There was defeat for Saints in our first league match of the year, losing 3-1 to Kilmarnock at the BBSP Stadium, Rugby Park.
There were two changes to the side which lost in the cup to Hibs last Sunday. Steffi Simson and Elvie McLean came into the side in place of Morgan Steedman and Eirinn McCafferty.
The home side enjoyed the bulk of play in the early stages of the match with the ball largely confined to the Saints half, creating a few half chances and winning a couple of corners which amounted to little in terms of real goal threat.
Saints first chance of the match came after fifteen minutes. Scarlett Brady from out wide on the right looped a ball into the box which Steffi Simson was first to react to. She was unable to get a clean touch on it, with Jodie Malcolm being next to strike, but her shot was blocked and when it fell to Elvie McLean she was unable to keep her shot down and it went high over the crossbar. Another chance came ten minutes later when Jodie Malcolm, played through by Nicole Carter, saw her shot saved by Ellie Currie.
Kilmarnock played the ball forward quickly down the right and less than a minute later it had been crossed in for Jordan McLintock who having made a run into the box found herself unmarked to knock the ball home.
Into the second half and while the bulk of the match was being played out in the middle of the park, Saints had begun to exert some pressure and won a few corners in the early part of the half. However, the home side extended their lead just after the hour mark. A ball was played in from the left, and which fell kindly for a Kilmarnock striker to knock it to Dionne Brown who, with an acrobatic finish from the edge of the six box, gave Saints keeper Ellie Mitchell no chance with her fine strike.
With ten minutes left, Saints got themselves back in the game. The ball broke for Ellie May Cowie who used her pace and strength to hold off the challenge of a defender and slot home past Currie. Saints pushed for an equaliser, but it wasn’t to be.
With only a few minutes left on the clock, a free kick was won out on the left, despite Saints protestations. The ball was played down into the area between corner flag and penalty area, before being brought into the box where a shot was blocked. The ball was played high into the air by Kilmarnock captain Laura McLaughlin and when it came down Georgina McTear had a free header past Mitchell.
After the match, manager Kevin Candy reflected on the result: “Obviously disappointed with the result today, it’s not the way we wanted to start our campaign in this second half of the season. We wanted to try a few new things today and Kilmarnock probably poked holes in it early on in proceedings which is credit to them for that.
“We came back into things in the second half, with that opening period of play being excellent, before Kilmarnock went up the other end and extended their lead. We got back into the game through Ellie May but then we didn’t stop cross balls coming in, and teams will punish you and that’s what happened.
“There are, of course, a few things to reflect on and work on this week in training, but we’ll take what we did well into next week’s home match against Stirling.”