For much of this game, it appeared as though only the Saints fans turned up. The home support was eerily quiet and the Saints players were getting some exercise, rather than showing any flair. In the absence of any home support, Saints fans were reduced to shouting for the front row of their own support for a song.
It was a comfortable game for the Saints, with Dennis Wise putting them ahead after 8 minutes. Wise showed excellent vision and distribution in the first half. He’ll keep the other players focused on what they have to achieve next season as he leads by example.
Djamel Belmadi, one of Saints' many trialists at the moment, had a good game, dummying the ball for Wise’s opener. The Algerian was one of Saints' liveliest players, wanting to impress enough to secure a deal at the club. He’s probably slightly better than our other options in that area, and Redknapp seems keen to sign him.
It’s hard to gauge just how good he would be in a more competitive Championship game as Saints really didn’t have to step up too many gears to secure a win in Ayrshire. With Redknapp trying to give a run out to his full squad, Saints looked much weaker with either eleven against Kilmarnock than at Motherwell. Even Fabrice Fernandes looked industrious in the second half, such was the pace of the game.
Had Kilmarnock showed a little more drive to finish off their moves, then this would have been a different match. The home side failed to take advantage of good positions on a number of occasions, failing to latch onto through balls, or pick out final deliveries.
Killie even managed to hit the bar as Danny Invincible got past Konstanidis to give Saints a scare. Konstanidis did little to impress, and I’d be surprised to see him signing for us. A second good chance saw a free header go straight to Niemi just before the interval.
Apart from that, Saints were happy to dominate, without creating any great opportunities.
The second half saw the two trialist remain to make an extra impression on the boss, and changes everywhere else. A new striking partnership of Crouch and Pahars looked far more threatening than Delap and Ormerod in the first half. Walcott also looked dangerous and will no doubt feature in the first team squad next season.
Crouch grabbed the remainder of Saints goals, the first at a time when Killie looked capable of grabbing an equaliser as Saints stuttered. A Pahars cross found Crouch at the far post. The striker headed in practically on his knees, which is about normal head height for other strikers.
With the game seemingly comfortable, Killie were awarded a dubious penalty. With Folly and Surman at full back it was no surprise that Saints never looked entirely comfortable at the back. However, a second from Crouch once again stretched Saints lead assisted by Pahars.
Then Killie scored a second, something that even managed to wake up their fans. Di Giacomo knocked in a nice finish from a well worked cross from the left.
Team (first half): Niemi, Baird, Powell, Higginbotham, Konstanidis, Belmadi, Wise, Oakley, McCann, Delap, Ormerod.
Team (second half) Subs: Blayney, Folly, Kenton, Jakobsson, Konstanidis (Surman, 61), Belmadi (Fernandes 61), Prutton, Quashie, Walcott, Crouch, Pahars.
Player Ratings:-
Niemi – Had little to do. Great chant of “You’ll never play for Celtic” though.
Baird – Some suspect touches but some good awareness for passing. I still think he’s better in midfield.
Powell – Another decent game from our new signing. He should have a good Chamiponship season on this form.
Konstanidis – Really didn’t show enough, but we’re so desperate for anyone who can play left back, you never know.
Belmadi – Busy, good touch and passing. Didn’t create an awful lot for our strikers, but as one of them was Delap, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
Wise – Controlled the game, much as Telfer did in the first friendly, but with better passing.
Oakley & McCann – quiet games no doubt getting them back to full fitness. Neither stood out.
Delap – Formerly Derby’s top scorer when they had an injury crisis. Pray we never have one.
Ormerod – Really didn’t get a lot of supply from the midfield, but looked busy enough.
Blayney – Some more blinding saves. Tough call between him and Smith for that bench warming position next season.
Folly – Not in his natural position and it showed. He still had a couple of nice touches and, after an excellent game against Motherwell, should feature in Redknapp’s plans for the season.
Surman – Played out of position, but again didn’t look out of place in a number of areas.
Fernandes – Despite seeing a trialist for a wide position look really busy, Fabrice showed nothing beyond his normal game. With so much time and space in the second half , even Fabrice managed to look good on a couple of occasions.
Crouch – Although seven or eight million is a lot of money in our position, losing Crouch would be a huge blow to our season. I hope he stays.
Pahars – I choked back a tear as I saw Marian chase down the Killie goalie, just like old times. Looked sharper than in the Motherwell game and let’s hope that continues.
Quashie – Will undoubtedly be a first team player for us next season, despite there being a large number of midfield options.
Walcott – Among Saints most dangerous players in front of goal.