4 things Kilmarnock have to do to achieve the improbable against Copenhagen

There's a mountain to climb but the first leg showed the Danes are not unbeatable

It’s been close to a week and there won’t be many Killie fans who aren’t still smarting over that late, late goal in Copenhagen that left Derek McInnes’ side with a mountain to climb at Rugby Park.

Following a 2-0 defeat in Denmark, thanks to Rasmus Falk’s 96th minute goal, the hosts will have to win by at least a two goal margin to achieve that lucrative place in the league phase of the Europa Conference League.

European nights aren’t exactly a perennial experience in Ayrshire - the team down the road have never played in continental competition - but those of a certain vintage will point to at least one famous night under the lights.

Having lost 3-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1964-65 Fairs Cup, Kilmarnock went 1-0 down at Rugby Park and were staring down the barrel of elimination.

Frankfurt would go on to reach the European Cup final the next season, playing in that famous game against Real Madrid at Hampden, but they were beaten 5-1 on the night and Willie Waddell’s side progressed.

While it might not go down in history in quite the same way, make no mistake that a similar level of turnaround will be needed on Thursday night.

It’s not very likely - you can get as much as 18/1 for Killie to go through with some bookies - but it is, at least, possible.

Here’s are four things that need to happen for a famous night at Rugby Park.

Harry them in midfield

Though Killie only had around 26% of possession in the first leg in Copenhagen, they weren’t simply parking the bus.

McInnes set up in a narrow 4-4-2, with Marley Watkins occasionally dropping deeper to make it more of a 4-5-1 and the full-backs looking to press when it went wide.

When they did press them through the middle of the park though it led to some promising openings.

In the above example Watkins has dropped into midfield to help out defensively.

His attentions allow David Watson to nick the ball and release Kyle Vassell on the break, with the striker almost getting in on goal before being brought down by Denis Vavro, who received a booking for his troubles.

A few minutes later, the efforts of Burroughs and Lewis Mayo led to Copenhagen passing the ball straight to Matty Kennedy.

The Danes can be got at in the transitions, but to do so will mean looking to get on top of them in midfield from the off.