East Kilbride sent an early statement to the rest of League One by thrashing full-time Queen of the South 5-1 in their opening fixture at K-Park. Mick Kennedy's side, who lifted the League Two title last season, had raised the championship flag before kick-off and then backed it up with a ruthless attacking display.
Kennedy: we are 'arguably one of the best possession teams in the country'
Speaking to Lanarkshire Live Sport, Kennedy was confident his part-time squad will be a tough opponent for everyone. "I have said before that I don't think anyone is going to have an easy game against us," he said.
"I don't mean this to sounds over-confident, but I think we are arguably one of the best possession teams in the whole country so I think we are a very difficult team to play against. And I believe we will go in and compete week in, week out."
The win, he felt, reinforces what many already expected. "It [the result] sends out a clear message but I think people already knew we were a good side. I don't think this will surprise anybody. It is just the first game, there's so many more games to play."
How the 5-1 win unfolded
Kilby needed only eight minutes to score their first League One goal. A short corner caused panic in the Queens box, and Finlay Gray was brought down, earning a penalty. Craig McGuffie sent Deniz Mehmet the wrong way from the spot.
McGuffie doubled the lead in the 23rd minute when his deflected strike from the edge of the box beat Mehmet. But Queen of the South pulled one back three minutes later, Jack Stott curling a fine effort into the bottom corner.
Before half-time, East Kilbride restored their two-goal cushion. Owen Moffat whipped in a free-kick from the left and Gray powered a header into the bottom corner.
The hosts made sure of the points in the 62nd minute. Moffat cut in from the left and found McGuffie, whose deft touch slipped Gray through to slot beyond Mehmet. O'Connor completed the scoring in the 75th minute, poking home from close range after Moffat's pass.
Kennedy: plenty of room for improvement
Despite the emphatic scoreline, Kennedy was not entirely satisfied. "Some of our play was really good, some of it was not so good," he said. "We were really good in possession at times and other times we were slack."
He added: "I know we had so much possession and so much dominance but I just felt at times we weren't doing the simple things consistently enough. But it's our first game in League One so I probably couldn't have asked for a better result in terms of scoring five goals, although I think we have to be much better."
Full-time tests to come
Kennedy will reserve judgement until his side faces the division's full-time teams. "In our first six games we have the five full-time teams in the league so after those games, we will be able to tell if we can compete," he explained. "It is a good start and I don't think anyone will have an easy game against us."
He acknowledged his side's openness can leave them exposed. "At times, we are very open and expansive so when we give the ball away, it is easy to get at us. That's just structural stuff we need to work on to make sure we don't give the ball away as often."
Attention now turns to a trip to Airdrie. "But we are in a good place and we just look forward to Airdrie next week," Kennedy said.
Penalty appeal waved away
There was late controversy when Alexander Smith appeared to be fouled in the box, only to be booked for simulation by referee Josh Hay. The decision frustrated the home bench and Kennedy was also shown a yellow card. "I could see from 40 yards away it wasn't a dive, it was a clear penalty. Their boy clips his heels," Kennedy said.
