Skin. Of. Our. Teeth. Kilmarnock 1-2 Caley

By: Ian Rose | November 22nd, 2008

I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth, here, so don’t get me wrong. A win is a win, and these are three vital points. Even if it seems like all of our wins this season have come on the road (4 out of 5 have) or against Kilmarnock (2 out of 5), I’ll take it. But that was not for the faint of heart.

It was a game of two halves, that’s for sure. The first half was all Caley Thistle, and we fully deserved the 2-0 scoreline at the interval. Dougie Imrie and Garry Wood netted, and it all seemed in the bag. Then came the second half, and Killie poured men forward. Ideally, with our counterattacking formation on the road, this should have led to something more like a 4-1 win for us than what actually happened. They got back in it with a late goal, breaking a clean sheet that Ryan Esson really should have had. I had my doubts, and was a big Mikey Fraser fan, but Esson’s our man – he’s a real quality keeper.

Then, in the 85th minute, disaster. A penalty. This was looking eerily similar to a few weeks ago at Easter Road in Edinburgh, when a 2-0 Caley lead was in jeopardy from the penalty spot. Except this time, it was so late that a successful netting of the spot kick would have effectively ended the match in a disappointing draw. At Easter Road in that match, Ryan Esson blocked the penalty. This time, he didn’t have to, as it went well high of the crossbar, and we were able to hold on.

But only just. Still, a win’s a win, and after all the talk about dodgy calls and having no “rub of the green”, a lucky win had to come at some point. Well done, lads.

Season Progress
At this point last season: 15 matches played, 16 points, 13 goals for, 32 goals against
This season: 15 matches played, 17 points, 17 goals for, 22 goals against

Comparable fixtures last season: 15 matches played, 25 points, 21 goals for, 16 goals against
Comparable fixtures this season: 15 matches played, 17 points, 17 goals for, 22 goals against