bagatelle in the penalty area, but sidefooted the ball wide.
As it is, his main contribution before being substituted will go down as attempting a needless crossfield pass to McMann — described as ‘stupid’ by Rice — and gifting possession to Kilmarnock ahead of their winner.
‘We were majorly disappointed, especially with them going down to ten men,’ said defender Shaun Want. ‘You’d expect us to be the dominant team and create more chances, but that wasn’t the case.
‘Everyone was angry about it. From front to back, no one put in a performance that was good enough.’
KILMARNOCK (4-4-2): Rogers 7; Millen 6, Broadfoot 6, Findlay 6, Waters 6; Kiltie 7 (Pinnock 90), Tshibola 7, Dicker 7, Burke 8 (McKenzie 82); Kabamba 7, Brophy 4. Subs not used: Coyle, McGowan, Haunstrup, Dikamona, Rossi, Whitehall, Cameron. Booked: Tshibola. Sent off: Brophy. HAMILTON (4-4-1-1): Fulton 6; Hamilton 6 (Johnson 61), Want 6, Odoffin 6, McMann 6; Collar 5 (Trafford 68), Mimnaugh 5, Martin 5 (Smith 56), Moyo 5; Templeton 5; Ogkmpoe 5 (Winter 68). Subs not used: Gourlay, Owolabi, Fjortoft, Hughes, Stanger. Booked: Want, Ogkmpoe, Mimnaugh. Man of the match: Chris Burke. Referee: Nick Walsh.