Smith save rescues the Pars
Ally McRoberts • Published 8 Feb 2012 09:30
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Andy Kirk celebrates his equaliser with Liam Buchanan.
Photo: Craig Brown.
PARS 1 Kilmarnock 1
CHRIS Smith became the unlikely hero as the big goalie saved a point against Killie on Tuesday night.
The draw took the Pars level with Hibs at the foot of the SPL although the Edinburgh side's goal difference is better by six.
Smith came in from the freezing cold for Iain Turner, who suffered a back spasm in the warm-up, and looked nervy as he miscued and sliced a number of clearances.
To be fair, the pitch was like a ploughed field in places and the under-fire keeper was there when it mattered most, racing out to block after Andy Kirk's suicidal back pass put Paul Heffernan through on goal.
It's been a long road to redemption for Smith, who lost his place to Turner after a series of errors led to goals against, including the fresh-air swipe that gifted Inverness a Scottish Cup replay.
But there was no doubt the keeper's intervention rescued what could turn out to be a vital point in the battle to beat the drop.
Jim McIntyre fielded both of his new signings from Rangers, Kyle Hutton quietly effective in a deep-lying central midfield role while Jordan McMillan was always willing to get forward from right back.
Kirk thumped an early effort just off target while Liam Buchanan's good work on the wing, pulling a fine ball back into the six yard box, went unrewarded.
Killie took the lead in 21 minutes, Lewis Toshney's cross was cleared only as far as the edge of the box where James Fowler's deflected strike took the ball past Smith.
The visitors pushed for more, the keeper forced into two good saves by Dean Shiels, while Paddy Boyle made a goal-saving challenge on Heffernan to stop the forward pulling the trigger on 36 minutes.
Athletic's passing and control let them down badly but against the run of play they levelled in 44 minutes.
David Graham raced through the centre and clipped the ball forward, Kirk timed his run to beat the offside trap and slipped the ball past the onrushing Cammy Bell.
The Pars were in luck in 52 minutes when Kirk's attempted pass took a deflection off a Killie defender and the ball bounced through for Buchanan but he squeezed his shot past the keeper and also the post.
Smith's save from Heffernan, after Kirk tried to poke the ball back to the keeper in a congested goalmouth, kept the Pars in it and Hutton's intervention, to stop the same Kilmarnock man getting a free header, was also important.
Kirk claimed for a penalty when he seemed to be barged by Manuel Pascali while contesting Boyle's cross but the striker's best chance came and went in 75 minutes.
Killie sub Dieter Van Tornhout's slack pass sent Kirk racing in on goal but with the chance to grab the goal to lift the Pars off the bottom of the table, he rushed it and screwed the shot well wide.
And they could have lost it late on, Smith having to push Garry Hay's free kick round the post, Mark Kerr clearing Pascali's header off the line and Boyle making another great interception to stop Shiels.
Sub Martin Hardie came close in 87 minutes, deliberately aiming to curl the ball in at the corner, but Bell managed to get a hand to the ball to prevent the Pars pinching the points at the death.
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