A decade on, they're still our bogey team
United's backline don't cover themselves in glory (again) and hand Kilmarnock a relegation reprieve.
Here’s a grim statistic: Dundee United haven’t defeated Kilmarnock at Rugby Park for a decade. Cast your minds back to this time time 10 years ago, visitors United beat Kilmarnock 2-4. United would come back from being 2-1 behind to score three goals the space of 15 minutes. Unfortunately the comeback was too little too late for the United team whose position at the bottom of the Premiership had already been rubberstamped. Since then? Well, it’s been a fairly thankless task for United’s travelling support.
That terrible away record remains intact after another fairly miserable performance in Ayrshire. Indeed, Kilmarnock can thank United for eight of their 31 points this season. What was a relatively meaningless fixture for United was a crucial game for Kilmarnock, who were hoping to capitalise on a return to form to narrowly avoid the relegation scrap. Three points for Kilmarnock cemented Livingston’s return to the Championship and, following a defeat against Dundee, dragged St Mirren down into the play-off spot instead.
If the last derby was a masterclass in everything United has gotten right this season, this game was a stark reminder of everything that has gone wrong. A defeat away to a Kilmarnock side who have everything to play for, on a pitch which closely resembles the worn-out carpet on my upstairs landing, is forgivable. Less so is the latest string of basic defensive errors to add to a longer list of backline eff ups. Our defenders have not covered themselves in glory this season and, while there have been some questionable individual performances, manager Jim Goodwin has got to own the role that his own tactics have played in that.
After Zac Sapsford fumbled a couple of early chances, the opening goal came from the hosts. A well-placed corner by Kilmarnock’s Greg Kiltie saw Robbie Deas move in quickly to tuck the ball away while Ross Graham and Max Watters were still scratching their heads over who they’re supposed to be marking. With keeper Dave Richards blocked in, Graham is far too slow off the mark and Watters looks how he has looked ever game for the past few months: absolutely aimless. Sapford would miss another opportunity to level the scoreline before half time, sending a well-placed ball from Neil Farrugia skying over the crossbar.
The second goal had much less to do with Kilmarnock and everything to do with United’s torrid defence. Krisztian Keresztes, a player whose infuriating attention span has tripped the team up a fair few times this season, fails to win a straightforward duel with Bruce Anderson when the ball is punted up the park. The lacklustre header away from Keresztes puts the ball directly into the path of Finlay Curtis, who bursts past a lost-looking Graham. Our captain is still flat on his arse by the time Curtis drives his shot home.
The third and final goal is the worst of the lot. It’s a simple but costly error from Sam Cleall-Harding, who short changes a basic pass back to his keeper. Joe Hugill is quick to punish the error, nipping in to poke the ball home and … well, it’s 3-0. It was the most embarrassing error of the 90 minutes but, with United doing very little to mount a comeback at the other end of the park, the 20-year-old can take comfort in the fact that his mistake was of no consequence to the overall game. “[Sam] has never let us down before this afternoon and we’re not going to dwell on this mistake,” Goodwin said. A bigger error, perhaps, is the failure to give Cleall-Harding some regular game time this season.
A slew of United substitutions saw a brief up-tick in performance in the closing 20 minutes. United came close to finding the net themselves through Craig Sibbald and Vicko Sevelj, although Hugill dragged wide a chance for a fourth Kilmarnock goal. Ivan Dolcek looked relatively dangerous and played well enough to earn worth more than the five minutes of game time that he is usually permitted. Owen Stirton — another youngster who has been stuck in the awkward spot between first team football and keeping the bench warm — came on for the final 10 minutes but was unable to add to his existing scoring record against Kilmarnock.
“We’re thoroughly disappointed to lose the game and to lose the goals in the manner did is the most disappointing part of it,” Goodwin lamented at full time. “We concede really soft goals from our perspective. All three goals were really bad.”
He added: “We know how difficult this fixture has been … I was delighted to hear that this pitch is going to be ripped up over the summer. We’ll have no more excuses when we come back down here next season if Kilmarnock manage to stay in the league.”
And so our cursed record at Rugby Park rumbles on.
🥇Man of the match: Probably Will Ferry, but it wasn’t a high bar.
🥈Runner-up: Pass.
🏅Honourable mentions: The ever-reliable Craig Sibbald also showed us exactly what they’re going to miss when he departs at the end of the season.