Match Reports Archives - Page 9 of 9

Killie fail to crack Saints

A glancing Makenzie Kirk header gave the Saints a much needed victory at McDiarmid Park. The result means Kilmarnock must now overcome a slump of their own if they are to fight their way back into the top six. Killie began the fixture looking like to home side but the Saints grew into the game quickly. Benjamin Kimpioka’s curling shot parried by Robby McCrorie was the closest either side would come to a goal in the first half. Joe Wright fired one for the visiting side from distance but it sailed over the bar. Danny Armstrong similarly unable to hit the target with a free kick of his own, the ball passing comfortably past Josh Rae’s left-hand side. David Watson’s thigh injury meant he was replaced by Fraser Murray at the break as manager Derek McInnes was hampered in his attempts to find an equaliser. The second half seemed to pick up where the first left off with few chances created. That was until Andre Raymond’s whipped cross was met by a fantastic header from Makenzie Kirk to open the scoring. St. Johnstone had lost their previous three games but you wouldn’t have guessed it judging by their performance, looking much improved with the ball at their feet as the game progressed. In something of a rarity, they also looked solid at the back. The fourteen corners they defended without conceding a marked improvement on weeks gone by. Meanwhile Killie’s struggles to find the target continued, Liam Donnelly firing yet another shot over the bar for the away side. His evening would soon go from bad to worse as a second yellow saw the midfielder leave his side a man short for the second time this season. Unable to crack the defence open, they make the trip home empty handed once again. Resolute Saints hold out The honeymoon had clearly ended for manager Simo Valakari but tonight’s result helped prevent disillusionment from rearing its head in Perth. Three defeats in a row did not spell the end of the world but the Saints had some questions to answer about their defensive solidity. With twenty-seven shipped in thirteen, they entered this fixture as the league’s leakiest backline. Fair to say an impressive display for only their second clean sheet of the season will have put some of those questions on the back-burner. A first start for Bozo Mikulic, Valakari’s first signing, saw him paired with Jack Sanders at the back. The duo keeping out Marley Watkins and Darius Vassell, no mean feat given the damage they’ve done to other teams this season. Difficult games against Rangers and Aberdeen await in the coming weeks but the display tonight will give the side now just three points off to top six a much needed boost. Killie yet to kick on A fifteen minute delay to kick-off was perhaps a bit of foreshadowing for the side still waiting to get their own season going. Finishing fourth represented a big achievement for the Ayrshire side last season but McInnes’ ambitions will not let him be satisfied with it being a once in a few years occasion. The European run had stunted their start to the campaign but a few months on and with the international breaks in between, tired legs have ceased to be an excuse. Now with three defeats on the trot, the manager will need to re-energise his side if they are to fight their way back into the top half, now sitting six points behind St. Mirren. As the game wore on it became difficult enough for them to score with eleven men, but Liam Donnelly’s second yellow made the task all the more difficult. It is the fifth time they have seen a man sent off this season. Speaking to SPFL News Now, McInnes’ acknowledged his frustrations with the performance of the officials but was quick to point that they had ‘not lost the game because the referee, I need to stress that’.

