9th Dec 2017 Kilmarnock 5 Partick Thistle 1 (SPFL Premiership - game 16)

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matches:2017-18: ← 22game 2324 →

	Steve Clarke	Alan Archibald	40y, 4m, 26d

		Kris Doolan
		Miles Storey

Kris Boyd (0-1, 12 mins); Eamonn Brophy (0-2, 20 mins); Niall Keown (0-3, og 60 mins); Eamonn Brophy (1-4, 65 mins); Kris Boyd (1-5, pen 79 mins)		Chris Erskine (1-1, 16 mins)
none (0-1, 12 mins); none (0-2, 20 mins); none (0-3, og 60 mins); Kirk Broadfoot (1-4, 65 mins); none (1-5, pen 79 mins)		Steven Lawless (1-1, 16 mins)
		Ryan Edwards; Jordan Turnbull; Paul McGinn

Youssouf Mulumbu (Chris Burke, 61 mins); Kris Boyd (Lee Erwin, 82 mins); Eamonn Brophy (Greg Taylor, 84 mins)		Steven Lawless (Martin Woods, 67 mins); Adam Barton (Miles Storey, 74 mins); Kris Doolan (Conor Sammon, 77 mins)

	Jamie MacDonald	Tomáš Černý	32y, 7m, 29d
	former Jag Stephen O'Donnell	Paul McGinn	27y, 1m, 17d
	Gordon Greer	Jordan Turnbull	23y, 1m, 9d
	Kirk Broadfoot	Niall Keown	22y, 8m, 4d
	Stuart Findlay	Danny Devine	25y, 3m, 2d
	Alan Power	Adam Barton	26y, 11m, 2d
	Gary Dicker	Blair Spittal	21y, 11m, 20d
	Jordan Jones	Ryan Edwards	24y, 0m, 22d
	Youssouf Mulumbu	Kris Doolan	30y, 11m, 28d
	Kris Boyd	Chris Erskine	30y, 10m, 1d
	Eamonn Brophy	Steven Lawless	26y, 7m, 27d

			26y, 6m, 27d

	future Jag Cammy Bell	Ryan Scully	25y, 1m, 10d
	Rory McKenzie	Milan Nitrianský	26y, 11m, 26d
	Greg Taylor	Conor Sammon	31y, 1m, 3d
	Dom Thomas	Kevin Nisbet	20y, 9m, 1d
	former Jag Scott Boyd	Gary Fraser	23y, 5m, 7d
	Lee Erwin	Martin Woods	31y, 11m, 8d
	Chris Burke	Miles Storey	23y, 11m, 5d

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.
Originally scheduled ref Barry Cook was replaced by Bobby Madden.

TTA report

Killie went ahead (12) but Erskine lashed home (16) to level. Cerny parried a free-kick straight to the scorer (20), he parried a shot off the hapless Keown for an OG (60) then a header close-in (65) and a pen (79) finished the rout. Shocking defending left Thistle stranded in 12th with few reasons to be optimistic.

Media report

John Barnes, 09-Dec-2017, bbc.com

Eamonn Brophy and Kris Boyd hit doubles as Kilmarnock earned their first home league win of the season in some style. Boyd fired Killie ahead after the Partick Thistle defence failed to clear a cross, but Chris Erskine squared it with a brilliant left-foot effort. Brophy netted after goalkeeper Tomas Cerny blocked Boyd's free-kick and Niall Keown's own goal made it 3-1. Brophy nodded in the fourth before Boyd scored from the spot after Jordan Turnbull fouled Kirk Broadfoot. Kilmarnock's home form was every bit as poor as Thistle's recent away record going into this encounter. The Ayrshire side had won only twice at Rugby Park in the league in 2017 while Thistle had won only once away in the calendar year.

Killie made a positive start and should have taken the lead as early as the first minute when Brophy fired a left-foot shot on the turn over the bar from three yards. Youssouf Mulumbu began impressively on his Kilmarnock debut and was instrumental in the home side's opening goal. The former West Brom midfielder eluded a couple of challenges on the right wing before delivering a low cross that broke kindly for Boyd 10 yards. He made no mistake as he beat Cerny to claim his third goal in his last four appearances against Thistle. The visitors responded well and and, within four minutes, were back on level terms. Erskine found a yard of space just inside the Killie box and he produced a brilliant strike that flew into the top corner. It was an open encounter and Killie went back in front from a set piece. Boyd drilled in a free-kick from 25 yards that Cerny could only parry and quickest to react was Brophy to claim his second goal in two games. Home goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald denied Blair Spittal an equaliser when he dived low to his right to tip the Thistle forward's 22-yard free-kick round the post. Kris Doolan fluffed a shot wide when he was clean through, Ryan Edwards fired over from distance and Spittal sent another shot off target as Thistle looked to level. At the other end, Killie went close to increasing their lead after a good counter-attack led by Gary Dicker. The midfielder surged forward before setting up Brophy inside the Thistle penalty area, but his low shot was blocked by Cerny.

