Derek Adams’ third spell in charge of Ross County did not begin as he and chairman Roy MacGregor had hoped following a sudden and unforeseen change of manager.
Malky Mackay’s surprise departure after MacGregor lived up to his reputation of sacking managers at the drop of a hat by once again wielding his axe followed a run of nine matches without a victory.
County in fact had not won since beating Kilmarnock away on September 2 and had slipped to second bottom of the cinch Premiership as a consequence of that dismal run.
But there was no instant bounce from the change in personnel despite the home side carving out a reasonable percentage of chances.
Kilmarnock were twice saved by goal-line clearances in the first half and, had this encounter taken the form of a boxing match, County would have been declared winners on points.
They had the mild satisfaction of improving a place to 10th in the table, a point off bottom spot while Kilmarnock remain in sixth despite not having won away this season.
For all that they had to settle for a single point there were probably enough positives in County’s performance to encourage Adams’ belief that he will be able to preserve the club’s Premiership status after nine years away in England.
Yan Dhanda’s clever runs and willingness to dribble with the ball was a feature of County’s performance. So, too, was their general work ethic and efforts to pressurise the opposition.
But that alone was not enough to end a near three-month wait to return to winning ways, albeit that Kilmarnock were fortunate to survive without conceding.
It took until the 14th minute for the game to open up following a period of careful assessment on the part of both teams.
When it did it was County who bared their teeth first, Ryan Leak forcing a save from William Dennis with a header.
Almost immediately Jack Baldwin played a long ball over the top for Dhanda to run onto and set up James Brown for a shot on goal.
But, with Dennis beaten, Kilmarnock were saved by Joe Wright’s goal-line clearance.
When play swung to the other end, Ross Laidlaw did well to save a deflected shot from Daniel Armstrong before Dennis then denied Dhanda.
Kilmarnock lived dangerously again coming up to half-time when Connor Randall threatened to break the deadlock.
But a second goal-line clearance, this time a header from Stuart Findlay, denied Randall a goal.
Messi 'will be our No.10 in 2026', hopes Inter Miami chief Mas
Inter Miami fully expect Lionel Messi to remain at the club beyond his current contract ahead of the 2026 MLS season.
Those were the words of Miami's club managing owner, Jorge Mas, who was speaking to the media following Gerardo Martino's resignation earlier on Friday.
Messi joined the MLS side in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, leading the Herons to the Supporters' Shield and Leagues Cup during his time in the United States so far.
His current deal is due to expire at the end of next year, though Mas made clear his desire to see Messi remain with the Herons at Miami Freedom Park, the club's new stadium that will open in 2026.
"He’s under contract through 2025. Leo and I will sit, and we’ll discuss the future,” Mas said.
“As I’ve said before, and I will repeat it now: I fully expect that in the opening of our new stadium in 2026 in Miami and the opening of our 2026 season, hopefully after a trophy-laden 2025 season, that Lionel Messi will be our No. 10.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Man United could be without Toone until Christmas, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
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