Kilmarnock beat Ross County 3-1 at Rugby Park to secure their their cinch Premiership survival and consign their opponents to a relegation play-off against Partick Thistle.
The Ayrshire side knew a point would be enough to keep them ahead of the Staggies and out of the bottom two, but they made it a final day to enjoy for their supporters as goals from Brad Lyons, Daniel Armstrong and Kyle Vassell secured a well-deserved victory.
County gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Yan Dhanda reduced their arrears to 2-1 just after the hour mark but they were unable to enough to get out of 11th place and they must now overcome free-scoring Partick over two legs if they are to remain in the top flight for a fifth consecutive season.
Killie manager Derek McInnes selected the same team that started Wednesday’s 3-0 win at Dundee United.
County boss Malky Mackay made three changes to the team that kicked off the 3-3 draw at home to St Johnstone as David Cancola, Alex Iacovitti and Alex Samuel replaced Victor Loturi, Dylan Smith and Simon Murray.
After a frenetic opening to proceedings, County had the first notable sight of goal in the 13th minute when Iacovitti headed over from Jack Baldwin’s long throw.
Killie were generally enjoying the bulk of the possession but they had to wait until the 29th minute for their first proper chance when Christian Doidge saw a powerful header tipped over by Ross Laidlaw from a Liam Polworth cross.
The hosts had been knocking on the door and they took the lead in the 36th minute when midfielder Lyons got himself free at the near post to steer home Armstrong’s corner for his first goal since joining Kilmarnock almost two years ago.
Nohan Kenneh fired a shot just wide from the edge of the box four minutes before the break as County tried to find a response
The Staggies made a change for the start of the second half as Jordan White, who had suffered a head knock in the first half, was replaced by Murray.
Killie extended their lead within four minutes of the restart.
Armstrong was tripped by Iacovitti as he tried to cut into the box from the right and a free-kick was initially awarded. Following a VAR check, it was established that the foul had taken place inside the area and a penalty was given.
Armstrong stepped up to net from the spot, sparking chants of “we are staying up” from the home support.
County got themselves back into it, however, with a penalty of their own in the 62nd minute as Dhanda fired high into the net from the spot after Ash Taylor was deemed to have pulled Keith Watson in the box following another VAR review.
Dhanda then spurned a chance to equalise three minutes later when he blazed over after being picked out by a Randall cross.
But Killie were able to breathe easily in the 78th minute when Vassell headed the rebound in off the underside of the bar after he had two consecutive shots charged down in the box by County defenders.
Wolves v Arsenal: ‘What we still have to play for is beautiful’ – Arteta
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta set out to remind his team that they still have something “beautiful” to play for despite their Champions League exit.
The Gunners slipped out of UEFA’s flagship club competition in midweek when they went down 1-0 to Bayern Munich, losing 3-2 on aggregate.
That defeat followed on from a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa last Sunday – a reverse that significantly dented Arsenal’s title hopes, with the Gunners now two points behind Manchester City who, after this weekend, will have a game in hand.
Arsenal face Wolves on Saturday and, with City in FA Cup action, a win would see them move back to the top of the table, at least temporarily, so Arteta offered a reminder that all is not lost.
“I can guarantee you we are fully focused on Wolves and everybody's lifted,” he said following the loss in Munich.
“What we still have to play is beautiful and I said before, it's time to be next to our players and in this moment, not when you win 10 in a row and a draw, that's easy to prize our players and to be behind them and to say really nice things. The moment is now to be next to them.”
On Friday, in his pre-match press conference, Arteta added: “As an experience, [the Champions League was] the best one.
“I am now fully focused on the times ahead of us. We are now behind Manchester City and will give it a good go. The context is clear. If we win we are top of the league.”
Wolves sit 11th, though they could do with snapping a four-game winless streak in order to get their European hopes back on track.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolves – Matheus Cunha
Cunha has been involved in nine goals in his last nine Premier League games, scoring six and assisting three. His 11 goals overall this season is the fourth most by a Wolves player in a single Premier League campaign after Raul Jimenez (17 in 2019-20, 13 in 2018-19) and Steven Fletcher (12 in 2011-12).