Edwards had an early opportunity for Thistle in the second half, but again his effort from just outside the penalty area rose too high to trouble MacDonald. On the hour mark, Killie increased their lead courtesy of an own goal. Brophy's driven shot was parried by Cerny and the ball hit the unfortunate Keown and flew into his own net. Brophy then claimed his second and Killie's fourth of the afternoon when he neatly flicked Kirk Broadfoot's header from a Jones corner into the net from close range. The scoreline got worse for Thistle when defender Turnbull hauled Broadfoot down a yard off the goal line. Boyd took the spot kick and blasted it past Cerny for his second of the day and Killie's fifth. The win means Steve Clarke's Killie open up a seven point gap over the Firhill side, who remain bottom of the table.

Reaction

Speaking to the BBC, Alan Archibald says his Partick Thistle side risk being left behind at the foot of the Scottish Premiership if they do not shore up their defence:

The defending as a whole this season has been comical at times. It's hard to speak about the game as a whole because we lost 5-1. We played some good stuff today, but the manner in which we gave away the goals is ridiculous. We started the second half brightly then we lose a goal and we go 3-1 down. We couldn't handle the front two of Kilmarnock and we just have to try to find a solution. We looked a real threat when we kept the ball and moved it quickly, we had a number of good opportunities, but it all reverts back to your defending. If you defend the way we're defending, it doesn't matter how you play. We can't keep defending like that or we will be adrift.

The victory was Killie's first home win of the season, with manager Steve Clarke delighted for his charges as new signing Youssouf Mulumbu made his debut. He spoke to the BBC:

It's been a long time coming here at Rugby Park. I'm pleased for the players and it's good for them to get the first win. It's only my third home game, so I've steered clear of talk of a jinx. Performance is the most important thing and, with the exception of 15 minutes against Aberdeen, I couldn't ask for any more from the players. Eamonn Brophy has done well. He's been working hard, he didn't have a pre-season, but he's shown he's dangerous in and around the penalty area. It's important for Youssouf to get minutes on the pitch. It was important for the fans to see him and he showed his quality at times today. Alan Power has been a stalwart since I came to the club. He deserves a big mention.

ALARM BELLS

● Danny Devine sets a new personal best of 13 consecutive competitive appearances as a Jag.

● Chris Erskine, who was Thistle's top competitive scorer in 2012-13 with 16 goals, joins Blair Spittal at the top of this season's chart, with both players now on 6 goals apiece.

● 9 consecutive penalty awards in Thistle's League games have went to the opposition.

● Thistle lose 5 League goals to Kilmarnock in a single match for only the third time in history, following on from a 1-5 loss in 1960 and a 0-5 loss in 1985, all at Rugby Park.

● The class of 2017-18 have conceded 1.81 goals-per-game in the League. If maintained, they will register as the leakiest Thistle defence since 1974-75 (1.82 gpg).

● Thistle's points-per-game total falls to 0.69 in the League for this season, now on course to be the 5th lowest total of all-time (levelling all seasons to 3 pts-per-win).

● Thistle fans haven't seen an away day League win on a Saturday since Abdul Osman's last-minute winner at McDiarmid Park, more than 13 months ago.

ongoing sequences:

● 7 competitive away games without a win; 19th Aug 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 7 games; 5th Mar 2017 to 15th Jul 2017. Club-record: 25 games; 20th Apr 1908 to 28th Aug 1909.)

● 13 away League games without a win; 18th Mar 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 14 games; 11th Sep 2004 to 9th Apr 2005. Club-record: 26 games; 20th Mar 1935 to 29th Aug 1936.)

● 44 consecutive competitive appearances for Adam Barton, 28th Dec 2016 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Ade Azeez - 46 games; 15th Jul 2016 to 21st May 2017. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games; 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

● 70 away League games without a penalty award, 1st Mar 2014 to date. (A new club-record.)

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