THIS must be what they call percentage football. In the course of 93 minutes at Rugby Park yesterday, Aberdeen attempted a grand total of two shots, either on or off target. Yet both ended up in Jamie MacDonald’s net, a 100% success rate which was enough to cancel out Kris Boyd’s first half penalty and allow the Dons to somehow rack up their third win in a week. While the better team on the day lost, once again you could only admire the efficiency and resilience of a side who refused to buckle after going behind to a first half Kris Boyd penalty and had two of their lucky charms to thank for the victory.
First came Bruce Anderson, a 20-year-old youth academy product from Banff who scored an equaliser with his last touch against Rangers on the opening day of the season. He repeated the feat with pretty much his first touch by re-directing a Niall McGinn shot which was flying wide. Then it was turn for last week’s Betfred Cup hero Lewis Ferguson added to his growing legend by curling a 20-yard free-kick into the bottom corner. That is a tenth win in a row at this venue for Derek McInnes, including March’s Scottish Cup win on penalties. For the first time in eight matches, Kilmarnock had actually taken the lead in a game. Not that it did them much good.
With midweek goal scorer and Scotland hopeful Greg Stewart deprived of the chance to play against his former club due to suspension, and Eamonn Brophy out with a muscle pull, this was a first start since late August for Boyd. He might be lampooned in places and more commonly spotted these days in a TV studio, but the all-time SPL/SPFL top goalscorer was his larger than life self all day yesterday on the pitch and almost had the ball in the net within five minutes. Greg Taylor, on the occasion of his 100th first-team appearance for Kilmarnock, and just one day before his 21st birthday, scampered away down the left. When Stephen O’Donnell returned the ball into the middle, Boyd got up highest but could only direct the ball into the sidenetting.
McInnes had made just one change from the team which built on that Betfred semi-final win with a comfortable home victory against Hamilton Accies. While introducing the more defensively minded Dom Ball for Scott Wright suggested the visitors had decided that passing out on a dry, uneven Rugby Park surface was asking for trouble, McInnes was appalled afterwards by a first half showing so lethargic and patchy that he said any watching scouts would have been at a total loss about what they were trying to achieve. They smashed long wherever possible, the two identical 4-2-3-1 shapes making for a battle for second balls to a soundtrack of sporadic blasts of referee Bobby Madden’s whistle.
Realising that getting sucked into this kind of game wasn’t helping them, Kilmarnock redoubled their efforts to get the ball down and got their reward. Boyd felt he might have had an early penalty for a clumsy Max Lowe clearance but his chance from 12 yards arrived just after the half-hour, having started the move himself, finding the electric Jordan Jones with a clever flick. The Northern Irishman found the right pass for the onrushing Stephen O’Donnell, whose low shot was beaten out by Joe Lewis. Just when the trouble appeared to have passed, Chris Burke - a lively force all day - beat Shay Logan to the rebound and the Aberdeen full-back caught him as he attempted to clear. There was no hesitation from Madden, Boyd found the corner perfectly with the spot kick, celebrating in trademark fashion, by goading the Aberdeen fans who had given him stick by gesturing about the size of his belly. Thankfully the only thing being hurled in his direction was more abuse.
The introduction of Stevie May at half time was the first sign of change from Aberdeen, but still it was Kilmarnock who looked the likelier. That was until Bruce Anderson climbed off the bench to redirect a mis-hit shot which altered the direction this match was heading. McGinn cut an angry figure as he too was replaced but Ferguson stepped up from a disputed free-kick awarded for a foul by Kirk Broadfoot on Graeme Shinnie to disprove the theory that you always get what you deserve in football.
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