A quick trip down the M77 through a cold misty and rain soaked Fenwick moor was an apt atmospheric indicator of the afternoon events at Rugby park....it was a dour, cold, wet and hard fought game that I'm glad we came away with 3 points from.
I actually enjoy going to away games to watch Celtic, it's an opportunity to see other grounds and generally have a good day out. In the case of Rugby park the price of a seat in the Moffat stand was reasonable at £22, one of the cheaper prices charged for visiting Celtic fans. However the seating is easily one of the worse you will encounter, poor floppy seats with almost no leg room as I found with the tall guy behind me's kneecaps digging into my shoulder blades the whole game.
To the game....
Kilmarnock 0-1 Celtic
Petrov 24 mins
A moment of magic from Stilian Petrov was enough to earn Celtic victory against a battling Kilmarnock side.
The midfielder burst into the penalty area after 24 minutes and displayed great footwork to slip past two defenders and finish with a neat chip.
Kilmarnock enjoyed a few good spells of pressure and Kris Boyd's volley whistled narrowly wide of the mark.
The win keeps Gordon Strachan's side three points behind SPL leaders Hearts but they failed to find top gear against the hard-working hosts.
A scrappy opening saw both sides working hard to close each other down and little in the way of fluid passing.
The home team were the first to work an opening after 11 minutes when Steven Naismith's pass found Gary McDonald in a great position. But the midfielder wanted a touch before shooting and Shaun Maloney nipped in to dispossess him 10 yards from goal.
Celtic had been laborious in their early build-up but went ahead thanks to some inspired play by Petrov. Chris Sutton rolled his marker on the edge of the penalty area and laid the ball on for the Bulgarian, who broke between two defenders before lifting it over advancing keeper Graeme Smith.
Celtic keeper Artur Boruc was tested from a free-kick and tipped over a fierce strike from Boyd as the first-half came to a close.
That nearly went in!
Kilmarnock started strongly after the interval but Celtic were always a threat on the break. And Sutton was denied what looked a clear penalty when he was stopped from turning by David Lilley's bear-hug.
Beattie then hit the post with a powerful header from a Shunsuke Nakamura cross and fired a low shot just wide soon after. The young striker later burst through on goal but was denied by Smith's brave save at his feet.
Kilmarnock almost snatched an equaliser on the hour when Boyd's rasping volley from an angle flew inches wide of the target.
The lively Beattie again found some room on the edge of the penalty box but his strike found the side-netting. Sutton set Maloney up for a great shooting chance but the Celtic youngster got the ball caught under his feet and the danger was cleared.
And substitute Alan Thompson came close to extending Celtic's lead in the final minutes but his curling shot from 20 yards was just too high.
That nearly went in!