St Mirren 0-1 Kilmarnock: Three things we learned
By Laurie Finlayson
Kilmarnock defeat Saints in top 6 battle (Image: Getty Images)
St Mirren’s patchy form continued as they lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock at the SMISA Stadium as the visitors' unbeaten run was extended to five matches. Let’s look at what stood out from the action in Paisley:
Killie’s troubles on their travels are now a distant memory
Watkins celebrates winning goal (Image: Getty Images)
It wasn’t long ago when Kilmarnock couldn’t buy a win on the road. They now have two under their belt and haven’t conceded in any of their last four away matches.
The match started out as a fairly even contest, with St Mirren edging it in the early exchanges. Derek McInnes’ side weathered the initial storm, thanks to some solid defending and a few excellent saves from on-loan Bournemouth goalkeeper Will Dennis. After 25 minutes, Marley Watkins scored the only goal of the game, with a smart finish beyond Zach Hemming following some slick build-up, with Matty Kennedy threading the ball through to Watkins. This was his second goal in the space of four days.
Kilmarnock have kept clean sheets in their last four away fixtures with the aforementioned Dennis as well as the likes of Stuart Findlay, Robbie Deas and Lewis Mayo standing out. All Four of those players were summer additions for the Ayrshire side although Mayo was on loan at Rugby Park last season. So perhaps focussing on creating a more solid base has been key to Kilmarnock’s success, both at home and on their travels. Killie have the fourth-best defence in the Scottish Premiership, having only conceded four goals more than reigning champions Celtic.
Saints stutter to a rare home defeat
Saints’ goal denied by VAR (Image: Getty Images)
Before this match, St Mirren had only suffered one defeat in Paisley, which came against Rangers in October. Despite the strong home form, the Buddies have stuttered of late, winning only one of their last seven matches coming into this one, clinging onto fifth place.
Despite their decent start, the Buddies couldn’t find a rhythm in the game. They had some decent moments, having more shots than Killie, but were often wasteful. They did have the ball in the back of the net after just 14 minutes, however, Olutoysi Olusanya was flagged offside by the assistant referee. That was as good as it got for the Saints.
St Mirren will see Kilmarnock as one of their main competitors, and vice versa. So Stephen Robinson will have considered this game as an opportunity missed, while the visitors made a real statement of their top-six or perhaps even European ambitions.
This won’t be any comfort for St Mirren fans, but the Killie boss is perhaps their achilleas heel if such a thing exists. Any St Mirren team have only got the better of a McInnes team once in 29 attempts in the Scottish top flight.
Is the quality of the Premiership ‘poor’ or are the likes of St Mirren and Killie simply performing well?
Derek McIness brings his team to fourth in the table (Image: Getty Images)
There has been plenty of debate surrounding recent comments made by Ross County manager Derek Adams who called the standard of Scottish football ‘shocking’.
St Mirren and Kilmarnock have been performing very well this season, as have other sides, including newly promoted Dundee, who sit seventh. At the other end of the spectrum, Aberdeen, who finished third last season, languish in eighth. Albeit the Dons reached the Viaplay Cup final and put up a respectable showing in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage. Even the Old Firm have been beatable this season, as Killie have proven.
The Ayrshire side’s next two fixtures may be a good indicator of the quality of the division. They host Dundee on Saturday (December 30) and travel to Ibrox to face a now in-form Rangers side on January 2 to kick-off 2024. It would be unprecedented circumstances if Killie can complete a league double over the Gers. A similar point can be made of St Mirren. They face a trip to the Granite City to play a struggling Aberdeen side in their final fixture of the calendar year and then welcome Celtic to the SMISA Stadium just after New Year.