Dundee analysis: Two changes from McInnes prove crucial for the first win of the season

It was a dramatic late turnaround at Dens, and the manager made some very savvy changes

It feels like a long time since Killie fans could enjoy a ‘Victory Monday’ but the office will feel a bit less daunting this week after the first domestic win of the season over Dundee.

What looked like being a galling defeat to 10 men which had the potential to see the season really go off the rails turned into a stunning comeback win, a Matty Kennedy double either side of Bruce Anderson’s header finally getting the monkey off the back.

While that would suggest snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and perhaps a stroke of fortune, was that the case at Dens Park?

We’ve gone back through the action to pick apart what went wrong, then ultimately right.

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McInnes set up with what appeared from the team sheet to be a 3-5-2, though there was an interesting role for David Watson at Dens Park.

The energy the 19-year-old brings is one of the key strengths of his game, and at times out of possession the shape became more of a 3-4-3 with Watson on the right and Marley Watkins on the left.

Only McInnes and his players will know for sure but the pressing trigger appeared to be if the ball went out to Dundee’s left-sided centre-back Billy Koumetio.

Whether Killie had identified him as a potential weakness in possession is something you’d have to be in the pre-match meeting to know for sure, but we got a good example in this first half passage of play.

Watson is standing on the halfway line poised, presumably ready to go and press if the ball is played out to the left hand side.

However, it goes out to the other side and he drops into a more traditional midfield role.

Another example of his industry, and showing impressive discipline for such a young player, was his tracking back to block a first half shot.

Arguably even more impressive is that he had the nous to check his run ever so slightly in the process in an attempt to catch the Dundee man offside.

The flag did indeed go up after Watson had made his block, though it appears Robbie Deas may actually have been playing him onside.

It certainly appears so from the above image, but if you look at the position of Watson’s body he’s stepped up ever so slightly to try and catch the man offside - really impressive presence of mind for a player tracking a run from midfield.

If there’s been a theme with analysing Killie games so far this season you’d narrow it down to two candidates: individual errors proving costly, and the balance never quite seeming right in midfield.

Unfortunately, both those things were on show at Dens Park on Saturday.

McInnes will be tearing his hair out over Dundee’s second - a long goal kick, Ndaba doesn’t win the header, Burroughs lets his man get wrong side.

The first, though, was arguably even worse and stems from a simple breakdown in communication.

Kennedy opens his body up to receive the ball in front on his right foot.

But Deas thinks he wants it behind to his left foot, Dundee intercept, and they go on to score.

As for the midfield, McInnes went with a starting trio of Liam Donnelly, Brad Lyons and, as discussed, Watson.

However, as we’ve seen before with that combination the lack of a player who wants to receive the ball in space and make passes can mean it’s difficult to get anything going through the middle of the park.

All too often Kennedy or Armstrong would come inside to be greeted with a huge gap on the edge of the box but no-one to play it into.

That is, of course, partly by design. Kilmarnock play with inverted wingers who come inside to cross the ball on their stronger foot, so getting as many into the box as possible to capitalise makes sense.

With Lyons preferring to sit deep, Donnelly pushing high and wide and Watson looking to get involved in the attack though the spaces were truly glaring at points.

McInnes is a savvy manager though, and two key changes he made turned the game.