November 23, 2024

Hearts battle to victory away to St Johnstone

Hearts battled to a 2-1 victory against St Johnstone on a cold afternoon at McDiarmid Park. The game saw two sides play entertaining, attacking football, which ebbed and flowed in the battle for possession and attacking momentum. St Johnstone knew victory would have seen them rise to 6th in the table from 9th. Simo Valakari, the Saints new head coach, was in the home dugout for the first time. They made two changes to their squad that lost midweek to St Mirren. Barry Douglas—the one-cap Scotland international who signed two weeks ago as a free agent—and Graham Carey came into the squad for Matthew Smith and Lewis Nielsen. The visitors knew victory would leapfrog them into 11th above their Edinburgh rivals, Hibernian, who play on Sunday—their loss midweek to Kilmarnock ended Neil Critchley’s new manager bump. They made three changes, with Yan Dhanda, Malachi Boateng and Daniel Oyegoke coming in for Adam Forrester, Cameron Devlin and Kenneth Vargas. First Half The first real moment of the game was when Boateng fired a pass straight through the Saints defence to Shankland. He hit it first time just wide of the post. Hearts continued to be the more threatening side in the first half, with quality and zip to their forward play. Early on, St Johnstone continuously tried to play out from the back, but misplaced passes and a good Jambos press halted that. Saints’ defender Kyle Cameron tried to ask his players to calm down after some early pressure, but Hearts kept coming. Dhanda and Forrest provided attacking impetus on the wings, and Beni Baningime and Boateng controlled proceedings in the middle of the park. The game began to open up, and St Johnstone started getting a foothold. They were awarded a free kick in a dangerous area outside the box. There was a question mark on whether the new man, Douglas or captain Nicky Clark, would take it. But the captain stepped up, with Gordon making a relatively comfortable save. Hearts racked up the corners throughout the first half, and that’s how they got their first goal. A Blair Spittal delivery was put over the line by Clark, who scored an own goal in the 24th minute. The Saints responded with some attacks of their own. Following one corner was a goalmouth scramble, which Gordon clung onto and subsequently won a foul. In another moment in the latter stages of the first half, Sidibeh put a tame effort wide after doing well to beat his man just outside the box. Second Half At halftime, Simo subbed his goalkeeper, Joshua Rae, for Ross Sinclair after his number one picked up a knock in the first half. St Johnstone came flying out the blocks. Jason Holt led the charge with a curling effort that rattled off the crossbar after his attempted pass inside the box deflected back into his path. Veteran Craig Gordon kept his team in the lead with some good saves early in the second half, with the pick of the bunch, a low dive to his right. Critchley had seen enough and decided to make two early substitutions to try to change the course of the game. Devlin and Vargas came on for Dhanda and Boateng. There was uproar from the Saints fans after they thought Kye Rowles—already on a yellow card for a foul in the first half—brought their player down. The referee disagreed and just awarded the free kick. Following a corner, referee Chris Graham was called to the monitor after VAR Alan Muir said there was a possible penalty kick. After watching it, he pointed to the penalty spot after the officials believed Devlin wrestled Cameron to the ground inside the box. Devlin got a yellow card, and Clark took the game ball. He stepped up and fired it straight into the bottom corner past Gordon, cancelling out his own goal from the first half. Hearts responded positively to the setback, gaining momentum with the substitutions providing fresh energy. The substitute Vargas got onto the scoresheet with a lovely finish into the bottom corner after some sublime footwork from Baningime. St Johnstone tried to push for a late equaliser but struggled to create chances due to Hearts’ stern 4-4-2 shape. It was their story of the match; progressing the ball nicely from the defence to the midfield but falling short in attack. Hearts continued to exploit the space behind the St Johnstone defence, with an over-the-top ball played into Vargas who ran in on goal. Rae made a terrific one-on-one save to give his side hope going into the game’s final phase. The keeper came up to help St Johnstone from a corner in the dying moments, but ultimately, Hearts defended well enough to clinch all three points. The Hearts fans will return to Edinburgh to celebrate and look forward to their midweek European tie against German opponents, Heidenheim. Teams St Johnstone (4-1-3-2): Sinclair (GK) (Rae, 46th), Cameron, Sanders, Douglas, Wright, Sprangler, Carey, Holt, Clark (C) (Smith, 80th), Sidibeh (Kirk, 80th), Kimpioka Subs: Rae, Essel, Kucheriavyi, Smith, McPake, Kirk, Keltjens, Bright, Franczak Hearts (4-4-2): Gordon (GK), Kent, Oyegoke, Rowles, Penrice, Dhanda (Vargas, 57th), Baningime, Boateng (Devlin, 57th), Forrest, Spittal, Shankland (C) (Grant, 85th) Subs: Clark, Kingsley, Halkett, Grant, McKay, Devlin, Wilson, Forrester, Vargas Match Officials: Chris Graham (referee), Paul McAvinue and Craig Macrae (assistants), Duncan Williams (fourth official), Alan Muir (VAR) Attendance: 5,917.

November 2, 2024

Dundee United Continue Their Unbeaten Away Form with a 1-0 Victory Over St Mirren

