24Jan

Derby day is here again

by Kevin Alexander

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Saturday will see Kilmarnock face Ayr United in the semi-final of the League Cup. It’s a big stage for the Ayrshire Derby and comes almost exactly three years since Killie needed a replay to see off their rivals in the Scottish Cup.

I call Ayr “rivals”, but that perhaps is overstating our county cousin’s relationship, at least on the field.

While Killie can boast Scottish Cup wins and League titles, Ayr’s trophy room is a tribute to minimalism. Despite their resounding lack of success, the Honest Men still like to think of themselves as sleeping giants and a bigger club than Killie, mostly stemming from a brief period on the late 70′s when Killie struggled as Ayr enjoyed a blink-and-you’d-miss-it spell in the top flight.

For Ayr, this is their cup final. For Killie it’s a spicy hors d’oeuvre on the way to the main course – the club’s first trophy in 15 years. Some fresh silverware down Rugby Park way is long overdue!

Yet Killie go into the match against Ayr with some nerves. They needed a replay to see off First Division Dundee in the Scottish Cup, and we were for long spells second best in both ties. In fact, it’s been some time since Killie were at their free-flowing, crisp passing best.

Saturday brought a bitterly disappointing 3-0 defeat to Dunfermline, a team that had been rooted firmly to the bottom of the table and without a victory since Guy Fawkes Night.

Paul Heffernan, despite a goal against Dundee, isn’t scoring at the rate he was when the season started. Gary Harkins started against Dundee and the Pars, but is only just back from injury. And the defence are often their own worst enemy, gifting opponents goals with an imaginative array of errors and misjudgments. Mo Sissoko, on his second loan spell from Udinese, has been particularly prone to lapses in concentration.

Over the past season and a half, Killie have cultivated a more expansive passing game – a “poor man’s Barcelona” according to ex-Scotland boss Craig Brown – but, as with any new tactic, opponents soon adjust to it, and set about choking it off. The poor condition of pitches at this time of the year has also made it hard for Killie to knock the ball around, and the intensity that was there in August and September has slackened.

Despite taking place in Hampden – resulting, inevitably, in swathes of empty seats – the atmosphere at the match will be red hot. The fans maintain a healthy dislike for each other, but it’s a rivalry that lacks the out-and-out hatred of the Old Firm and I’m thankful for that.

May the best team win. And by “best team”, I obviously mean Killie, because, as the old song goes, “Ayr United, one for Colin never will, one for Colin never will.”

Posted by Kilmarnock fan Kevin Alexander

Follow Kevin on Twitter at @SlideRulePass