Opposition Analysis 2014/15 - Kilmarnock FC

Season 2014/15Opposition Analysis

Kilmarnock

Opposition Analysis – Kilmarnock

1. Samson

v Partick Thistle 20/12/14 Change of Positions

Preferred Foot01 Samson - RIGHT02 Barbour - RIGHT18 Ashcroft - RIGHT06 Connolly - RIGHT23 Chantler - LEFT07 McKenzie - RIGHT04 Hamill - RIGHT19 Slater - RIGHT28 Magennis - RIGHT33 Muirhead - LEFT09 Miller - RIGHT

Substitutes10 Johnston - BOTH11 Cairney - RIGHT13 Brennan - RIGHT20 Eremenko - RIGHT26 O'Hara - RIGHT29 Pascali - RIGHT37 Splaine -

2. Barbour 23. Chantler

6. Connolly 18. Ashcroft

19. Slater

33. Muirhead

4. Hamill

28. Magennis7. McKenzie

9. Miller

Team Shape Attacking Organization Defensive Organization Possible Line-Up

Change of Positions

1. Samson



19. Slater

33. Muirhead

4. Hamill

28. Magennis7. McKenzie

9. Miller

1. Samson



19. Slater

33. Muirhead

4. Hamill

28. Magennis 7. McKenzie

9. Miller



Change of Personnel

1. Samson

2. Barbour 26. O’Hara


19. Slater

10. Johnston

4. Hamill

28. Magennis

7. McKenzie 20. Eremenko



1st phase from Samson was direct apart from on one occasion in the 2nd half. His direct distribution was aimed at Miller initially however this changed to Magennis in wide positions. It looked like Kilmarnock were trying to expose the lack of height Hamilton possessed in full back positions.

Kilmarnock looked to get players in behind to get on the end of any potential flick on whilst there would also be options in front of the player so they could lay the ball back.

Right footed left centre back



Here Miller is challenging for the ball in the air. As often as possible in these situations Kilmarnock got two players a head of the ball, Magennis and Muirhead here, to get on the end of the 2nd ball.

33. Muirhead

28. Magennis

9. Miller

7. McKenzie



33. Muirhead

28. Magennis 9. Miller

7. McKenzie



Here Samson looks to play the ball out quickly however only the right back Barbour is in any position to receive the ball. Both centre backs aren’t interested in taking possession and building an attack. This occurred on the other side as well with the left back, suggesting that if they do look to build from the back it is the full backs who receive the first pass.

Hamilton locked on if Kilmarnock did threaten to build this way. The result of this however would see Kilmarnock end up playing a direct ball forward anyway as they didn’t look to take any risks with possession at the back.



Hamilton’s pressure was excellent in the 1st half and Kilmarnock were forced backwards on many occasions.

Even in the 1st phase there was a lack of movement the give the player an option. Therefore the passes from the defenders were percentage channel passes to the forward players.

Kilmarnock really struggled deal with Hamilton’s pressure in the 1st half. Slater in particular was marked quite tightly my MacKinnon and almost every pass he made when under pressure was back to the goal keeper Samson.



Mackinnon putting Slater under pressure. On many occasions he was forced to play backwards passes to the centre backs or goalkeeper.



In the 2nd phase they attempted to use the wide areas. Magennis despite moving to the right hand side played quite narrow. Their attack seemed to lack any sort of structure in these occasions and it was only when the full backs got forward to provide the width did they create chances.

The link up play between Miller & McKenzie could be dangerous as McKenzie is dangerous when dribbling with the ball.

The full backs were disciplined in that only one would advance forward and attack, the ball side one. The other full back would tuck back round with the two centre backs.

When in possession Magennis is very direct and powerful however he can be a bit clumsy. In the 1st half. Jonhston & McKenzie looked like the only players who could beat defenders with pace and a trick.



When they look to switch play across the pitch the trigger for the opposite side full back to attack is when the central midfielder has safe possession of the ball.

2. Barbour

19. Slater



Again here the picture shows Kilmarnock attacking via the right side of the pitch. The right back is joining in the attack and providing width as Magennis comes forward with the ball.

There main threat/action in the 3rd phase was to cross the ball into the penalty box. They never looked to attack through the middle

Both centre mids moved higher and picked up positions on the edge of the penalty box to collect any 2nd balls on the edge.

2. Barbour

19. Slater33. Muirhead

4. Hamill

28. Magennis

7. McKenzie

9. Miller



In the 2nd half Kilmarnock started to threaten more on the counter attack with the direct running and pace of both Johnston and McKenzie.

Instead of playing longer passes forward and looking for the 2nd ball, these players would pick up possession and drive forward.

Johnstone played on the left hand side but often came inside onto his right foot where is looked equally comfortable. 10. Johnston



In the 2nd half Kilmarnock started to threaten more on the counter attack with the direct running and pace of both Johnston and McKenzie.

