Latest news with #Muirhead
Daily Record
7 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Kilmarnock boss bemoans red card and penalty call in Livingston clash
Stuart Kettlewell confessed the game turned on the decision - but insists his defence should have dealt with the problem Stuart Kettlewell confessed the game turned on a single moment as Killie let a two goal lead slip against Livingston on the opening day of the Premiership season. And while the new gaffer admitted he felt aggrieved, he insists the points would have been in the bag if his backline had simply dealt with the danger. A long ball over the top saw defender George Stanger and keeper Max Stryjek hesitate, with the end result being the centre-back being dismissed and a penalty awarded after he was ruled to have dragged down Robbie Muirhead inside the box. The original decision had been to allow play to continue before a VAR check saw the double whammy punishment for the hosts. Kettlewell reckons the hosts should have been awarded a free-kick but says they've only got themselves to blame. He said: 'It is the classic case of that one moment changes a game of football. We can play better than we did in the first half, but we started turning the ball over, that's where we got two goals from. 'We had a couple of other opportunities to capitalise a little bit more but you're happy in this league going 2-0 at half-time. 'We were comfortable and then they throw a basic ball down the side of the centre-backs, our centre-back being in the dominant position. 'We expect them to deal with it. I'm not throwing anybody under the bus, it's just the basics of the game. Then that one moment, the red card, the penalty, the double punishment, makes it a difficult task. 'We shoot ourselves in the foot by the outcome. We can debate the red card and the penalty, but I think that we need to put ourselves in a position where we're not talking about that.' He added: 'I do have complaints about the red card. I actually felt that Muirhead has the initial pull on George. If we deem both pulls the same, then is the foul earlier in the incident? 'I do want the centre-back to deal with the ball. I don't think it's going at enough pace to guarantee that it's going back to the goalkeeper. But even at that, George's contact, is it enough for Muirhead to go down in the fashion that he does? Is it a red card? 'I probably sit in the camp of it being soft. The game hinges on that one moment, in my opinion.'
North Wales Chronicle
02-08-2025
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
Livingston mount comeback to earn a point at 10-man Kilmarnock
In the only 3pm kick-off of the season's first day, new-look Killie looked on course for victory after strikes from Djenairo Daniels and David Watson in the closing stages of the first half. But a 64th-minute flashpoint brought Livi right back into the match as Stanger, who joined from local rivals Ayr this summer, was sent off for the hosts for denying a goal-scoring opportunity and Robbie Muirhead scored the resulting penalty. The visitors capitalised on their extra-man advantage as Scott Pittman equalised in the 86th minute. Killie boss Stuart Kettlewell, taking charge of his first league game since being appointed in May, included six summer signings in his starting line-up, including former Livi pair Max Stryjek and Jamie Brandon. Ex-Motherwell left-back Dominic Thompson, who signed on the morning of the match, was named among the subs and came on for his debut shortly before the visitors' leveller. Livi had a more familiar look, with just three recent recruits – Adam Montgomery, Mo Sylla and Graham Carey – in David Martindale's XI. With few clear chances for either side in the opening exchanges, Killie made the breakthrough in the 38th minute. Daniels, who joined from Cork this summer, ran on to a through ball from Liam Polworth and held off Danny Wilson before blasting beyond the exposed Jerome Prior from just inside the box. The celebrations were instantly cut short by an offside flag, but the on-field decision was overturned and the goal allowed to stand following a lengthy VAR check. Having looked comfortable for much of the match, the Lions suddenly found themselves two down in the 42nd minute. Brandon got in behind Montgomery on the right and drilled in a low cross that was pushed out by goalkeeper Prior only as far as Watson, who turned home the loose ball from six yards out. The Lions emerged with renewed purpose for the start of the second half and got themselves right back in the game shortly after the hour. Muirhead's shirt was pulled in the box by Stanger as he tried to get a shot away and after referee Matthew MacDermid, who had initially waved play on, was asked to view the pitchside monitor, he flashed a red card at the Killie player and awarded a penalty. Muirhead fired his spot-kick emphatically past tails were up and they eventually levelled when Pittman rasped home from 10 yards out after good work by Lewis Smith on the right to set him up.
