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Kilmarnock V Thistle 24Th January


Jag
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All things considered, it was a decent point and one I didn't think we were going to get after falling behind. Kilmarnock aren't necessarily very good but they are difficult for us to play against; they are quite physical and set-up relatively narrowly which crowds out the pockets of space that a number of our players thrive on filling.

 

A couple of talking points; firstly, Killie's equalising goal. Magennis has taken the shot quite early but Gallacher will be disappointed that he never got down sooner. It reminded me of Steven MacLean's goal at St Johnstone last season where Gall was a bit unsighted but still slow to get down. It was all the more frustrating as it came from one of our own counter attacks; Stevenson should have gotten the ball wide to Christie first time but dithered and lost possession.

 

Indeed, holding onto the ball too long cost us a couple of potential goalscoring opportunities; Higginbotham was the main culprit, wanting to do his own thing on the ball before parting with it - I can recall two occasions in particular where we had a good overlap and a first time pass would have seen us in a threatening position.

 

Secondly, the substitutions. Taking Stevenson off so early in the second half caused us to get even more overrun in midfield, in my opinion. At that time, we needed to keep possession a lot better in the middle of the pitch; Osman was pedestrian throughout and was caught on the ball numerous times, and Craigen was full of effort but wasn't retaining possession terribly well either. Bannigan replacing either of them would have made more sense. However, whether it was by luck or design, Bannigan's energy from full-back was welcome and brought about the free-kick that led to the equaliser but I'm still not sure what the initial logic was deploying him as an attacking midfielder and I think we suffered for the absence of Stevenson's physical presence.

 

Whether it was the pitch or just poor execution, I don't know, but Seaborne repeatedly wasted possession with a number of failed cross-field passes. With no Fraser in the team and Killie squeezing the middle of the park, there was a greater onus on the defenders to distribute the ball and as such, that left us often resorting to a more direct style which contributed to our mediocre display.

 

Killie will probably feel like they did enough to win the game and I wouldn't disagree with that; but it's about time we started taking points that we don't deserve considering the amount we've gifted to other teams in that last 18 months. It gives a wee bit of momentum going into Friday's game and three points would go a long way to guaranteeing our survival.

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All things considered, it was a decent point and one I didn't think we were going to get after falling behind. Kilmarnock aren't necessarily very good but they are difficult for us to play against; they are quite physical and set-up relatively narrowly which crowds out the pockets of space that a number of our players thrive on filling.

 

A couple of talking points; firstly, Killie's equalising goal. Magennis has taken the shot quite early but Gallacher will be disappointed that he never got down sooner. It reminded me of Steven MacLean's goal at St Johnstone last season where Gall was a bit unsighted but still slow to get down. It was all the more frustrating as it came from one of our own counter attacks; Stevenson should have gotten the ball wide to Christie first time but dithered and lost possession.

 

Indeed, holding onto the ball too long cost us a couple of potential goalscoring opportunities; Higginbotham was the main culprit, wanting to do his own thing on the ball before parting with it - I can recall two occasions in particular where we had a good overlap and a first time pass would have seen us in a threatening position.

 

Secondly, the substitutions. Taking Stevenson off so early in the second half caused us to get even more overrun in midfield, in my opinion. At that time, we needed to keep possession a lot better in the middle of the pitch; Osman was pedestrian throughout and was caught on the ball numerous times, and Craigen was full of effort but wasn't retaining possession terribly well either. Bannigan replacing either of them would have made more sense. However, whether it was by luck or design, Bannigan's energy from full-back was welcome and brought about the free-kick that led to the equaliser but I'm still not sure what the initial logic was deploying him as an attacking midfielder and I think we suffered for the absence of Stevenson's physical presence.

 

Whether it was the pitch or just poor execution, I don't know, but Seaborne repeatedly wasted possession with a number of failed cross-field passes. With no Fraser in the team and Killie squeezing the middle of the park, there was a greater onus on the defenders to distribute the ball and as such, that left us often resorting to a more direct style which contributed to our mediocre display.

 

Killie will probably feel like they did enough to win the game and I wouldn't disagree with that; but it's about time we started taking points that we don't deserve considering the amount we've gifted to other teams in that last 18 months. It gives a wee bit of momentum going into Friday's game and three points would go a long way to guaranteeing our survival.

 

an excellent post

could not understand subbing stevenson he didnt look injured

however a point is a point

 

bring on st midden

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It's interesting that we've lost 3 goals to Killie and 3 goals to Hamilton Accies away on their articial pitches this season, then add to this the 4 goals total scored on Saturday. In the league I think this is the most we've conceded away from home and it's in games played on an aritifical surface, maybe it makes it harder to defend against teams used to playing on it?

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The first goal was possibly the surface but the 2nd was just poor defending.

Pascali said that our equaliser made him start crying. I think I love Frans even more.

 

It's interesting to see that Seabourne thought that Collum let a lot of decisions go. You've got to assume he was intentionally being more lenient after his last few games.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/partick-thistle/seaborne-jags-need-to-win-on-the-spin-195462n.116932605

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I wasn't at Rugby Park on Saturday and only watched the Alba highlights today. It looked to me as if we were really comfortable until Magennis scored. It was a poor goal to lose. However, even after that, it looked pretty even with neither side really having any sustained pressure. Higginbotham looked as if he had a bit more confidence than earlier in the season. Elliot looks like he is getting to grips with the left back slot. Lawless again looked tricky and if Craigen could start getting some power and direction into his attempts on goal, I think he would be really difficult to shift. I am really pleased to see McDaid getting regular sub appearances and making another positive contribution.

I was a bit disappointed that we didn't manage back to back wins, but am feeling quite positive for the rest of the season. I actually don't think it would be a disaster if we don't bring anyone in in the window. Although we don't have an experienced recognised left back, we have in my view decent options in Keenan,Elliot and Bannigan. We are pretty well served with centre backs and midfield. It is now perhaps more important to get cover for rightback and possibly another striker,but given that we are the only team out with the top 5 with a positive goal difference and have scored more than all the bottom 7 except Dundee, maybe that isn't really needed either

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