Kilmarnock boss Clarke hails his side’s patience after beating St Johnstone

Posted Sunday, August 05, 2018 by PA

Steve Clarke praised his side’s patience after two second-half goals earned Kilmarnock a 2-0 opening Ladbrokes Premiership win over St Johnstone.

Goals from defender Scott Boyd and new signing Mikael Ndjoli were enough to give Killie their first three points of the season at Rugby Park.

The Killie boss felt his side got more room in the second half which allowed players such as Jordan Jones and Stephen O’Donnell the chance to push forward and create chances from the wide areas.

“It was a difficult game because they came with a game plan to make it hard for us,’ said Clarke.

“They sat in and defended well especially in the first half. When the game opened up it made it easier for us and it was a pleasing way to start the season.

“I don’t know if their back three dropped a bit deeper, which was hard to do, and there seemed to be more space.

“Jordan started well in the second half and he is a confidence player and that came back quickly. He was one of a number of good performers.”

It was also the first time Kilmarnock won on the opening weekend of the season since 2009, when they defeated Hamilton 3-0 at Rugby Park.

Clarke said: “For the club these records are made to be broken, but we aren’t here to set records, we are here to win football matches.

“We wanted to have a good start and we managed to do that, but we have to keep our feet on the ground because we have a difficult game against Livingston next week.”

Saints boss Tommy Wright was extremely disappointed with his side’s display.

“It wasn’t the start I wanted, and it certainly wasn’t the performance I was hoping for either,” said Wright.

“We knew this would be a bigger test than we’d had in the pre-season games and the Betfred Cup and I’ll take full responsibility, but I did not see that coming.

“The first half was alright, but the second half was really, really poor and their two goals sum it up. The first goal was a free-kick we didn’t deal with and the second came from a simple 10-yard pass which wasn’t completed, allowing their player to run 40 yards with the ball before he puts it in the top corner.”