Arsenal – Bukayo Saka
Saka has been involved in eight goals in his last seven Premier League away games, scoring seven and assisting one. His 13 away goal involvements overall this term (eight goals, five assists) is the most by an Arsenal player in a single Premier League campaign since Alexis Sanchez’s 20 in 2016-17.
MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal lost a Premier League game for the first time in 2024 against Villa last time out. Since the start of last season, only twice have the Gunners suffered consecutive league defeats, doing so in May 2023 (v Brighton and Nottingham Forest) and December this season (v West Ham and Fulham).
Wolves are winless in their last four Premier League games (D2 L2), though they have won their last two at Molineux against sides starting the day in the top two of the table, beating Man City 2-1 in September and Spurs by the same score in November.
Arsenal have scored in their last 32 meetings with Wolves in all competitions.
Wolves have now lost each of their last five against the Gunners, failing to score in both home defeats in that run.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Wolves – 21.5%
Arsenal – 51.2%
Draw – 27.3%
Ending FA Cup replays another example of EFL being ‘marginalised’, says league
The decision to scrap FA Cup replays is further evidence of the EFL and its clubs being “marginalised”, the league has said.
The Football Association announced on Thursday it had reached an agreement with the Premier League on the future format and funding of the competition, which would include all replays from the first round being abolished.
A number of EFL clubs have criticised the changes and insisted they were not consulted, with the FA releasing a statement on Friday saying it understood those concerns and would share details with them about how any shortfall in lost replay revenue may be made up.
However, the EFL said this was just the most recent example of how the league and its clubs were being sidelined, with the Premier League clubs having also decided to halt discussions over a new financial settlement with the EFL.
“This latest agreement between the Premier League and the FA, in the absence of financial reform, is just a further example of how the EFL and its clubs are being marginalised in favour of others further up the pyramid and that only serves to threaten the future of the English game,” the EFL’s statement on Friday afternoon said.
“The EFL today calls on both the Premier League and the FA, as the governing body, to re-evaluate their approach to their footballing partnership with the EFL and engage more collaboratively on issues directly affecting our clubs.”
John O’Shea could stay as interim Ireland boss as permanent appointment delayed
John O’Shea could remain interim Republic of Ireland manager after the Football Association of Ireland revealed Stephen Kenny’s permanent successor may not be in place until September.
The 42-year-old former Manchester United and Ireland defender took charge of March’s friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland as officials continued their search for a replacement for Kenny, who lost his job in November.
However, director of football Marc Canham, who said last month the new manager would be announced “in early April”, confirmed on Friday the recruitment process was ongoing and could be for some time yet.
Canham told FAI TV: “Realistically we’re looking now towards the UEFA Nations League with our first game against England in September and that’s what we’re aiming to do.
“We recognise that the timelines and deadlines that we’ve previously set have created a sense of expectation and potentially confusion for everyone.
“In hindsight, we would maybe not set those deadlines if we were to do this again and absolutely just commit to trying to find the best person and take as long as that should take, and that’s our aim.
“We recognise and apologise for that, but we’re also confident that ultimately we believe this process will result in us finding the best person for the job.”
Canham revealed talks with O’Shea, who has indicated he would like to be considered as a candidate for the permanent role, over an extension to his interim spell to cover June’s friendlies against Hungary and Portugal were under way.
He said: “In the two June friendlies, the expectation now is that we will have an interim head coach whilst we continue the search for a permanent head coach for September. We would like that to be John O’Shea.
“We were very pleased with what he did in the March friendlies and we’re talking to him at the moment. We’re hoping to be able to confirm that as soon as possible.”
England Under-21s coach Lee Carsley, who was the FAI’s preferred candidate, has ruled himself out of the race, while Neil Lennon has been told he will not be getting the job and Gus Poyet, Chris Coleman and Chris Hughton have all be touted for the post.
However despite discussions between the association and a series of candidates, an appointment is yet to be made and Canham, who along with president Paul Cooke, interim chief executive David Courell and board member Packie Bonner has been handed the task of identifying the new manager, acknowledged mounting frustration among fans.
He said: “We have many great memories of our men’s national team competing at major tournaments and that’s what we want in the future and that’s why we are taking our absolute time and doing our very best and are determined to find the best person to help make sure we have future memories of that, of qualifying for major tournaments.”
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