It only took 53 seconds for this game to burst into life. A free kick whipped in by Mark O’Hara resulted in an acrobatic effort from centre half Richard Taylor flying over the bar. This was the start of a frantic first 10 minutes with the St Mirren defence, in particular, Charles Dunne standing resolute after several crosses from Will Ferry. This would become a familiar feature in the half. The pace and trickery of Toyosi Olusanya and Roland Idowu caused issues for the Dundee United defence with two penalty claims from the former being waved away by referee Ross Hardie. The home side were urged on by their manager on the touchline to quicken play up, but it wasn’t long before loose kicks from Balcombe and slack play in the middle of the park had the Paisley fans disgruntled in the stands, this followed by ex-Saints manager Jim Goodwin throwing the ball away made for a tense atmosphere at the SMISA stadium. Killian Phillips continued to impress in the black and white with some strong challenges and efforts on goal but ultimately couldn’t break the deadlock. After 20 minutes, the away side should have been 1-0 up. A free kick was fired in by Will Ferry and met by a free Adegboyega, but the defender scuffs his shot, and the ball is eventually cleared by Charles Dunne. Ross Docherty shows he hasn’t lost it with some nice footwork and switches of play in the middle of the park. United used him wisely in building attacks, with the home side standing firm. Saints grew into the game with Idowu dancing though the Tangerine’s defence before playing a 1-2 with Olusanya but his effort trickles wide of the post. An end-to- end encounter resulted in tensions spilling over on the touchline with words exchanged between both bosses. As the home side got to grips with the game, Goodwin made a tactical change with striker Jorte Van Der Sande coming off and replaced with winger Glenn Middleton. The change in formation meant they went toe-to-toe with the home side. This seemed to suit St Mirren as they built a few promising attacks but further efforts from Olusanya were sent over the bar. Before the half time whistle a long throw from Ross Graham led to a stramash in the box before a shot from a tangerine shirt flew wide of the Saints goal. The first save of the game came from Walton after an effort from Killian Phillips, seconds before the half time whistle. Half Time: St Mirren 0-0 Dundee United Dundee United started the half brightly with a couple of half chances and it wasn’t long before the United fans were up in arms with a claim for handball in the 49 th minute but this was checked and cleared by VAR before play continued. The restlessness in the stands continued as a slack pass from O’Hara broke down what looked like a promising Saints attack. The home side struggled to find a rhythm after the break, and it was wave after wave of attack from their opponents who were being rallied on by the 1000 strong away support. A sight Jim Goodwin didn’t want to see was the injury to experienced centre back Ross Graham who had to be substituted with a suspected hamstring injury. His replacement Kevin Holt was welcomed warmly with his name ringing around the away stand. Eventually a bit of quality came from the home side just before the hour mark. The ball was picked up by Boyd-Munce at the edge of the box before he rifled a shot destined for the top corner if not for an outstanding save from Jack Walton. This looked like it could have been a momentum shifter for St Mirren but instead Dundee United broke straight away and this time it was Balcombe who collected the ball after a tame effort from Liverpool-loanee Luca Stephenson. The home side started to live dangerously with the ever-present Marcus Fraser keeping Middleton at bay and it wasn’t long before Robinson made his first changes of the match. The returning Greg Kiltie comes on for Kevin Van Veen as does James Scott for Roland Idowu after 65 minutes. This resulted in a slight shift in formation from a narrow 4-4-2 to a more direct 4-3- 3. The changes seemed to ignite St Mirren for a spell and Killian Phillips left 2 United defenders toiling after some superb footwork before his effort flashes over the bar. Kiltie, a bright spark in this disappointing Saints performance put the Dundee United defence under pressure with his relentless running. This resulted in a corner which was swung in by his captain Mark O’Hara before meeting the head of Phillips who directs the ball across goal to Olusanya but the Saints man couldn’t find the target. It was then Goodwin’s turn to try and shift the momentum back in his side’s favour, youngster Luca Stephenson was replaced by academy graduate Miller Thomson and minutes later the away side took the lead. Pandemonium in the away stand followed as a corner was swung in and fell to Docherty at the edge of the box. His volleyed effort stings the palms of Balcombe before the goalkeeper parries it into the path of the onrushing Adegboyega who reacts quickest to head the Jim. Goodwin’s men in front. As the home side try to turn the tide, at 80 minutes Robinson throws on Bwomono, Mandron and minutes later, Smyth as his last roll of the dice in the search for an equaliser. It was here where the Saints started knocking at the door of the United defence as a header from O’Hara was punched away by Walton and a similar effort as his goal last week ends up over the bar from Phillips. Ultimately, the goal killed any momentum St Mirren had built up but Smyth looked bright in trying to create something in the final few minutes, but Kevin Holt and

October 5, 2024

Dan Casey and Scott Tanser see red as Motherwell continued their fine run of form with a 2-1 victory over St Mirren at Fir Park.

