Koudou (1)
Nish (56)
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Simon Ford (o.g.) (22)
Don Cowie (61)
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Appearances & Goals To Date
Starting Lineup
| Youngest Player: | Ross Tokely (28 years 219 days) |
| Oldest Player: | Ian Black (2009 years 67 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 32 years 48 days |
| Domestic Players: | 11 (100.00 % of starting eleven) |
Matchday Squad
| Youngest Player: | Iain Vigurs (19 years 156 days) |
| Oldest Player: | Phil McGuire (2009 years 67 days) |
| Average Player Age: | 27 years 197 days |
| Domestic Players: | 17 (94.44 % of matchday squad) |
First Team Debuts
Milestones
Its always worrying when you hear your opponents are struggling to field a full strength side, that the bookies have made you favourites and that a lot of money has been placed on your team to win.
These things are often a recipe for disaster as the understrength side go on to play well and defy the bookies odds, and the so-called favourites seem blasé that they just have to turn up to win. With the benefit of hindsight, the statisticians or the more cautious amongst us would perhaps have looked to previous results and know that 5 of the previous 10 SPL fixtures between the sides had ended in score draws.
And so it was on Saturday…. Kilmarnock fielded a side that was certainly not ‘first choice’, naming only 5 substitutes, and conceding that only one of those could last more than 10-15 minutes if called upon. Caley Thistle on the other hand, with an unchanged starting 11 from the one that beat Falkirk 4-2 the previous week, underperformed and the end result was a 2-2 draw.
Within a minute of the kick-off, Mike Fraser had conceded a horrendous goal. Craig Bryson hit an effort from 20 yards and Fraser judged it to be going out. Unfortunately his judgement was wrong and he could only push it onto the post where it bounced out into the path of Aime Koudou who had the easiest of tap-ins to make it 1-0.
Barry Wilson shot wide in 10 minutes and then in 18 minutes a neat one-two between Wyness and Niculae ended with a fierce shot from Wyness that was well saved by Combe.
The 21st minute equaliser was equally strange. Fraser Wright sliced a clearance on the edge of the box under no real pressure from Wyness and there seemed to be a mix-up between Simon Ford and Alan Combe. Combe was coming for the ball, but Ford tried to head it back to where he had been seconds earlier and despite Combe scrambling back he couldn’t stop it as it rolled into the net to make it 1-1.
Further chances fell to both sides in the first half with both Lilley and Bryson coming close for the home side and Don Cowie coming close for ICT but it ended 1-1.
If the first half goals were weird, the second half goals seemed a little more orthodox in nature !
Marius Niculae had the first real chance of the second half and forced a good save out of Combe in 48 minutes but it was Colin Nish who would put Killie in front again after 55 minutes with a route one goal. A long kickout from Combe bounced deep inside the ICT half and Fraser opted to come out for it. Unfortunately for Ike, it was met by the head of Nish at the edge of the box and he headed it over him to make it 2-1.
Five minutes later, Caley Thistle got back on level terms through Don Cowie. The close season signing from Ross County who has been in sensational form since his move to ICT blasted a 25-yard free kick round the wall and into the top right corner past the helpless Combe. A goal of real quality that later had manager Brewster proclaiming it as “top drawer”.
As the game drew to a close both sides had chances to win it with Ryan Jarvis having a good chance for Killie and Graham Bayne coming the closest for ICT.
Match report written by CaleyD
