Dunfermline 3 - 0 Kilmarnock
(SPL Under 21 match - East End Park, 19th January 2004, 7.00pm Kick Off)

Killie's youngsters took to East End Park's plastic pitch likes ducks to cement last night and ended up on the receiving end of a 3 goal beating that could have been a lot worse.

With the likes of recent U21 regulars such as Di Giacomo, Hessey, Dodds, Dillon, Fowler and Invincibile missing for various reasons, Killie fielded an unusual mixture of youth and experience. Of the familiar faces, Hay and McLaughlin lent some strength to the back line, whilst the recuperating Dargo and currently out-of-favour Boyd formed the strike partnership. Unfortunately there were no "mystery trialists" to report, so it would seem that Jim Jefferies' search for new faces goes on.

From the off it was clear that the home side were much more comfortable on the artificial surface than the visitors, and as early as the 6th minute Samson in the Killie goal did well to hold a long range effort from Bullen. A few minutes later the Pars had the ball in the net after some good interplay, however the "goal" was correctly ruled offside. Not that Sandy Clark in the home dugout agreed, mind you!

With Killie struggling badly, especially in midfield (where have we heard that before?), the coaches switched the team to a 3-5-2 formation. This alteration did little to stem the Dunfermline tide, with Gilroy, Canning, and now Murray, being out-passed in the middle of the park. Still the Pars pressed, led impressively by Lee Bullen, but a combination of wayward shots and some desperate defending kept the score line blank at the interval.

Killie swapped Naismith for Dargo at half-time, the latter's ankles no doubt throbbing after pounding the hard surface, and the young striker almost scored within seconds of the restart. Put through by Boyd, he attempted to chip Ruttenbieck from 25 yards but skewed his shot wide. This seemed to spur Killie on a bit however the impetus faded just as quickly as Dunfermline restored their superiority and home goals looked an inevitability.

On the hour mark the breakthrough came when the impressive Noel Hunt smacked in a free kick from about 20 yards. From then on it was one-way traffic and the Pars further stretched their lead with a well-worked goal from Dempsey and rounded off the victory with a second from Hunt's head at the death. Killie failed to register a single shot on target in the whole 90 minutes.

Overall, this was a very disappointing performance from Killie. On the plus side Hay and McLaughlin looked as dependable as ever, and it was good to see Dargo notch up another 45 minutes on his road back to the first team. For me the most revealing aspect of the game was the contrasting performances by Boyd and Naismith.

Although "Kid Goals" only played the second half, he looked far more lively and threatening than his more celebrated team-mate. Whilst Steven must be knocking on the door of the first team, Kris desperately needs to regain the confidence that saw him on the verge of the Premiership only a few short months ago.

Dick of the Night (with apologies to Killie Hippo): This dubious honour was won hands down by the jobsworth steward, patrolling the stand all night, who decided that an 8 year-old boy should have his can of Coke confiscated lest he nip downstairs and decant it into something less dangerous. Obviously the scars of the crowd trouble at the last under 21 match at East End Park have yet to heal...

Kilmarnock: Samson; McGregor , McLaughlin , Hamill, Hay; Masterton (Boyle 80), Gilroy (Johnstone 72), Canning (Capt.), Murray; Boyd, Dargo (Naismith 45).
Subs (not used): Bell, Sangster.

Match Report © Dave Hannah