Glasgow Times
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Livingston mount comeback to earn a point at 10-man Kilmarnock
In the only 3pm kick-off of the season's first day, new-look Killie looked on course for victory after strikes from Djenairo Daniels and David Watson in the closing stages of the first half. But a 64th-minute flashpoint brought Livi right back into the match as Stanger, who joined from local rivals Ayr this summer, was sent off for the hosts for denying a goal-scoring opportunity and Robbie Muirhead scored the resulting penalty. The visitors capitalised on their extra-man advantage as Scott Pittman equalised in the 86th minute. Killie boss Stuart Kettlewell, taking charge of his first league game since being appointed in May, included six summer signings in his starting line-up, including former Livi pair Max Stryjek and Jamie Brandon. Ex-Motherwell left-back Dominic Thompson, who signed on the morning of the match, was named among the subs and came on for his debut shortly before the visitors' leveller. Livi had a more familiar look, with just three recent recruits – Adam Montgomery, Mo Sylla and Graham Carey – in David Martindale's XI. With few clear chances for either side in the opening exchanges, Killie made the breakthrough in the 38th minute. Daniels, who joined from Cork this summer, ran on to a through ball from Liam Polworth and held off Danny Wilson before blasting beyond the exposed Jerome Prior from just inside the box. The celebrations were instantly cut short by an offside flag, but the on-field decision was overturned and the goal allowed to stand following a lengthy VAR check. Having looked comfortable for much of the match, the Lions suddenly found themselves two down in the 42nd minute. Brandon got in behind Montgomery on the right and drilled in a low cross that was pushed out by goalkeeper Prior only as far as Watson, who turned home the loose ball from six yards out. The Lions emerged with renewed purpose for the start of the second half and got themselves right back in the game shortly after the hour. Muirhead's shirt was pulled in the box by Stanger as he tried to get a shot away and after referee Matthew MacDermid, who had initially waved play on, was asked to view the pitchside monitor, he flashed a red card at the Killie player and awarded a penalty. Muirhead fired his spot-kick emphatically past Stryjek. Livi's tails were up and they eventually levelled when Pittman rasped home from 10 yards out after good work by Lewis Smith on the right to set him up.
STV News
02-08-2025
- Sport
- STV News
Stuart Kettlewell says opening-day clash hinged on ‘soft' red card
Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell lamented the pivotal impact of what he felt was a 'really soft' red card for George Stanger as his side let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 at home to Livingston in a dramatic Premiership opener. Killie looked on course for victory after strikes from Djenairo Daniels and David Watson in the closing stages of the first half. But a 64th-minute flashpoint brought Livi right back into the match as defender Stanger, who joined from local rivals Ayr this summer, was sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity by tugging the shirt of Robbie Muirhead as he tried to get a shot away in the box. Former Kilmarnock forward Muirhead scored the resulting penalty before the visitors capitalised on their extra-man advantage as Scott Pittman equalised in the 86th minute. While Kettlewell acknowledged his players could have done better in the lead-up to the incident that swung the game in the Lions' favour, the manager said: 'I do have complaints about the red card. 'From my angle, from the technical area, I actually felt that Muirhead had the initial pull on George. If we deem both pulls the same, then is the foul earlier in the incident? 'I do want my centre-back to deal with the ball, I don't think it's going at enough pace to guarantee that it's going back to the goalkeeper. 'But even at that, is George's contact enough for Muirhead to go down in the fashion that he does? Is it a red card? We'll all debate it, some will think it is. I probably sit in the camp of it being soft, I feel it's really, really soft. 'But once you put yourself into that position, it becomes a difficult one to argue. 'The game hinges on that one moment, in my opinion.' Livingston boss David Martindale praised his side's second-half fightback. 'I probably would have taken a point before the game,' he said. 'In the first half, they took their moments better than we took our moments, they sat in the mid-to-low block and then hit us on the counter a couple of times, which was poor from us. 'But I was pretty happy with how the boys bounced back, they showed real resilience. 'Overall I'm fairly happy with the performance, but in a couple of key moments we shot ourselves in the foot.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Leader Live
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
Livingston mount comeback to earn a point at 10-man Kilmarnock
In the only 3pm kick-off of the season's first day, new-look Killie looked on course for victory after strikes from Djenairo Daniels and David Watson in the closing stages of the first half. But a 64th-minute flashpoint brought Livi right back into the match as Stanger, who joined from local rivals Ayr this summer, was sent off for the hosts for denying a goal-scoring opportunity and Robbie Muirhead scored the resulting penalty. The visitors capitalised on their extra-man advantage as Scott Pittman equalised in the 86th minute. Killie boss Stuart Kettlewell, taking charge of his first league game since being appointed in May, included six summer signings in his starting line-up, including former Livi pair Max Stryjek and Jamie Brandon. Ex-Motherwell left-back Dominic Thompson, who signed on the morning of the match, was named among the subs and came on for his debut shortly before the visitors' leveller. Livi had a more familiar look, with just three recent recruits – Adam Montgomery, Mo Sylla and Graham Carey – in David Martindale's XI. With few clear chances for either side in the opening exchanges, Killie made the breakthrough in the 38th minute. Daniels, who joined from Cork this summer, ran on to a through ball from Liam Polworth and held off Danny Wilson before blasting beyond the exposed Jerome Prior from just inside the box. The celebrations were instantly cut short by an offside flag, but the on-field decision was overturned and the goal allowed to stand following a lengthy VAR check. Having looked comfortable for much of the match, the Lions suddenly found themselves two down in the 42nd minute. Brandon got in behind Montgomery on the right and drilled in a low cross that was pushed out by goalkeeper Prior only as far as Watson, who turned home the loose ball from six yards out. The Lions emerged with renewed purpose for the start of the second half and got themselves right back in the game shortly after the hour. Muirhead's shirt was pulled in the box by Stanger as he tried to get a shot away and after referee Matthew MacDermid, who had initially waved play on, was asked to view the pitchside monitor, he flashed a red card at the Killie player and awarded a penalty. Muirhead fired his spot-kick emphatically past tails were up and they eventually levelled when Pittman rasped home from 10 yards out after good work by Lewis Smith on the right to set him up.