The away side started the game brightly, but play was quickly interrupted as centre back Richard Taylor went down in distress after a collision and required treatment after just 2 minutes. The St Mirren defender was able to continue and soon after, the away side drew first blood. Killian Phillips did well to win the ball in the Motherwell half and played it to Mark O’Hara. The St Mirren captain goes wide to Bwomono who finds Phillips in the box where the midfielder takes a delightful touch and volleys into the bottom left corner. This seemed to ignite Motherwell and after 15 minutes they had their first clear sight of goal. O’Hara gives the ball away cheaply with a short back pass to Alex Gogic. Moses Ebiye nips in, and he’ll probably think he should have done better as his effort hits the side netting. This began several Motherwell attempts and they eventually level through a Lennon Miller penalty in 18th minute. Miller, with a shot well blocked by Philips wins a corner which leads to Dan Casey being pulled down by Marcus Fraser. Fraser is booked and Motherwell are level after the subsequent spot kick. The equaliser follows a series of chances for the away side. A speculative effort from Richard Taylor sails over the bar, followed by a clever, clipped ball from Phillips into the path of Olusanya and the man in form hits side netting. Motherwell grow into the game with Zdravkovski dictating things in the middle of the pitch. An in-swinging corner from the youngster Lennon Miller almost catches Balcombe out and the goalkeeper has to be alert to tip the ball over the bar. With half an hour played, the home side have a series of chances. A deceiving cross from Dan Casey requires a smart save from Balcombe after good play from Zdravkovski. The Saints keeper makes another fine save from the resultant corner. St Mirren gain a corner themselves which is delivered by O’Hara and is met by Taylor at the back post to head across goal, but it floats just over the head of Mandron. Moses Ebiye and Zach Robinson were thorns in the side of the St Mirren defence all afternoon and it took a last-ditch challenge from Alex Gogic to stop the former going through on goal. Bookings galore followed as the half fizzled out with Olusanya, Tanser and O’Donnell all put in the referee’s book but just before the halfway mark, Motherwell have the ball in the back of the net again and it’s a 2nd for their 18-year-old playmaker Lennon Miller who was quickest to react and fire past Balcombe. A lengthy VAR check for handball followed, but the goal was confirmed and put the home side in front going into the break. This goal, which ended up being the decisive winner, seemed to waken up St Mirren again and efforts from Mandron, Phillips and Fraser required Oxborough to be at his best with a couple of top class saves. The whistle blew for half time. Referee Lloyd Wilson and his assistants were greeted into the tunnel with boos ringing around the stadium. Half Time: Motherwell 2-1 St Mirren The half started frantically with the away side winning a free kick in the Motherwell half. This was whipped in by Boyd-Munce and Mandron won it at the back post, heading back across goal to an onrushing Phillips. The hard-working midfielder sees his shot cleared off the line, deemed by the referee, as the hand of Dan Casey. The Motherwell defender was sent off and Andy Halliday was also booked for strongly protesting. The penalty for St Mirren was taken by captain Mark O’Hara who hits the post and Motherwell and Dan Casey breathe a sigh of relief. The home side are quick to make a change, in some way, too quick and substitute Kofi Balmer was booked for entering field of play before the referee gave permission for him to enter the field of play. The away side started the half with more intent and chances for Phillips, Olusanya and O’Hara followed but Saints just couldn’t find a way through. It wasn’t long before Motherwell got to grips with the game and a mistake from Gogic let Miller through on goal, but the forward couldn’t convert for his hat trick as his shot trickled past the post. With half an hour to play, both teams are down to 10 men as Scott Tanser picked up a second yellow for a challenge in his own half. This only fuelled Motherwell and the Fir Park side began to knock at the door of the St Mirren goal. Balmer’s long throws and balls into the box from Ewan Wilson continued to cause St Mirren problems. Miller made a darting run to meet one of Wilson’s delightful crosses but again couldn’t convert for his third of the afternoon. With 20 minutes to play the game started to become scrappy with no clear cut chances at either end. Tame efforts from former Motherwell man Kevin Van Veen didn’t trouble Aston Oxborough as the goalkeeper collected the ball and took the sting out of the game. As the game drew to a close, both sides had a series of corners which resulted in nothing. With 8 minutes added, St Mirren substitute Roland Idowu loses the ball at the edge of his box, the ball is whipped in and Stamatelopoulos forces a fine save from Ellery Balcombe. The half ends with a number of unthreatening free kicks for either side. Goals, VAR and red cards made this game entertaining for the neutral but there will be fingers pointed at the officials by both sets of supporters for various reasons. Full time Motherwell 2-1 St Mirren Player of the match: Lennon Miller The 18 year old has been a breath of fresh air since solidifying his place in the Motherwell starting 11 and shows

September 28, 2024