Watson wonder goal sends Killie soaring and earns McInnes salute
DEREK McINNES believes David Watson is now thriving on his reputation as a game-changer for Kilmarnock.
The teenage midfielder scored his third goal for the club but his first at Rugby Park with a spectacular early strike which paved the way for the win that took his side up to fourth in the Premiership table.
With goals now recently added to the impressive 18-year-old’s all-round game, his manager feels that the welcome recent trend is only set to continue.
‘That’s three goals now from David Watson, against Aberdeen, Celtic and now St Johnstone,’ said McInnes. ‘He has a brilliant strike on him and he enjoys being the difference.
‘When he scored at Celtic Park, it wasn’t a winning goal, but it was a brilliant finish.
‘At Aberdeen, it was a winner, and he had the feeling of responsibility for getting his team three points. When a young player gets these goals, I think it makes him hungry to score more.’
Killie started superbly here but made hard work of securing the victory which means they have taken 10 points from a possible 12. Marley Watkins added to Watson’s strike but a failure to get a deserved third goal before the break kept Saints believing.
Coming just after the hour mark, substitute Nicky Clark’s strike made for a nervous ending for the home side, but McInnes felt it would have been harsh on his players over the piece if they hadn’t seen the game out.
‘I thought we were terrific in that opening 30 minutes or so,’ he added. ‘But it’s the Premiership. St Johnstone changed their shape towards the end of the first half and had a couple of moments.
‘We didn’t have the same dominance and spoke at half-time about the need to score the next goal. We became a bit anxious. It was a bit like we were playing last-minute football for the last 25 minutes.’
On a blustery day in Ayrshire, Killie started with the menace of a tornado and deservedly hit the front on six minutes. Danny Armstrong carried the ball infield and fed Watson. Having taken a touch to steady himself, the teenager let fly from the edge of the box with a half volley that
clipped the inside of Dimitar Mitov’s post before landing in the net. It was an absolute peach.
The quick exchanges between the home side’s front line were a joy to behold and frequently opened up St Johnstone.
Armstrong was also the architect of the second goal which arrived on 17 minutes. Cutting in from the flank, he fed Watkins. The forward was afforded too much time and space by the Saints defence, enabling him to cleverly stab the ball under Mitov.
So dominant were Killie that the contest could have been over within half an hour.
Brad Lyons whipped a cross in. Kyle Vassell met it full on but could not keep his volley down.
Vassell spurned another chance to put the issue to bed just before half-time. Ryan McGowan’s error allowed the forward to motor towards Mitov’s goal. To the relief of the keeper, Vassell’s strike ended up in the stand. Saints had taken 11 points in the eight games since Craig Levein came in, but here they took a long time to get going.
Will Dennis was called into action when Max Kucheriavyi tried his luck from a tight angle. Lewis Mayo was faster to react to the loose ball than any visiting player — which summed up Saints’ afternoon to that point.
But as their manager would doubtless have reminded them at the break, they weren’t yet out of it. Much improved after the turnaround, Clark’s introduction came four minutes before Saints halved the deficit.
While the exact nature of the offence that Armstrong was penalised for was unclear, there was no disputing the quality of Matt Smith’s free-kick. Clark got just enough on the ball to deceive Dennis.
Kilmarnock felt aggrieved when Mitov escaped with just a booking when he cleaned out Vassell just outside the box with the unmarked Watkins awaiting a tap-in. The
Bulgarian added to Killie’s frustration by beating away Liam Polworth’s free-kick.
Killie began to defend too deep and Tony Gallacher should have squared the game but somehow got under Fran Franczak’s cross and scooped the ball over.
The home side were thankful for Dennis’ reflexes when their keeper dived to beat away Smith’s strike. They made it hard for themselves but the win was still deserved.
The only consolation for Saints was that the dismal first-half display was an outlier in Levein’s tenure to date. ‘That was a strange game. I don’t know what happened,’ said the Perth boss. ‘We snookered ourselves by giving away two early goals.’