Electric Killie leave Hibees in dark
Steve Clarke feared Kilmarnock’s slick show would be ruined by failing floodlights at Rugby Park.
The gaffer was left fretting through the final stages of the win which rocketed his team up to second in the Premiership.
Electric Eamonn Brophy’s two first-half goals on return from injury put the lights out on Hibs before the floodlights caused two second-half disruptions and threatened to render their efforts meaningless.
Brophy and his team-mates had to leave the pitch when an initial 14-minute delay after the interval threatened to cast a shadow over their dazzling show.
When referee Craig Thomson had to take the teams off for a second time as the lights clicked off again, Clarke was worried one more blackout would end the day.
Merci ful ly for Ki l lie, power was restored and stayed on to let Greg Stewart add a third goal in injury time to seal a win which leapfrogged his team over Rangers in the table.
Clarke, who laughed that his apprenticeship in instrument engineering only allowed him to work up to 110 volts, said: “We knew the lights would go back on. The problem would have come if they had gone off for a third time.
“When they go off you have to let them cool and then trip the system back in again.
“I don’t think the referee would have allowed a third time, so the last 25 minutes was a little bit more nervous than usual as common sense suggested a third stoppage would have been too many.”
Sadly for the Hibees, it was just an extension of the gloom which is hanging around the place right now.
Killie, however, are constantly on the up and f lying towards their highest- ever finish in the Premiership.
It was a contest which was decided before the off-pitch chaos.
As Hibs struggled to get to grips with the encounter, Clarke’s men were all over it.
The Ayrshire outfit were utterly dominant in the opening period and shone brightly enough to have the game won by the post-break blackout.
Only six minutes had elapsed when Stewart escaped and pulled a perfect cutback into the path of Brophy who was able to steer home a finish.
Killie doubled their advantage when Jordan Jones was fouled in the box by defender Darren McGregor and Brophy drilled the penalty down the middle.
Clarke said: “It is always good when you get players back from injury. We know Eamonn gives a bit more mobility up front, which is not to say Kris Boyd didn’t do a really good job for us. It is all about using your squad to the maximum.”
Lennon ripped his team and system apart for the restart. Hibs switched to a back four with McGregor and Steven Whittaker replaced by Daryl Horgan and Oli Shaw in a bid to find a route back into things.
Eight minutes into that restart, though, the lights went out and the delay dragged on to 14 minutes.
Hibs were illuminated brief ly upon resumption but after the bulbs went for a second time with 23 minutes to go, the disruptions halted any flow and Killie were able to saunter over the line. Stewart burst clear in stoppage time to flick a delightful finish for a third. And Clarke said: “The stoppages actually disrupted us a little bit more than Hibs because they were chasing the game and had nothing to lose. “It was nice to get the third one but we should have had it earlier.
“If we had done it properly we could have got four or five goals but we’re not going to grumble.
“Somebody told me we could go second before the game and I honestly didn’t know.” Kilmarnock Hibs
The man in the middle had no hesitation with the Killie penalty decision and looked to get it completely spot on.
Took advice from both the police and the groundstaff to deal with the blackouts in the best way possible for both teams. A good day all round for him. 8
CRAIG THOMSON: