This was a game that Kilmarnock had to win, but surely nobody had it in their mind that they would win it quite like this.
Lee Clark’s side closed the gap between them and Hamilton to four points, grabbing the match by the throat and never slackening their grip. The real wonder watching this was how there could be any gap to begin with.
Kilmarnock were not just the better side; for most of the afternoon they were pretty much the only one. Accies, who could have confirmed their Premiership survival with a win, and would have been just about there even with a draw, were as abject as their visitors were impressive.
The damage could well extend beyond yesterday’s carnage. The margin of defeat wiped out Accies’ goal difference advantage (Kilmarnock are now two better off) and it’s not hard to envisage it having a similar effect on their already fragile confidence.
Kilmarnock’s run-in looks the marginally more attractive, Partick Thistle at home on Saturday before a trip to Dens and a visit from Dundee United on the final day. This result means that even a point for Dundee in tomorrow’s derby will relegate United, who give every indication of being a side whose tools will be well and truly down long before they get to Rugby Park.
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Hamilton, meanwhile, go to Dens and Firhill either side of a home game against Inverness. In a sense, avoiding the relegation playoff is still very much in their hands, but on this evidence you wouldn’t trust them to hold your shopping, never mind a lead.
Kilmarnock scored twice in each half and had another one ruled out for offside. Josh Magennis was the unlucky fellow on that occasion, but still had his moment, the Irishman’s low slot hitting Danny Redmond and sliding over the line via a touch from Michael McGovern.
Kris Boyd, canny and controlling throughout, had already put the outcome beyond all doubt by rattling home a penalty after Magennis hustled Lucas Tagliapietra into a clumsy handball as the pair chased down a punt.
This was Clark’s first away win since taking charge in February, and what a way to do it. As the Geordie saluted the boisterous travelling support at the finish, the stadium DJ stuck on D:Ream’s ‘Things Can Only Get Better’. A valiant attempt at optimism, even if Kilmarnock will now be going all out to prove the very opposite.
“When the players perform like that, it makes you wonder what has gone on before and why we are in this position,” said Clark, whose men could still drag Thistle into the scrap with the right result six days hence. “If we can play that and get three from three, which is a big ask, we give ourselves a great chance to get out of where we are.”
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Amid all the acclaim from the away end, not least when Clark himself pulled out a couple of tricks as a loose ball made its way into the technical area, there were sustained chants demanding the head of former chairman turned company secretary Michael Johnston. Kilmarnock have just announced losses of £724,000 for last season, one of many reasons they cannot contemplate dropping out of the top division.
The visitors may have been desperate, but their confidence and precision were at odds with the tightrope they were walking.
They could have been in front within the first minute, Craig Slater carving out room for a devilish cross that Darian MacKinnon headed off his own bar, but brighter ideas and tighter execution were only to be denied for so long.
Kilmarnock’s first came with a helping of controversy, MacKinnon, Antons Kurakins and Lucas Tagliapietra surrounding assistant referee Kylie McMullan to protest that the ball had crossed the byline before Rory McKenzie cut it back for Greg Kiltie to plant a beauty into the far corner. Hamilton manager Martin Canning reckoned it was “about a yard out”, but conceded his side should have played to the whistle.
That slackness was entirely in keeping with everything else about the hosts. Kilmarnock’s trio of attacking midfielders, Kiltie, McKenzie and Magennis, playing on the right, regularly gave them the runaround with the crispness of their movement and interplay, and this pressure soon told again.
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A lovely one-two between Kiltie and Boyd ended with the younger man (there’s only the 13 years in it) converting emphatically once more. “There’s a gap but the teams around us are now under a bit more pressure, whereas last week they were maybe thinking it was over,” Kiltie observed post-match.
Hamilton just couldn’t get themselves into it. With Kilmarnock strolling the ground battle, Accies took to the skies, pumping a series of cross balls into the central areas, presumably with the intention of rattling Conor Brennan. The visiting goalkeeper was making his first Premiership start of the season due to Jamie MacDonald’s suspension, but remained a virtual spectator until right at the end of the first half, when he tipped over Ali Crawford’s rising shot. His workload never looked like increasing thereafter.
“We pride ourselves on hard work, team spirit and going and doing our job properly, using the ball well. We didn’t do any of that well today,” said Canning. “We’re still in a better position than Kilmarnock. We’re still four points ahead and we know we need to go and win games. Nothing changes.”
Hamilton: McGovern 6, Gordon 5, Devlin 5, Tagliapietra 4, Kurakins, 4, Gillespie 5, Crawford 5, MacKinnon 4 (Redmond 62min, 5), Docherty 4 (Kurtaj h-t, 5), Imrie 5, Morris 4
Kilmarnock: Brennan 6, O’Hara 7, Addison 7, Balatoni 8, Hodson 7, Slater 8, Dickie 7, Magennis 8 (Obadeyi 81min, 5), McKenzie 7, Kiltie 8, Boyd 7