Celtic dropped their first two points of the season at Rugby Park as the Hoops were held to a 1-1 draw in Ayrshire.
Ryan Christie’s early free-kick looked to have Neil Lennon’s men sitting pretty. However, a bizarre mistake from Christopher Jullien allowed Kilmarnock’s Chris Burke to slam home a penalty before the break. It was particularly harsh on new-Bhoy Vasilis Barkas, who was let down badly as his first clean sheet was robbed from him.
Celtic struggled in the second half and couldn’t find another route beyond Alex Dyer’s stubborn side.
Here, we take a look at the individual player ratings this afternoon:
Vasilis Barkas – 6
You have to feel sorry for the debut man today. Not much to do but was forced to try and stop a penalty thanks to Jullien’s nightmare error. Some decent ball-handling but he’ll have much busier days than this proved to be.
Jeremie Frimpong – 5
Always wanted the ball in fairness to him, but his final product was poor all game. Often checked inside when it looked as though he had an opportunity to beat his man. Not as effective as he was in last week’s rout against Hamilton. Subbed.
Christopher Jullien – 3
Disaster if we’re all being honest with ourselves. Cost us our lead by getting skinned of Kabamba before bringing him to the deck. Struggled massively in the first half and was also done twice by the same front-man in other incidents. Improved somewhat in the second half but the damage was done. Poor.
Kristoffer Ajer – 5
Better than his defensive partner but not by much. Never seems to look confident on an astroturf surface, albeit understandably. Didn’t try to step out of defence as much, which can be a useful weapon when he does. Decent enough, but anything higher than a five is flattering.
Greg Taylor – 5
Some decent energy and was keen to link up with Mohamed Elyounoussi. However, far too many of his crosses failed to beat the first man. A massive difference compared to his end product at Celtic Park last weekend. Would’ve hoped for better.
Scott Brown – 5
Kept things simple but was a bit more careless this afternoon. Lost the ball with some loose passing and clearly doesn’t operate greatly on synthetic surfaces. Didn’t seem to have the same fire in his belly this afternoon as his challenges were far too silly for the experience he has. An off day for the captain.
Callum McGregor – 6
Better than most, but only just. Was often the one picking up possession and driving forward looking for receivers. Didn’t get a lot of help today and didn’t manage to find any killer passes. A lack of movement ahead of him certainly didn’t help, with most of his passes going sideways. No real mistakes.
James Forrest – 5
Similar to McGregor in that he tried to find the gaps down the flanks and put in some decent crosses. Had a good chance with a header on the brink of half-time that he should’ve done slightly better with. Quiet in the second half.
Ryan Christie – 6
Our man of the match, but that’s not saying much. Scored a terrific free-kick early in the first half and was always looking to take the ball and create something. Put in a superb delivery for Forrest on the brink of half-time but faded in the second 45.
Mohamed Elyounoussi – 4
Anonymous. Offered very little and was far too sloppy on the ball. Gave it away on numerous occasions and sometimes after creating some decent openings for himself. Needs to find his cutting edge soon. Subbed.
Odsonne Edouard – 4
Spare me the “he didn’t get the service” stuff. Poor today from Eddy. He had a couple of openings either side of half-time and was at times too greedy. Needs to be more aware of when to pass the ball. Nothing came off for him all afternoon and could really have done with a partner on a pitch as difficult to play on as Rugby Park.
The Subs:
Hatem Elhamed: 4 – Came on and didn’t make any real errors of note. A solid player and deserves some regular minutes.
Patryk Klimala: 3 – On to partner Edouard but made no real impact.
Olivier Ntcham: 2 – Thrown on for the final 10 minutes but not on long enough to make a difference.
Boli Bolingoli: 2 – Final sub and got a few crosses into the box.
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