Alan Cochrane @ Rugby Park
A thoroughly deserved win for Killie to finish the season with a flourish took a long time in the coming as there were only 10 minutes left when Paul Di Giacomo gave the home side all three points. But Falkirk could have had few complaints if Kilmarnock had scored four or five more from the chances they created, and only poor finishing diminished the performance enjoyed here today. The game was started only after both teams had applauded referee Alan Freeland onto the pitch for what was to be his last game, and after a one minute standing ovation in memory of Tommy Burns, a much more fitting football tribute than a minute's silence.
The game started brightly and was played throughout at a good tempo, but there was an early scare when a Grant Murray clearing header for a corner went too close for comfort to Alan Combe's left hand post, while at the other end, Paul Dalglish looked keen to continue his good form from last week with raiding runs up the right wing. However, when he was set free after 8 minutes by Invincibile and Fernandez, he shot over from 8 yards, with only the keeper in front of him. That was a sample of what was to come for the home side, but Falkirk showed Killie how to finish two minutes later, when Pedro Moutinho picked up a pass outside the box and hit an accurate shot along the ground and inside Combe's right hand post to put Falkirk ahead.
Killie almost came back into it immediately when David Fernandez cut a ball back to Invincibile, but the Aussie's shot went narrowly wide, and then a dangerous corner from Paul Dalglish was somehow scrambled away by four or five Falkirk defenders. In the 23rd minute Killie did draw level, and it came from a good move up the left, initiated by David Fernandez. A cute reverse pass from the Spaniard released James Fowler, and although his first cross was blocked, a second attempt was cut back to Mehdi Taouil, and while the keeper got a foot to the shot, he couldn't stop it going over the line.
Ten minutes before the break, Fernandez hit a great long cross from the left, but Dalglish placed a studied header wide of the post, and then Olejnik had a good save from a Grant Murray drive after a cut back from Simon Ford, to leave it all square at the break.
One minute after the restart, James Fowler worked a one-two with Mehdi Taouil and raced through the middle. The defence parted in front of him like the Red Sea, but he was so surprised to see the goals in front of him that he shot wide. Paul Dalglish had another terrible miss when a defence-splitting pass from Taouil again put him one on one with the Falkirk keeper, and once again he shot wide from close in.
Danny Invincibile then had two half chances inside a minute, and managed to put them both over the bar. The first was a header in a crowded goal mouth when David Fernandez was also going for it, then a chip from the edge of the box, again in front of a lot of traffic. As Killie ratcheted up the pressure, David Lillie had a header go just wide, Danny Invincibile finished up in the net but without the ball as he tried to get on the end of a Di Giacomo cross, and Invincibile again had a shot blocked by the keeper after a wonderful Fernandez through ball.
The long-awaited goal finally came after 80 minutes when Garry Hay swung over another cross from the left and Paul Di Giacomo got across the front of the defence to head in via the keeper's left hand post.
Although we had been made to wait, Jim Jefferies was pleased with the result and the performance, and he acknowledged that if we had had our shooting boots on, it would have been much easier. He will now be sorting out the squad for next season, and starts that tonight when he meets Mehdi Taouil's agent, and then next week looks to organise those who are staying, those who are going, and tries to bring in a few new faces.
Have a great summer, and come back to Rugby Park for the new season.
Kilmarnock: Combe, Fowler, Hay, Lilley, Ford, Invincibile, Murray, Fernandez (Cox), Dalglish (Di Giacomo), Hamill, Taouil (Johnston)
Falkirk: Olejnik, Mitchell, Aafjes, Allison, Scobbie, Cregg (Latapy), McBride, Riera, Finnigan (Barrett), Higdon, Moutinho (Stewart)
Referee: Alan Freeland
