Kilmarnock 1-1 St Johnstone: Three things we learned
Kilmarnock and St Johnstone played out a 1-1 draw at a wet Rugby Park. Here’s what stood out from the game…
Rugby Park ahead of the bottom six clash against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership (Laurie Finlayson)
Killie in control as Saints look laboured
The home side came into this match with a point to prove after a disappointing Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Scottish Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Derek McInnes made three changes to his side with Jeriel Dorsett, Jordan Jones and most notably, 18-year-old David Watson, who made his first league start. Despite it being his league debut, Watson dominated the Killie midfield almost singlehandedly. He was accurate with almost all of his passes with Callum Davidson’s side often resorting to tactical fouls.
Jordan Jones and Daniel Armstrong dominated the wider areas, while the latter came close from a free kick after Watson was fouled.
With 19 minutes on the clock, the home side thought they had got themselves in front. An Armstrong corner was met by Joe Wright, his header broke in front of Kyle Vassell and the Northern Irish striker bundled the ball home, however, VAR ruled it out for handball. It was second time lucky for Wright as he hauled Killie in front in the 38th minute with a clinical finish.
St Johnstone struggled to impose themselves in the opening period, so much that Callum Davidson made a substitution after 40 minutes, substituting James Brown in favour of Connor McLennan.
The second half saw a marked improvement for the Perth Saints, as despite Killie being better side, with 20 minutes left, St Johnstone equalised with a stunning strike from Drey Wright.
VAR: What is it good for?
VAR had a significant say in this game. Killie had a goal disallowed, but they also had two penalty claims turned down after lengthy reviews.
The first one was by far the most contentious. Jordan Jones swung in a free kick for the hosts and Joe Wright looked likely to win the ball in the air, only for St Johnstone’s Andrew Considine to appear to make a clearance with his hand. Referee Chris Graham saw nothing doing, despite being almost directly behind the incident and the VAR official, Mike Roncone did not overturn the referee’s decision. Replays show that the officials made the wrong decision and after the game, Considine admitted to Derek McInnes, his former manager at Aberdeen, that the ball struck him on the arm.
The home side also had another penalty claim turned down by VAR, albeit on that occasion, there was a foul, however, it was outside the box and a free kick was given. It did seem as if Daniel Armstrong was brought down in the box, but this was less of an obvious mistake than the first penalty claim.
There’s not a lot between the Premiership’s bottom six
You could say that this match was effectively a dress rehearsal for a post-split fixture which will take place between now and the end of the season as both teams are highly likely to remain in the bottom half of the table. It does not feel as if there is a team that stands out as being significantly better than the another in the bottom six. The league table would perhaps suggest that the Perth Saints are one of the stronger sides in the bottom half, however, Kilmarnock, who only moved away from the relegation playoff spot thanks to this result, were firmly in command.
At the time of writing, all clubs in the bottom six, apart from St Mirren, could potentially be heading towards the Championship, which means we are potentially set for an enthralling and tense conclusion to the Premiership season.