UNDER 18S MATCH REPORT: KILMARNOCK HOME

The Young Terrors returned to league duty with a tough home fixture against Craig Clark’s Kilmarnock, looking to bounce back from the disappointment of their SFA Youth Cup exit at the hands of city rivals Dundee. The sides last met just two months previously, Ryan Moon’s first match in the United dugout culminating in a comfortable 3-1 victory in Ayrshire courtesy of second half goals from Jacob Comerford, Rory MacLeod, and Stuart Heenan.

The gaffer made three changes to the side that were defeated last Friday, the usual midfield pivot of Craig Moore and Lewis O’Donnell disrupted by their inclusion in the Scotland Under-17s squad, meaning 15-year-old Keir Bertie and Miller Thompson stepped into the three-man midfield. Rory MacLeod returned from his own international duty with the under-16s, taking the place of Dom Naglik. These alterations also led to a change in shape, Bertie sitting at the base of midfield with Thompson to his right and MacLeod, who had license to roam when in possession, to his left.
 
United, as the home side, took control of possession early on but struggled to keep hold of it for long, as the back four, particularly the full-backs, frequently launched speculative balls into the attacking third towards the front three, much to the annoyance of their manager. This played into a compact and well organised Kilmarnock side’s hands.
 
Killie, against the run of play, almost took the lead after 12 minutes. Kirk McKnight’s switch ran through to Kian Leslie who’d made a piercing run towards the box off the back of Leyton Bisland. Luckily for United, the diminutive winger dinked his effort the wrong side of the post from a blue & white perspective.
 
The Young Terrors almost profited from their incessant Route One football, with Sam Lovie picking out a tangerine shirt in the central areas on a couple of occasions, but both Bisland and Malcolm failed to capitalise on his impressive deliveries as the visitors’ stopper managed to keep them out.
 
Rory MacLeod found himself at the heart of the action for United, first bundling his way into the box and forcing a save from George O’Connor with his header from point-blank range before unlocking the door with a fabulous, clipped ball into the left channel for Bryan Mwangi as the Young Terrors opened the scoring. Mwangi latched on the lofted ball and squared to Malcolm in the area who rolled through the keeper’s legs from 12-yards. MacLeod had another chance to get himself on the scoresheet almost instantly after a miscue from Rob Miller but O’Connor managed to get a strong foot to his low effort.
 
The main feature of Kilmarnock’s play was their impressive off-the-ball movement which saw multiple runners dart in behind the United backline to give depth to their attack. This paid off for the Ayrshire side just after the interval when they brought themselves back level thanks to this dynamism. Ben Hughes picked up a loose pass from Stuart Heenan and hit an instinctive pass over the top for the onrushing Jamie Kirkpatrick who raced through one-on-one with McCabe and slotted the ball under the keeper. Kirkpatrick had the chance to double his tally on the hour mark when the referee pointed to the spot after a coming together in the area following a wide Kilmarnock set-piece. However, the number nine stepped up and struck his penalty off the crossbar with venom.
 
Heenan had two chances to make amends for his slight error for Killie’s equaliser, but two fantastic saves from O’Connor denied the winger. Controlled hold up play from Malcolm allowed him to bring Heenan into play, who jinked away from the challenge of Miller and warmed the gloves of the visitors’ goalie. Heenan was then teed up by MacLeod’s first time cross but was too close to O’Connor to divert the ball past him.
 
Malcolm could’ve added his second after being picked out by Bisland from the right but glanced his near-post header wide of the target
 
Neat Kirkpatrick footwork allowed him space for a skimming shot into the arms of McCabe which proved to be his last action before being withdrawn for Aaron Brown, who’s first involvement was to step up to the mark for another Killie spot kick following a clumsy challenge from Jacob Comerford. The substitute made no mistake and sent the United keeper the wrong way to give his side the lead with just over 15 to play.
 
Despite the clock ticking down on the Young Terrors, they kept their composure to be patient in attack and it paid off merely five minutes after they conceded. Thompson collected a pass in the right half-space and, despite being surrounded by three blue & white shirts, held onto the ball to draw them towards himself. This opened space for Heenan in the area, as Thompson prodded the ball through the tight Killie defence. Heenan returned to his colleague who’d continued his run into the box and Thompson caressed the ball into the near-post to restore parity at St Andrews
 
United sent shirts flooding forward in the closing stages in a desperate attempt to claim maximum points, but the well drilled Kilmarnock defence stood strong to withstand the barrage of crosses into the area. A point a piece a fair result at a sodden HPC, where both teams battled the elements valiantly to maintain a high standard of football.