Killie Do Celtic's Heids In!
Kilmarnock 2 Celtic 0
(Scot Premier Division, Match 12,
Rugby Park, Oct 31 1998)
Kilmarnock's
high spirits have fans' heads buzzing Williamson's men
continue to confound critics as Celtic struggle "SEE this
side, they're doing ma heid in," a gleeful but disbelieving
Kilmarnock fan was overheard exclaiming in the Killie Club
after Saturday's defeat of Celtic. The prodigious
statistics the Rugby Park side are currently notching up
would tax anyone's brain. They are now unbeaten in their
last nine outings and have lost only once in the league all
season. Gordon Marshall has more shut-outs than any other
keeper in the Premier League.
And nobody
should have been too surprised by Kilmarnock's win on
Saturday. After all, Celtic have beaten them only three
times in their last 11 meetings at Rugby Park. What all this
adds up to is a side who surely now have made clear their
very real title credentials. "We shall not be moved," rang
out from the packed stands, and the substance to Bobby
Williamson's side indeed suggests they won't easily be
shifted from their current lofty perch of second position,
six points clear of Celtic. The Kilmarnock fans were being
moved though, but only in an emotional sense.
Back at the
Killie Club, you peered through the window at the
post-match revelry. Outside, the night was as dark as a
drum, but inside there wa s sweetness and there was light.
There was also a party going on that will enter local
legend. No such high spirits in the Celtic camp, however.
They remain the great imponderables, and coach Dr Jozef
Venglos continues to baffle too. After the match, his
comments were typically impenetrable. He began with a simple
enough observation - "At the end of the day it is just not
good enough" - before descending into a fractured language
that makes James Farry appear the very soul of succinctness.
Where decipher able, he spoke of
playing with "good
combinations", and of the game being "a battle". In battles
there are always casualties, truth being the first,
something you thought of when Venglos said of his side's
display: "Performance-wise, it was better during the whole
90 minutes." We still talk of this "nice man", and he
is, he really is, but that is not the issue. My postman is a
nice man, and yet he doesn't have the hopes and the dreams
of thousands resting on his shoulders each week. Venglos
does, and he will require the mettle to bear that burden.
He also needs a helping hand from those above him at
Parkhead. Asked about the lack of transfer action since the
start of the season, Venglos said: "Yes, it is making my job
harder" Celtic are another confusing lot. They played
prettily at times, but in the end were easily out-thought
and out-manoeuvred by Kilmarnock. After his side's
performance against St Johnstone last week, where they
quickly found themselves two goals down before rescuing
matters at the death, Bobby Williamson had asked his players
for extra diligence. He got it on Saturday. Each time a
Celtic player beat his man, there were two
more swiftly upon him. On the odd occasion they did break
clear, Celtic were again found to be lacking the killer
touch. Larsson in the first half wended his way down the
right flank, and then, when through on goal, tried to curl a
shot into the far corner with the outside of his right boot.
He was trying to be too flash and paid the price.
Such wasteful
extravagance is something Kilmarnock could never be accused
of, not with the uncompromising but mightily effective Ray
Montgomerie shoring things up at the back. Both their goals
were born from simplicity. For the first, Ally Mitchell
swung in a wonderful cross after neat interchanging in
midfield with Ian Durrant. Mark Roberts bustled into the
six-yard box and headed home. The clincher was claimed by
Mitchell. The ball broke to him
from Durrant's centre and he
hit a fine drive into the bottom corner. Durrant had an
integral role in both goals, which sums up his performance.
Up at the back of the main stand sat the injured Ally
McCoist, and every time Kilmarnock surged forward he urged
them to "gie it to Durranty, gie it to the wee man!" The
Celtic fans weren't willi ng the ball to fall at Harald
Brattbakk's hapless feet, however. In fact, they prayed it
to stay well clear of the Norwegian, so cringeworthy are his
efforts on goal. At least in the past he appeared to believe
in his own ability, even if so few others di d, and never
shied away from a goal-scoring opportunity. On Saturday, he
was clean through on goal, but with a bank of foolishly
expectant Celtic faces in front of him, he took fright and
elected to pass to Henrik Larsson. It might not have
mattered so much if the pass had been true, but it fell
behind his strike partner and the chance was lost. "We
didn't score," said Venglos. "That was the most important
part, but I am not going to criticise any particular
player". Again, an example of his good nature, but it seems
a public kick up the bum is what Brattbakk needs, and if
Venglos won't administer it then some patience-frazzled fan
will. "They're obviously not pleased," said Larsson of the
supporters, "but then we aren't pleased either". The Swede
said the gap at the top of the table did not worry him,
because there are a "lot of games to come. A lot of upset to
come."
There certainly is if you follow the fortunes of Celtic. In
terms of Kilmarnock, the only thing likely to be upset are
the odds. The whole place was buzzing on Saturday, just like
back in days of yore. There was only one seat spare, and
that was the one vacated by Ally McCoist at half-time.
One hopes he
found another vantage point, otherwise he would have missed
the explosion of incidents i n the second half - two goals
and then Stephane Mahe's late sending-off for his second
bookable offence - as the match matured into a crackling
contest. One thing is clear, this Kilmarnock team look set
to continue confounding everyone, even their own fans.
Kilmarnock: Marshall, Hamilton, Baker,
Montgomerie, McGowne, Holt. Mitchell, Mahood, Roberts,
Durrant, Vareille.
