Gary Wales ushered in the first victory of the post-Kris
Boyd era at Kilmarnock with a last-minute strike which moved the
Ayrshire side above Rangers into fourth place in the
SPL.
Gary McDonald gave the home side a deserved lead at the interval when
his intended cross in the 37th minute swerved into the United net.
In-form Collin Samuel looked to have salvaged a point for Chisholm
when he pounced for the equaliser on 51 after David McCracken's header
was pushed out by Alan Combe.
But substitute Wales showed terrific striker's instinct and admirable
technique to fire home inside a crowded penalty box with just seconds
remaining in normal time.
The victory consolidates Jim Jefferies' side's position in the top
six but represents more bad news for Chisholm, whose team has won just
twice away from home this season and face a daunting set of fixtures in
the new year.
The first opportunity of the game fell to Colin Nish, handed the
first chance to fill the boots of Rangers-bound
Kris Boyd
.
The chorus of
"If you hate the f*cking Rangers clap your
hands" which greeted the SPL's leading
scorer as he emerged for the half-time draw seemed more jocular than
vindictive. However, any residual hostility soon gave way to a show of
appreciation when it was announced that he had made a £20,000
contribution to youth development at the club.
The former Dunfermline striker collected a hopeful Garry Hay clip
into the box but pulled his shot wide of Derek Stillie's left-hand post
in the fourth minute.
Five minutes later Killie had an even better chance to take the lead
when Steven Naismith drifted beyond a static United defence before a
heavy touch allowed Stillie to smother his effort wide.
Naismith wasted another gilt-edged opening on 18, firing wildly over
from 10 yards out after intelligent build-up play from Murray, recalled
due to the injury to Allan Johnston.
The first threat from the visitors - who recalled Stuart Duff and Lee
Miller in place of the injured Peter Canero and Grant Brebner - arrived
in the 33rd minute, a swift counter-attack culminating in Barry Robson
narrowly failing to apply a decisive touch to Mark Wilson's
astute
pass.
Four minutes later the home side got the breakthrough their
domination deserved when Gary McDonald (right) attempted
to cross to the back post but cut across the ball which resulted in it
swerving into the top left-hand corner of the hapless Stillie's net.
Having been witless for the duration of the first half, the
Tangerines somehow mustered an equaliser just six minutes after the
interval.
From Barry Robson's left-wing corner, a firm header from McCracken
was pushed out by Combe but Samuel was there to fire home his third goal
in four games.
The goal was not however the cue for some entertaining football, a
scrambled effort from
Jim McIntyre
in the 67th minute being the only subsequent notable action at
either end in the first half of the second period.
Realising the need for some additional impetus Jefferies withdrew
Murray and threw on another striker in Wales, a move which resulted in
Naismith dropping back into a midfield role for the final quarter.
It did not have the desired effect though as both sides continued to
labour for the winner, a weak Miller free-kick being the best United
could offer at this juncture.
It seemed to energise his team-mates though and the former Hearts
striker and Alan Archibald threatened with a couple of half-chances
either side of the 85-minute mark.
Jefferies threw on Paul Di Giacomo for Nish with a couple of minutes
remaining as the home side showed some late urgency.
The tactic paid off as, with just over 30 seconds of normal time
remaining, when Gary Wales (right) pounced on a loose ball
in the box to fire low past Stillie into the bottom right-hand corner
and seal the points for the Ayrshire side.
Fixtures & Results
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League Table
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JJ's Comments
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Season Diary
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Match Pics
Gary Wales Post Match Comments....."Kris
is in the changing rooms just now and the physio was saying to him 'how
does I feel to be in the dressing room of the team that is above yours,"
(38 mins)
