Dundee United produced some of the most hair-raising defending we’ll see all year in the SPL to crash to their first defeat of the season.
It was chaotic at times from a team who had looked so assured at the back in their previous leagues games against Hibs and Dundee.
Following a first half that the Tangerines just edged and were never really threatened by the home attack, it all went horribly wrong at the start of the second period.
Barry Douglas forgot what he had learned as a child playing in the park when he took the ball right across the front of his own goal, enabling Kilmarnock frontman Rory McKenzie to score a tap-in.
A team that had previously looked bereft of ideas were suddenly fired up and Killie grabbed their second just three minutes later when United winger Gary Mackay-Steven the victim of several dodgy challenges himself pulled down Danny Racchi inside the box. Up stepped Borja Perez to send the ball beyond keeper Radoslaw Cierzniak.
With mayhem going on all around him, the Polish goalie was letting fly with verbal volleys, following the one aimed at Douglas with an angry exchange with central defender Gavin Gunning, who gave as good as he got in reply.
Killie made it three on 56 minutes when the United defence couldn’t deal with a Racchi corner and sub Jude Winchester rammed the loose ball home.
The strangeness of this encounter continued into the latter stages, with Killie getting themselves in a real panic after United captain Jon Daly got a goal back with 11 minutes to go.
It was left to Daly to try to sum it all up.
”It is obviously disappointing for us because we gifted Kilmarnock a couple of goals and I don’t think you can do that at this level,” said the Irishman.
”The boys know they have made mistakes but as long as they learn from it then we can hopefully move on and try to put it out of our system.
”In the first half both sides were evenly matched and I don’t think anyone took advantage.
”The first goal was always going to be a big one in the game and we gifted them that goal. To be fair to Barry he has held his hand up and he is a young boy. I am sure he won’t do it again.”
Daly argued that the tongue-lashing dished out to Douglas by Cierzniak was just one of those things but didn’t feel it was necessary on this occasion.
”That happens in football but I don’t think anyone had to tell Barry,” he said. ”He knew straight away himself and now we have to get it out of our system.
”Then, at the second, Gary is probably not known for his defending. He is an honest lad and he has tried to track the player but slipped and, unfortunately for us, he has given the penalty away.
”That gave us a mountain to climb and gave them a lot of confidence.”
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Manager Peter Houston claimed that the United players had maybe started to believe their own publicity after 3-0 wins over Dundee and Hibs.
The Tannadice boss said: ”The players have rightly received a lot of praise for the good start and performances in the first two games, but maybe this is a reality check for them.
”I’m not saying they do not try as hard but maybe they start believing what others say about them and a bit of complacency creeps into their game.”
Daly saw things differently, however.
”We have been doing well and had a bit of confidence but I don’t think the boys have that sort of attitude, really, in that they are getting ahead of themselves,” said the striker. ”There were a couple of bad errors that gifted them goals.
”We didn’t play to the standards we have set this season for whatever reason. But I don’t think it was down to the boys believing the publicity about themselves.
”If that is the manager’s opinion then obviously he is entitled to that opinion.”
The Tangerines made only one change to the derby line-up and it was encouraging to see Mackay-Steven back, although he could undergo surgery on his knee on Tuesday.
Of course, another welcome sight for the travelling fans was on-form striker Johnny Russell, with the previous weekend’s red card reduced to a yellow to allow him to feature against the Ayrshire men.
Killie’s big miss was their goalkeeper Cammy Bell, who is out nursing a fractured arm and was replaced by Kyle Letheren.
After a tentative start by both teams, the hosts lost midfielder Gary Harkins when the former Dundee man had to be taken off on a stretcher.
Harkins had jumped for a high ball along with United defender Gunning in the centre of the park and came off worse.
It seemed like a 50-50 contest and, significantly, referee Crawford Allan didn’t book the Tannadice player.
Predictably, Gunning was booed by the home fans in the 4516 crowd whenever he touched the ball.
On 21 minutes, the visitors carved open the first decent chance of the game when Daly met a Willo Flood set-piece but sent his volley a couple of yards over.
Daly tried his luck with another first-time strike, this time meeting a John Rankin cross from the left with a strike that sailed a yard or so past the far post.
The match was niggly, with Mackay-Steven getting some attention and ref Allan only sometimes blowing his whistle.
From one of their free-kicks won by Russell at the edge of the area, United almost made the breakthrough on 38 minutes but Douglas’s strike was touched over by Letheren.
That was that for the first half and as the teams trudged off it was the calm before the storm.
Thereafter, United just lost the plot and their footing in the torrential rain at the back and it turned into a day to forget for the travelling support.
Just to add to the general oddity of the occasion, in came Killie manager Kenny Shiels after full-time to claim United are usually a long-ball side. He also remarked that the rain ”helped” Killie as they are a ”football” side.
The Northern Irishman has been known for the occasional off-the-wall comment in the past but he obviously had not seen the Tangerines pass both Dundee and Hibs off the park and go head to head with Dinamo Moscow at Tannadice.
”I was surprised by United, who normally play through Jon Daly, but today they played from the back,” said Shiels.
The Killie boss added: ”If you take the goals out of the game I thought it was a very good performance from us.
”We did well in the first half and, without intimidating them, and I thought we did enough to get in behind them in the second. The rain at half-time helped as it was going to favour a football side.”