Reaction pleases McInnes after gruelling schedule
AFTER a gruelling December described as “unfair” by Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes, there are few more daunting venues to visit than Livingston. A bruising, attritional, breathless 90 minutes is always assured in the Lions’ den.
Little wonder the Dons boss was so proud of his side after they left West Lothian having achieved what Celtic, Rangers, Hibernian and Hearts could not: a victory.
McInnes was candid in his assessment of Aberdeen’s festive fixtures, insisting at least one of their matches could have been re-arranged for later in the campaign and citing congestion as the cause of a swathe of injuries.
Yet, they belied their lengthy list of walking wounded to become just the second side to defeat Livi on their own patch this term, BY NICK RODGER AFTER just 11 minutes of this encounter at Rugby Park, the Kilmarnock supporters were merrily roaring their lungs dry with a hearty, collective bellow of “we’re gonna win the league”. Two goals to the good and in total command after a thunderous opening salvo, the locals had every reason to be chipper.
Come the final whistle, those in the stands were still jubilantly roaring although there were a few gasps of relief in there too as a slender but thoroughly merited victory was finally closed out. So, here we are, heading into the winter break and Kilmarnock are just a point off the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership. Statistically, you could say they are the best team in the top flight in 2018. In the calendar year, Steve Clarke’s resurgent team have racked up 74 points. Celtic have 73. How Her Majesty missed Clarke off the New Year’s honours list remains a mystery.
“We have come a long way, from the bottom of the [Premiership] when I turned up to now; we have done OK,” said the modest Clarke, who is anticipating a fairly quiet January transfer window. “How do you improve this with no money? We look for loans or free transfers. They’d need to be good players to break into this team. The biggest task for me is to keep this squad together. The board assure me we don’t have to sell. If we can do that, then we can have a go [in the title race].”
One of those key cogs is Greg Stewart, the on-loan Birmingham player who pulled more strings than a puppeteer yesterday.
“I knew I had a talent when I got him but I think he has surpassed recovering from a physically and mentally draining Boxing Day defeat against Celtic.
“I have been concerned about the nine games in December,” said McInnes. “We played the League Cup final and then eight league games in 24 days.
“It is really unfair on everybody at our club and we have picked up muscle injuries to Bruce Anderson, Max Lowe, Shay Logan, Niall McGinn. It is just down to the scheduling. It is fatigue making them susceptible to injuries.
“We put a lot into the Celtic game and almost got a result. That’s why I was delighted with the way we picked ourselves up and got this win and we can go into the winter break proud of what we have achieved in the first half of the season.”
Yet, Aberdeen initially appeared destined to play out a maddening 0-0 stalemate against Livingston yesterday after passing up a swathe of opportunities, with Stevie May the biggest culprit despite an otherwise himself,” added Clarke. “Birmingham have shown no sign that they are going to ask him back. It will come down to what he wants to do. And I know he is happy here.”
The smoke from a pyrotechnic was still billowing about the pitch as the match got under way but it could easily have been wafting off the Kilmarnock players in the lively early stages. They were on fire after all. All that was missing from the sustained charges was the Rebel
Yell.
Within four minutes, the hosts were a goal to the good. St e war t ’ s corner from the right was met by St uar t Findlay and his header flew into the net.
It was the i deal s t ar t and Kilmarnock set about pressing home their advantage as a f ur t her series of menacing, purposeful impressive showing. The Scotland internationalist curled a shot over the bar in the early exchanges before blazing wide on three occasions after the break. For all his intelligent movement and tidy link-up play, it was not his day in front of goal. That profligacy was almost punished when Craig Halkett forced a wonderful reflex save from Joe Lewis after meeting a sumptuous Steven Lawless delivery. advances had the battered St Mirren defence scampering around in a fankle. Stewart was certainly enjoying leading them on a merry dance and his waltz to the byline on 11 minutes ended with him knocking the ball across goal for Jordan Jones to bundle in from close range.
It was all going swimmingly for Kilmarnock while St Mirren looked like they would be swept away by the blue and white torrents. A venture into the attacking half had been so rare, you half-expected Oran Kearney to start unfurling an Ordnance Survey map to plot out a route into Kilmarnock territory. On 21 minutes, though, his team established a foothold in the game with an unlikely goal as Simeon Jackson got his head on a corner to reduce the deficit. Galvanised by that breakthrough, St Mirren had fresh impetus and could have restored parity on the half-hour only for Adam Hammill to clatter a good opportunity over. The second period was largely even-steven but Kilmarno c k wer e prett y comfortable with their lead and Stewart almost added to their tally with a piercing run and shot.
“We given our s el ve s t oo much to do, and that’s an understatement,” said Kearney. “What I can’t accept was the reaction to [the two goals] – it shook our guys to the bones for about 30 minutes. “The reaction – or lack of – was unacceptable. It took us the best part of half an hour to get back on our feet and, by that stage, we were really up against it.”
How do we improve with no money? We look for loans or free transfers
However, James Wilson was on hand to provide the killer touch the Dons needed. The on-loan Manchester United striker showed wonderful predatory instincts to turn a wayward Stephen Gleeson shot into the net from 12 yards, just his third goal for the club. He was not finished there, either. With Livingston throwing bodies forward in search of a leveller, Wilson produced a sensational solo run, dashing forward 60 yards before producing a delivery to the back post which caused an almighty stramash, with the ball eventually trickling over the line. Steve Lawson was the unhappy recipient of the credit.
If McInnes can unlock performances like this from Wilson on a regular basis, he could yet be the coup many expected.
Livingston did ensure a nervous finale when Ryan Hardie flicked a shot beyond Lewis, allowing Scott Pittman to force the ball over the line from close range. It would, however, prove to be a mere consolation.
I’ve been concerned about nine games in December. It’s really unfair on everybody