Ian
Durrant is signed on a free transfer
from Rangers, and
Alan
Mahood is signed from Morton.
Club captain
Ray Montgomerie is given a
testimonial match and almost 7,000 show up to see Killie take on Celtic.
A couple of weeks into the season
Ally McCoist is also signed ! Killie knock out Zeljezicar from Bosnia
2-1 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup
Bobby Williamson & Co get excellent press for their humanitarian
spirits during their European travels, in particular when travelling to
Bosnia.
Aug 1998
Killie
open the season at home to Dundee Utd and goals from Wright & Nevin see
them off 2-0. Killie then pick a point at Perth in a 0-0 game, before
losing at home to Rangers 1-3. Bunion nets for Killie (right).
Killie also lose twice 0-2 to Sigma Olomouc from the Czech Republic, in
UEFA
Cup.
Killie then go on a nine match unbeaten run in the league .
Killie's good run starts when
Ally McCoist hits a "Hat-Trick"
against Hearts, and is then re-called to the Scotland squad (along with
Durrant). Both play representing Kilmarnock.
Sep 1998
Killie open Sept losing to Airdrie
at home in the League Cup. Killie then play at Parkhead and pick up a
1-1 draw with
Jerome Vareille netting for Killie. Then another away point is secured at
Motherwell in a dull 0-0 encounter. Killie finish the month with 2
wins ; at home to Dundee 2-1 (McCoist & McGowne) and up north at Aberdeen
1-0, thanks to a Paul Wright penalty. Williamson does NOT get "manager of
the month" despite being unbeaten in Sept!
Pat Nevin leaves
Killie to join Motherwell.
Oct
1998
After being unbeaten in Sep Killie stay unbeaten in Oct also! Two more
wins and 2 more draws are recorded. Home draws with the Pars 0-0, and St
Johnstone 2-2 (Roberts & an OG) with a 2-0 (McGowne & Vareille) away win
at Dundee Utd between the home draws. To finish Oct a fine
2-0 home win over Celtic is also recorded, with Roberts & Mitchell
doing the damage. Killie are 2nd in the Premier League only 1 point behind
Rangers.
Nov
1998
Kilie's good run comes to an end at Tynecastle
with a narrow 1-2 loss, with Wright again on the scoresheet. Then 2 draws,
1-1 (Jerome) at Dens followed by a disappointing 0-0 home scoreless draw
with Motherwell. Killie do fine their form to finish Nov with an emphatic
3-0 win Dunfermline. Ian Durrant netting twice along with a rare Gary Holt
goal.
Dec
1998
The fine Pars result is followed up with a 4-0 demolition of Aberdeen
at Rugby Park to open Dec. Bully netting twice, Jerome & Bunion from the
spot accounting for Killie's tally.
So with 5 different scorers in their last 2 matches, and 2 clean sheets
Killie headed off to Ibrox for a possible 1st place showdown with Rangers.
A win would see Killie move into a 1st place tie. In a hard-fought affair
Killie lost 0-1. The match will be remembered by most Killie fans as the
end of Jerome
Vareille. JV took a nasty tumble (some say a dive!) and landed
awkwardly on his shoulder. Jerome was never the same player for Killie
after his 8 week layoff! Killie finish up the year with 2 fine home wins;
Dundee Utd 2-0 (Wright (above) & Durrant Pen) & Hearts 1-0 thanks to a
Gary Holt goal.
Jan
1999
Killie go into the Premier League winter "shutdown" with a fantastic
2-1 win
at Motherwell on New Years Day. The shutdown
hurts Killie as they
suffer at the hands of Ayr in the Scottish Cup, and their 3 week layoff
proved costly as we lost 0-3. A torrid affair, with little good football,
and lots of flying tackles saw Killie's Somerset "jinx" continue, despite
being the better side for much of the match. This result clearly rattled
Killie's confidence also, and they would not "win again" till mid-March,
and only 2 points would be taken out of a possible 15! Killie ended Jan
with a drab home draw 0-0 with Dundee.
Feb
1999
Killie's dismal
Feb begins with a 1-2 loss at Aberdeen with Mahood on the scoresheet, with
Feb's only Killie goal. Then it was a 0-1 loss at Parkhead, Celtic's only
win over us for season 1998-99. Killie finish Feb with a 0-5 thrashing at
home by Rangers, in a match that will be remembered, as being Ray
Montgomerie's last for Kilmarnock. Clearly there had been post match
friction between Monty & Williamson after the match.
Kilmarnock are now a shadow of the side that went to Ibrox as
title-contenders, just 2 short months earlier. Killie had now slipped to
3rd in the SPL, and a UEFA Cup spot (for 3rd place) was being chased by St
Johnstone who were only 4 points back in 4th.
Mar
1999
Killie start what
will be a 5 match unbeaten run with 0-0 draw at home to the Pars, then it
was 1-0 win at Perth, with Holt notching the winner. Killie then
steal a home point off of Celtic with a gutty performance in a
0-0 draw.
Apr
1999
The Celtic draw
gave Killie a lift and their April form improves back to their earlier
first half of the season form. An entertaining 2-2 draw at Tynecastle (
Henry & McCoist) is followed by a fine 4-2 win over the Dons at
Rugby Park, in front of over 9,000 fans. Hoodie, Gus, & teenager
McCutcheon twice were on target for the Blues. Killie then recorded on
April 17th, their largest win in the SPL a
6-0 defeat of
Dunfermline at East End Park. Henry (2), Bully, Jerome, Durrant & Coisty
doing the damage. A UEFA Cup spot now looked "in the bag".......BUT......
only 3 points would be picked up from their last 5 matches. Killie go on
to fall flat on their faces 1-2 at Dens Park, with Innes scoring Killie's
only goal.
May
1999
To start May
Killie did everything they could, in a 0-1 home loss to Motherwell. This
was followed with a drab 0-0 draw with Dundee Utd.
Killie would then host St Johnstone in a match that would decide their
Euro fate! The club announces a ticked discount scheme, and the Saints
match attracts over 15,000 fans, a record for the "new" Rugby Park (not
inc Old Firm matches). In an end to end affair Mark Roberts opened the
scoring, but Killie fail to hang on as the match runs out a 1-1 draw.
Killie will now need a win at Ibrox against Champions Rangers to control
their own Euro fate. A
1-1 draw is
obtained thanks to a Kevin McGowne header, but it is not enough as Killie
finish 4th in the SPL. Killie finished with 14 wins & 14 draws from 36
games. Kilmarnock do win the Scottish "Fair Play" award, and subsequently
qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Kilmarnock had no
reason to be embarrassed about accepting UEFA's backdoor pass because they
were worthy of the place, having completed their best-ever season in
the top division.
Killie had scored more
goals, conceded fewer than ever before, (the fewest in the SPL in fact) and amassed their highest number
of points in the big league.
June
1999
During
this time Killie Director Ian Welsh is voted into office in the new
Scottish parliment, and Killie spend half a million pounds to upgrade
their Rugby
Park playing surface. It is also announced that Captain
Ray
Montgomerie's contract will not be renewed for the following season.
In June Killie fans found out their 1999-2000 UEFA Cup fate, as Killie
did qualified through their "Fair Play" standing !
