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IT seems more than coincidence that with Jamie McGrath drifting out of the picture at St Mirren Greg Kiltie is finally flourishing.
The forward was signed from Kilmarnock in the summer ostensibly to replace the Republic of Ireland international who looked destined to complete a transfer to Hibernian.
When that deal collapsed in the dying embers of the August window, it was not just the two clubs and McGrath who were impacted.
There was nowhere really for Kiltie to fit into the team and, combined with the 25 year-old picking up a couple of niggly injuries, it led to an unproductive and frustrating start to his time in Paisley.
Now McGrath seems likely to finally get a move – down south looks the likely destination now – and for now isn’t being picked by manager Jim Goodwin.
Into that creative void has slipped Kiltie. Against Dundee United last week he created goals for Jay Henderson and Eamonn Brophy and was denied his first for the club with a contentious offside call.
Kiltie, though, atoned for that on Saturday, adding St Mirren’s second at Ayr United after Jay Henderson’s opener to help secure safe passage through to the last 16 of the Scottish Cup.
“Whether Jamie stays or goes, everyone will just try and do their best for the team,” he said. “I’ll slot in wherever I need to play. I just want to be on the pitch. Going way back I didn’t play loads as a youngster. The main focus is to play as much as possible. I need to keep plugging away.
“The lost time is gone and now it’s about helping the team do well. I was just delighted to get my first goal. I had one ruled out against Dundee United on Tuesday so it was nice to get the monkey off the back as such and start scoring.
“You always aim to get scoring after a move but it’s taken its time. I haven’t really played as much as I’d like in the first half of the season, but hopefully now I can kick on.”
St Mirren reached the semi-final of this tournament last year, knocking out Kiltie’s Kilmarnock along the way. With a favourable last 16 draw at home to Kelty Hearts, the forward is hoping another extended cup run could be on the cards.
“You always want to strive to get to Hampden and with no crowds it wasn’t quite the same last year,” he added. “The league is the priority but it would be great to get to the semis again and try to go even further than that. I seemed to always get Aberdeen when I was at Killie and they had a great record at Rugby Park. The furthest I’ve got so far is the quarters. Hopefully we can go further than that this year.”
One of the bright spots on an otherwise dismal day for Ayr United was the performance of Ryan Gondoh, a recent recruit by new manager Lee Bullen.
After years thrashing around in the lower echelons of English football’s pyramid system, the Londoner hopes a move north can ignite his career the way it has for two of his close pals.
“One of my best friends that I grew up with is Mickel Miller who was at Hamilton and went on to Rotherham,” he said.
“And I’ve come from the same academy as Joe Aribo. We keep in contact. He’s doing well at Rangers so hopefully I can get a move like that. That’s my aim. If I can score the goals to keep Ayr up then you never know.”
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