Talking points from the Premiership

Michael Gardyne celebrates his equalizer for Ross County at Hamilton

Can Kilmarnock make the top six?
It's no longer a frivolous question to ask.  Killie are unbeaten in six under Gary Locke, and whilst that includes four draws, there's no question that they are a different proposition.  It's not that he's been able to improve the squad at his disposal - in fact, for much of the time he's been short of several senior players through injury - so it must be deduced that, in the short term at least, their resurgence is down to him.

Mind you, this was a game of few chances that could have gone either way; James Dayton, returning to Rugby Park, hit the bar against his old club, and St. Mirren had the better of long periods without creating too much.  It's a testament to Locke's organization that a backline which included three players aged 21 or under, plus the diminishing patriarch Manuel Pascali, held out for a clean sheet.  It's even more of a testament to him that he managed to squeeze a goal out of barren substitute striker Lee Miller - his first senior goal in eleven months.  Miller's movement before receiving Josh Magennis' cutback is the sort of centre-forward play that comes from years of experience; one moment Jason Naismith thought he had him well covered, the next he finds himself miles out of position.

So Kilmarnock are within touching distance of the top half, with four games left for them before the split.  This was their first of three consecutive matches against the bottom three - if they can win in Dingwall and at home to Motherwell then they will have a chance.  Their other two are against the top two, though, which might yet be the factor that derails their aspirations.  But Locke has already done enough, one would think, to stay in the dugout here for next season. LS

Comic relief for Dons, Friday the 13th for Well
Aberdeen needed to be prepared for a tenacious Motherwell side who are scrapping for every point, and who had strung a couple of results together in recent weeks. The Dons were equally determined to respond, but it took them a while to show it.

Nobody saw Aberdeen's starting line-up coming. if Jamie Langfield regaining his place in goals after Scott Brown's errors in recent big games was perhaps not too surprising, seeing Don Daniels in midfield was more out of left field.  When in possession, the Dons' play completely bypassed Don, while without the ball he spent most of the time forlornly wandering across the middle of the park without impacting upon the play.  Whatever Derek McInnes hoped to achieve from this move, it's fair to assume it didn't work - after only 35 minutes, he was replaced by Peter Pawlett.

As it happened, the early substitution immediately preceded Motherwell's opening goal.  If you want to give him credit, then Scott McDonald cleverly redirected Lee Erwin's shot.  If you want to be less generous, the shot deflected off him.  Either way, the net result was the same - 1-0 Well, and a well deserved lead at the half.

Then, at the start of the second half, calamity struck.  Twice.  The first Aberdeen goal...well, if you haven't already watched it, you must watch goalie George Long's save to believe it - having done a wonderful job of stopping Ash Taylor's header, he then inexplicably followed it up by punching the ball into his own net.  As celebrations go, it wasn't the wisest.  Only a couple of minutes later, Aberdeen had scored a second goal that was as much Comic Relief for the Dons as it must have been Friday 13th for Well, as Long and Louis Laing (there's an anagram of a Superman girlfriend in there somewhere) contrived to make a complete horlicks of defending a speculative Shay Logan punt upfield, resulting in a simple tap-in for Adam Rooney.  I never had the chance to applaud either goal, as I still hadn't finished my Bovril.

All in all, it was a ponderous performance by Aberdeen, but they will be glad to get the three points and move on.  The Dons were far from their best, but they were still the better team, and a win is a win.  As for Motherwell, they will be kicking themselves that after working so hard to go in ahead at half time, they still contrived to fall behind less than ten minutes after the restart.  It'll take more than a hot beef drink for Well fans to get over this one. MI

Curran inspires County's fightback
Their run of four straight wins might have ended, but this was important a point as Ross County have grabbed all season, coming from two behind on a weekend when their two relegation rivals both lost.  It was a far cry from back in August, when the side, under caretaker management, were crushed 4-0 here.  The Staggies are a wholly different proposition these days.

Take opening goalscorer Craig Curran, signed from Nuneaton in January and now the team's top scorer in the league (albeit with a paltry four goals).  The forward's first impressions were not good; small in stature, and one of those players who often controls the ball further than he kicks it, one who, when given time to make a decision, seems to invariably pick the wrong one.

McIntyre clearly has a better eye for a player than most of us, though.  County's direct style of play takes advantage of Curran's strengths; a workrate comparable with the Duracell bunny allows him to harass defenders incessantly, while he is remarkably good at getting his body between ball and defender so he can hold up play, or flick it with chest or head to a teammate.  And in the box, as long as he doesn't have time to think about it (as with his header in this game) he's a perfectly decent finisher.

Curran is more effective with another hard worker, Liam Boyce, alongside him than the more technical Jake Jervis, who started this match.  But his arrival, along with that of the cerebral Raffaele De Vita on one wing and the revitalisation of Michael Gardyne on the other flank, make County sufficiently dangerous in attack that, if they can keep it tight at the back, they will always fancy they can nick a goal. LS

Good Partick have done enough to keep Bad Partick up
Yes, I know I go on about Partick Thistle's inconsistency a lot, but they have now beaten Inverness twice (4-0 and 3-1), Hamilton (5-0), St. Johnstone (3-0) and Dundee United (2-0) this season, which means they have more league wins, and a better goal difference, against top six sides than bottom six sides.  They have ICT next week at Firhill - can they finally win back-to-back league games in the Premiership for the first time in a decade?

It would help Alan Archibald if he had a crystal ball to tell him who to start up front.  His decision to bring Kris Doolan back in and drop Lyle Taylor to the bench proved correct for this match - even though, according to the BBC, Taylor's attitude in the pre-match warm up had a bit of toys and pram about it.  But the manager was vindicated after just 3 minutes, when Doolan headed home Abdul Osman's cross for the opener.  St. Johnstone are a good side, but not so good at coming from behind...even more so when two down so early, as they were when Conrad Balatoni added a second.

The trouble is that so often this season, Archibald has got a positive reaction from players who have been recalled after a spell on the bench...which lasts all of 90 minutes.  Scott Fox, Callum Booth and Ryan Stevenson all came into the side for this one as well, and all put in a good shift.  But getting them to do it two weeks in a row seems too much to ask.  Doolan has eight league goals this season, but half of them came on one momentous Wednesday night against Accies in January; he was powder-puff in the next two games and was soon back on the bench again.

This win at least steers the Jags further clear of the drop zone - nine points clear of eleventh with nine games left should be nearly enough to guarantee their safety.  St. Johnstone remain in sixth, but whilst all season they've looked like a side good enough to grind their way into the top half again, they have Dundee and Kilmarnock breathing down their necks.  They look likely to finish above Accies, but will that alone be enough? LS

Martin Ingram (MI) is our Aberdeen Correspondent.  Legend has it that he is the tallest man in the Red Army.  He writes regularly for Aberdeen fanzine The Red Final.

Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007.  He has a life outside this blog.  Honestly.