Instead of playing longer passes forward and looking for the 2nd ball, these players would pick up possession in deeper areas and drive forward.

Johnstone played on the left hand side but he is right footed so he came in the pitch when he was attacking. McKenzie moved to in behind the striker Miller.

With Eremenko on the pitch he is very dangerous from set pieces so don’t give away free kicks close to the penalty box!

7. McKenzie



Initially Kilmarnock let Hamilton build from the back as the striker & attacking midfielder sat off the centre backs and allowed the 1st pass to go.

When the ball went to the centre back, one of these players would go and press whilst the other one in the hole would sit on Hamilton’s deepest midfielder.

This means that at the back Hamilton had a 3v1 against Kilmarnock’s lone striker so there were definitely opportunities for them to keep possession in these areas.

Their objective here was that they wanted to keep Hamilton down one side of the pitch but this didn’t really work. After 10 minutes they changed their approach and started to lock on which forced Hamilton to go more direct from the goalkeeper. The centre backs did push up and then drop o quickly on a few occasions to try and build.

33. Muirhead

9. Miller



33. Muirhead

9. Miller



When possession enters the 2nd phase in midfield Kilmarnock didn’t really apply any high pressure.

They tried to organise into a 4-4-1-1 shape quickly when they lost possession however it was very narrow which meant when Hamilton switched play it gave them 1v1 opportunities, although Hamilton didn’t really play with a traditional winger who could give them this width.

There was still plenty space between the lines for Hamilton to exploit.



Both Slater and Hamill didn’t look the best defensively in the middle of the park and were often drawn towards the ball leaving space between the lines for Hamilton to attack.

This would either be one of the wider Hamilton players coming infield and allowing the full back to provide the width, or Andreu who played off Antioine-Curier.

In the 2nd half when the game was a bit more stretched their recovery runs were quite poor.



Kilmarnock’s defensive shape especially at throw ins is very narrow leaving space on the opposite side of the pitch for switches of play.

Magennis can be lazy defensively so a full back attacking against him could give them problems.

Chantler was instructed to mark Hamilton’s wide right player Imrie and he got very tight to prevent him turning and facing him up. Sometimes because he is so aggressive he can give away free kicks easily. Also at times there was a lot of space in the channel for Hamilton’s striker to peel into. Antoine Curier was replaced by Jason Scotland in the 2nd half and he started to run into these channels, but he doesn’t have the pace to really hurt in these areas.



Here as the ball travels Chantler is already quite close to Imrie, however the pass here is going into the striker Antoine-Curier who makes a run into the channel area.

Chantler isn’t the best defensively in 1v1 situations and even is positioning at times is poor. We should look to get him in 1v1 and even use a winger to draw him out of position to allow a striker to move into this space.



Throughout the game when Magennis was on the right hand side he didn’t really do a decent job of going with runners, especially Hamilton’s left back.

There was always a lot of space at the back post for crosses to be delivered to. Our left back/left mid should look to arrive late into these positions as there is a good chance that they won’t be picked up.

O’Hara came on in the 2nd half for Chantler possibly to deal with the greater number of aerial balls Hamilton began to play, he is right footed.



v Aberdeen 20/12/14

01 Samson22 Westlake (Barbour - 43' )29 Pascali23 Chantler33 Muirhead19 Slater Booked04 Hamill18 Ashcroft07 McKenzie (Johnston - 78' )28 Magennis09 Miller (Cairney - 78' Booked )

Substitutes02 Barbour10 Johnston11 Cairney13 Brennan26 O'Hara36 Syme38 Hawkshaw

v St Johnstone 13/12/14

01 Samson22 Westlake Booked06 Connolly29 Pascali23 Chantler Booked33 Muirhead08 Clingan (Slater - 56' )04 Hamill16 Obadeyi09 Miller (McKenzie - 71' )28 Magennis

Substitutes02 Barbour07 McKenzie11 Cairney13 Brennan18 Ashcroft19 Slater26 O'Hara

v Partick Thistle 6/12/14

01 Samson22 Westlake06 Connolly29 Pascali23 Chantler Booked07 McKenzie (Johnston - 76' )04 Hamill08 Clingan16 Obadeyi28 Magennis09 Miller (Muirhead - 67' )

Substitutes10 Johnston13 Brennan18 Ashcroft19 Slater20 Eremenko26 O'Hara33 Muirhead



1. Samson

2. Barbour

23. Chantler

6. Connolly

29. Pascali 19. Slater

33. Muirhead

4. Hamill

28. Magennis

7. McKenzie 9. Miller

Opposition Analysis 2014/15 - Kilmarnock FC

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Transcript of Opposition Analysis 2014/15 - Kilmarnock FC