Some things in football make little sense. Kilmarnock’s handing of the manager’s post to Gary Locke on a three-year deal made perfect sense, both with a need for continuity and a backdrop of decent results as a caretaker in mind. A horrible run of seven straight defeats, the worst in the Ayrshire club’s 146-year history, following that appointment proved more difficult to fathom.
Here, Locke pulled out a result when he needed it most. Kilmarnock’s success over Partick Thistle means there will be no play-off for Locke and his players. Top-flight safety has been secured, a fact hailed by a large Kilmarnock contingent in Firhill’s main stand. Relief matched jubilation. Locke, finally, can properly look to the future in optimistic terms.
Thistle’s safety had been secured long before this match, in itself worthy of serious praise. The pain of defeat should be taken in the context of a scoreline which ultimately flattered Kilmarnock.
Aside from four seasons in 15 minutes, the first period was notable for the multiple facets of Alexei Eremenko. The Finland midfielder is one of the most naturally talented footballers in Scotland, let alone Kilmarnock’s team, yet spends too much time at apparent odds with himself and those around him.
Eremenko had offered only that frustrated demeanour before playing a crucial part in the two moments which swung the game in Kilmarnock’s favour. How timely that intervention was, not only for Locke but for a game which had been in glaring need of the kind of class Eremenko can provide. For all it would be easy to dismiss Eremenko’s usefulness in the trenches, two touches of the ball afforded his team leeway they never really looked likely to concede.
The midfielder supplied a first-time, angled ball to Greg Kiltie, which proved sufficient to bamboozle the Thistle defence. Callum Booth duly pushed Kiltie over, the referee John Beaton deciding the offence occurred marginally inside the penalty area in awarding a spot-kick. Jamie Hamill watched a tame effort batted away by Scott Fox but had the presence of mind to slam home the rebound.
If that offered advantage Kilmarnock, there were still glimpses of agitation in the ranks. Hamill and Josh Magennis had a furious row in the centre circle – the former irate at the latter for conceding a cheap free-kick – with Magennis appearing to motion his head towards the opening scorer. We may hear more about that, via the Scottish FA, before too long.
Kilmarnock were soon united in further celebration. Eremenko was again the architect, with a corner perfectly planted on the head of Tope Obadeyi. The winger made no mistake from there. Craig Slater could and should have added a Kilmarnock third before the interval but instead slammed wide.
Just as before the break, Thistle huffed and puffed at the onset of the second half without properly testing Craig Samson in the Kilmarnock goal. The hosts were soon the victims of a sucker punch.
Eremenko was fortunate, to say the least, to win a free-kick under a challenge from Christie Elliott just inside the touchline. Thistle’s justified complaints about that, however, are offset by their failure to adequately defend Eremenko’s subsequent cross. Obadeyi stole in at the back post to head beyond Fox.
A match dominated by set plays was continued by Conrad Balatoni, the Thistle captain beating Samson from a Kallum Higginbotham corner. Locke glanced at his watch; with 23 minutes to play, Kilmarnock were not safe yet. Their recent inability to defend under pressure offered a hint of that.
Instead, a rearguard brilliantly marshalled by Mark Connolly held firm. There was a also a fourth goal for the first time in this Kilmarnock season, Magennis scoring after being sent clean through on Fox. A wonderful save from the Thistle goalkeeper prevented another Magennis goal; by full-time, nobody in blue and white was overly worried about that.
