Kilmarnock had three players sent off as they
crashed to a 3-0 home defeat by Motherwell, but for 22 mins 9 man Killie
really took the game to Motherwell ! Their fighting spirit was a credit
to the club, & the fans, many of whom stayed to the final whistle
to applaud their efforts.
The post match pub talk was of comparisons of
Bobby Williamson's Killie getting "boo'ed off" off the park
after a narrow home win Vs yesterdays home humping to a standing
ovation.......go figure ???....Well we are all "Killie till we
die" ...are we not ?
Gary Locke was first to see red in the 50th
minute after an elbowing incident with Derek Adams.
Just four minutes later, Andy McLaren joined
the former Hearts man in the dressing room when he was dismissed for
dissent after a first half booking.
Dougie Ramsay seized on the two-man advantage
to fire Well into a 67th minute lead before Stephen Pearson grabbed a
second seven minutes from time.
But match official Alan Freeland was not
finished brandishing his red card and Jesus Sanjuan was next to go in
the 85th minute for his professional foul on Keith Lasley to the anger
of Killie fans, management and players.
From the resulting free-kick, James McFadden
drove home Well's third.
Play had rarely flowed in the opening 45
minutes, due to a combination of slack play by both sets of players and
an over eagerness to pick up on slight fouls by referee Freeland.
Rarely was possession kept for more than a few
passes and a lack of composure in front of goal ensured that the
supporters had little to cheer in the opening 45 minutes.
McFadden gathered a weak clearance from the
Killie defence 16 yards out and managed to unleash a low shot on Gordon
Marshall's goal.
Despite having bodies in front of him, the
Killie goalkeeper was able to dive low to his left and save.
Steven Hammell was carried off in the 40th
minute with a serious-looking injury after a particularly nasty
challenge from McLaren, which ensured that the former Dundee United man
was barracked by the visiting fans every time he touched the ball.
Freeland's role in this game was to become more
significant in the early period of the second half when he dismissed two
Killie players and booked Motherwell's Pearson for a nasty foul on Gary
McSwegan.
Locke was red-carded for an elbow as he tried
to fend off the attentions of Adams and, minutes later, McLaren was
ordered off for dissent. Motherwell now had two extra men and this
allowed them to stretch the Killie defence for much of the second half.
Well forward Dirk Lehmann cushioned a header
back into the path of Ramsay, who had taken advantage of Killie's
depleted midfield and unleashed a powerful low drive from 20 yards past
Gordon Marshall for the opener.
Killie boss Jim Jefferies introduced Craig
Dargo and Kris Boyd, as he did to great effect in the win at Dundee
United last weekend, in the hope of snatching an equaliser. But then it was Stephen Pearson who raced clear
of the Killie defence and coolly slotted the ball past Marshall.
However, the closing stages were to be littered
with controversy as another Killie player - Sanjuan - was ordered off
for a last-man 'challenge' on Lasley. Truth be told it looked as if they
bumped into each other and the steelman made the most of an already bad
situation.
Motherwell's third came as a direct result of
the incident between Sanjuan and Lasley. Once the protestations over the sending off had
subsided, McFadden stepped up to take the free-kick from 20 yards and
curled it high past Marshall to add insult to injury for the furious
Killie management, players and support.
Killie:
Marshall , Dindeleux
, Hay
(Canero
56) , Shields
, Hessey
, Mahood
(Boyd
76) , Locke
, Sanjuan
, McLaren
, McSwegan
(Dargo
60) , Fulton
Bookings:
Hessey 10, Locke 19, McSwegan
28, McLaren 38, Boyd 88
Red Cards: Locke 54, McLaren 60, San Juan
85.
Att: 6,164
