IN a week rife with debate about the morality of bookmakers taking bets on the fate of managers across the league, it is strange to think that a matter of months ago Gary Locke was the hot favourite to be the first managerial casualty and depart Rugby Park.
The pressure was heavy on Locke’s head but since that time his Kilmarnock side have turned things around drastically and their level of improvement was clear to see as they comfortably defeated an Inverness side also on the up.
Goals either side of half-time from Greg Kiltie and Josh Magennis earned the home side a deserved three points, and they have now picked up 10 points out of the last 15 available.
After finding the back of the net for Northern Ireland as they sealed their spot at Euro 2016 last week, Magennis was delighted to continue that momentum with a goal and an assist.
“It was a weight off my shoulder, to be honest [scoring against Greece],” admitted the 25-year-old striker. “I’ve had a lot of praise in the past, but a lot of criticism too.
“To get the nod at international level and be up against two defenders who play in the Champions League and feel that I gave them a hard time and scored a goal gave me so much confidence and to come back and score again for Kilmarnock was great.”
It was actually the visitors who started the match brighter and they had two glorious opportunities to take the lead inside the opening 10 minutes. Both chances came from set pieces with the Kilmarnock defence being put under real pressure by the excellent delivery of Greg Tansey, but neither Danny Devine nor Josh Draper could hit the target from close range.
After Inverness’ early spell of pressure, there was very little to separate the sides in the opening period. Kilmarnock grew stronger as the half wore on and had their first sight of goal in the 26th minute with Greg Kiltie firing narrowly over the top from 25 yards out after Rory McKenzie and Mark O’Hara linked up well on the right flank.
And it was the home side that got the crucial breakthrough on the stroke of half-time. Kevin McHattie floated a ball into the body of Magennis, who chested the ball perfectly into the stride of Greg Kiltie and the midfielder steered the ball into the far corner.
Kilmarnock started the second half confidently but were given a reminder of the danger that Ryan Christie presents when he unleashed a 30 yard strike that swerved viciously and Jamie MacDonald did well to tip it over.
It was the Ayrshire side creating the better openings, however, with the attacking quartet of Higginbotham, McKenzie, Kiltie and Magennis proving a real handful for Inverness.
The second goal that Kilmarnock deserved arrived in the 66th minute and it was a clear indication of the upturns in the form of Magennis. Higginbotham slipped the striker in behind the Inverness defence and Magennis made a mockery of the apparent difficulty of the chance by slamming the ball over Fon-William’s head and into the net via the far post.
Gary Locke, the Kilmarnock manager, was delighted with the all-round team performance, but admitted that Magennis was involved in everything positive the team produced.
“Josh has taken a lot of confidence from the international break and getting a goal for Northern Ireland has kicked him on,” said Locke. “I thought he was terrific today.
“The whole team performed really well. We are getting players back from injury now and I believe we have a strong squad when we are fully fit.”
Inverness never posed any real threat of staging a comeback. The closest they came was when substitute Andrea Mutombo skipped past a couple of challenges and burst into the penalty box but his near post shot was covered by MacDonald.
Inverness manager John Hughes admitted that his side had, apart from a strong opening 15 minutes, been second best to a greatly improved Kilmarnock side.
“We lost the goal at a killer of a time, just before the half-time whistle,” he said.
“I thought we controlled the game in the early stages and had a few chances but then Kilmarnock grew into it and they were the much better team in the second period.”
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