Match Preview : Can Caley Kill Killie, or vice versa?

By: Ian Rose | November 20th, 2008

Again with the alliteration. On Saturday, Caley Thistle (fresh from fielding exactly zero international players this friendly week) take on Kilmarnock, in many ways the surprise team of the SPL this season. Killie was a lot of pundits’ and fans’ choice for the drop this season, and what Jim Jefferies has done there is fantastic. That being said, I think we have a fantastic chance to take at least a point from this match.

The Caley-Killie history is one of many, many goals. In 15 leagues matches since Caley was promoted in 2004, there have been 58 goals, exactly 29 for each side. That’s an average of almost a 2-2 scoreline per match. Granted, our last trip to Rugby Park wasn’t such a great one, with only an Ian Black penalty getting us on the board in a 4-1 drubbing. In fact, we’ve only won once there in the SPL, but we’ve tied four times, and only lost twice. So history points to a score draw.

Then there’s our form on the road. We are a different side away from home this season, mainly due to us playing a game that suits us, a 1-striker, 2-attacking mid formation that plays to our greatest scoring strength: our midfield. I’d love to see Adam Rooney and Garry Wood start racking up the goals as much as the next Jaggie, but the fact is that we get just as many, if not more, goals from the likes of Ian Black and Don Cowie. Even Andrew Barrowman and Dougie Imrie, whatever the team roster might call them, have really been more attacking midfielders than true strikers. Playing Cowie, Black and Imrie behind either Wood or Rooney gives us a lot of options, and the other side a lot to deal with. We also play with a special spirit away from home, a spirit that the Caley faithful would like to see a bit more of inside the bounds of Inverness.

So, I’m predicting 1-1. An early goal from Rooney, and a late and disappointing equalizer from Killie. A win’s not out of our hands here, but I think a draw is a decent result. Mon the Caley.