Kilmarnock must have wondered what they had done to deserve having to face Nicky Weaver, the Dundee United goalkeeper, on Saturday.
The former Manchester City player was simply superb as he thwarted a rampant Kilmarnock at Rugby Park with one save after another — in particular, Weaver seemed to launch a one-man campaign to stop Kevin Kyle from scoring. In fairness to Dundee United, they soaked up Kilmarnock’s considerable pressure with the help of Weaver and were happy to play on the counter-attack, which they exploited brilliantly.
A goal in each half from Damian Casalinuovo — the first from the penalty spot — was enough to seal the win for United. It was cruel for the home side who deserved a lot more for their efforts, but unfortunately for the Ayrshire men, no one apart from Kyle looks likely to score.
Weaver is only at Tannadice until January and Craig Levein, the United manager, happily admitted he has no chance of signing him on a permanent basis. “Nicky Weaver has only signed a short-term deal and we won’t be able to keep him because we can’t afford him,” Levein said. “He decided to come here instead of much higher wages elsewhere because he wanted to put himself in the shop window and he has certainly done that. In these days of the big buck, it’s of great credit to him that he’s decided to do that.”
Kilmarnock huffed and puffed for no reward and Gavin Skelton, the midfield player, was feeling pretty sorry for himself, especially as he missed a good chance. “It was a sore one because I felt, especially in the first half, we played well,” he said. “Dundee United are a decent side and it was probably an entertaining game, so that makes it even more disappointing. We had enough chances and although it sounds like a broken record, we could do with a ball breaking the right way for us.
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“There is always disappointment when you don’t play well and you feel like you have let yourselves down. But it’s a different disappointment and it’s sad because we have to wait an extra week to put things right.”
Jim Jefferies, the Kilmarnock manager, had no complaints about his side’s efforts. “That was our best performance of the season, especially in the first half,” he said. “We probably deserved something from the game.”
Kilmarnock (4-4-2): M Brown 7 — J Fowler 6, F Wright 6, R O’Leary 7, G Hay 5 (sub: I Flannigan, 82min) — J Hamill 6 (sub: C Sammon, 67 3), C Bryson 6, G Skelton 5, M Taouil 6 — D Fernandez 6 (sub: M Burchill, 82), K Kyle 7. Substitutes not used: C Bell, M Pascali, G Owens, L Kelly.
Dundee United (4-4-2): N Weaver 9 — M Kovacevic 6, A Webster 7, G Kenneth 7, P Dixon 7 — C Conway 7, M Gomis 6, P Buaben 6, J Myrie-Williams 8 (sub: D Swanson, 82) — D Goodwille 6 (sub: S Dillon, 86), D Casalinuovo 7 (sub: D Cadamarteri, 67 3). Substitutes not used: S Banks, D Dods, D Robertson, A Shala. Booked: Buaben.