A late Anton Dowds header stunned Kilmarnock as Arbroath took all three points, closing the gap at the top of the Championship.
The Red Lichties travelled to Rugby Park for the first time in 30 years to face the top of the table side – and boy, was it worth the wait.
Arbroath had never won at Killie and you have to go back 46 years to the last time they managed to earn a point at the home of the Ayrshire side.
Kilmarnock 0 – 1 Arbroath – Another famous win for the Lichties!!!! YAS!!!! pic.twitter.com/s38iGZkMzm
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) November 20, 2021
But this was no smash-and-grab or ‘giant-killing’ type upset. Arbroath dominated the game at times and should have won the game by more.
The result has also blown the Championship title race wide open with just two point separating the top five.
Courier Sport was at the game and here are four talking points from the history-making result.
The better team
If you were completely new to Scottish football, you’d never have been able to tell which side was a full-time, while the other was part-time.
Kilmarnock enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but never really troubled the visitors.
Tommy Wright’s side did look threatening on occasion, but never landed a punch with Arbroath able to deal with everything thrown at them.
The visitors stuck to their game expertly, sitting back then surging forward with Scott Stewart and Luke Donnelly, while Joel Nouble played an instrumental role in holding up play.
From Derek Gaston in goal to Nouble up front, each man played their part and matched Killie every step of the way.
Arbroath proved that they are more than capable of pushing for a play-off spot. We’ll have to wait and see whether they can sustain these results as the season goes, but for now they are more than capable of holding their own.
Arbroath resilience
The Red Lichties chipped away at Killie throughout the game which looked to be heading for a stalemate.
That is until the 78th minute when Scott Stewart was brought down just inside the box for a penalty, much to the dismay of the home side and their supporters.
Michael McKenna, Arbroath’s talisman, stepped up but his penalty was tipped on to the outside of the post by Killie keeper Zach Hemming.
From the stands, the penalty award did look a generous decision from John Beaton, so Kilmarnock will have felt justified by the resulting kick.
The save sparked some life into the Killie fans who were growing increasingly restless as the game went on.
The home support smelled blood – but little did they know it would be their own when just five minutes later Anton Dowds would win the game with a towering header from a James Craigen corner.
The penalty kick could have easily caused Arbroath to sit back, and cave in to Killie’s pressure but they stuck to their game and were duly awarded.
Dick Campbell
After the game Dick Campbell heaped all of the praise on his players. And quite rightly. He proudly said after the game their performance was in the ‘top 10’ of his managerial career.
But, ultimately, his decisions won the game on the day.
The gaffer made two changes to the starting line-up he’s stuck by for the previous five games.
Going against the league leaders, it was no surprise they went with a more defensive approach, with Harrison Clark and Anton Dowds dropping out for Jason Thomson and Liam Henderson.
That left Joel Nouble leading the line by himself. A sole striker can often be drowned out against a backline, but Nouble was everywhere and troubled the defence throughout.
At half-time Campbell introduced James Craigen to the game and mid-way through the second half, striker Anton Dowds came on.
The two substitutions provided the assist and goal, which will be remembered by those near-200 Arbroath fans who travelled to see their side make history.
Can they make the play-offs or go further?
After the match Dick Campbell and his players again stressed their goal for the season is solely to cement their place in the Championship.
With just two league defeats so far and really impressive results against title favourites and sides with much bigger budgets, pundits are now starting to see Arbroath as the quality side they are.
The Lichties are up against Killie, Raith, Inverness and Partick – all full-time teams – looking to regain their place in the top flight of Scottish football.
They will all look to strengthen their squads in the January window.
But if Arbroath can keep up this form, there’s no reason they can’t be amongst those sides jostling for a Premiership spot.
