# 2019–20 Kilmarnock F.C. season

The 2019–20 season was Kilmarnock's seventh season in the Premiership, and their 27th consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football.
Kilmarnock also competed in UEFA competition for the first time in 18 years after finishing in third the previous season.

## Overview

Killie began the season managed by Angelo Alessio who joined the club on 16 June 2019 after former manager Steve Clarke was signed by the Scotland national football team. On 28 June 2019, the club travelled to Spain for a pre-season training camp in Marbella as they prepared for their upcoming 2019–20 UEFA Europa League qualifiers.
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 18 June 2019 with Kilmarnock drawn to face Welsh side Connah's Quay Nomads. The first leg was played in Wales on 11 July 2019 before Kilmarnock hosted the second leg on 18 July 2019. Connah's Quay's home ground, Deeside Stadium did not meet UEFA requirements so the game was instead played at Rhyl's home ground Belle Vue. Attempts had been made to play the game at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground in order to facilitate the expected number of supporters but the pitch works meant that wasn't possible. After a 2–1 comeback win in Wales, Kilmarnock lost 2–0 at Rugby Park and were knocked out by the Welsh part-timers 3–2 on aggregate.
Kilmarnock played Rangers at home in their first league fixture on Sunday 4 August 2019. The fixture was a repeat of the last match of the previous season which Kilmarnock won 2–1.
As a result of their European qualification, Kilmarnock received a bye to the League Cup second round. The draw was made on 28 July 2019 and Kilmarnock were drawn to play Premiership rivals Hamilton Academical on 17 August 2019. They lost to Hibernian on penalties in the following round.
In December 2019, Alex Dyer was made caretaker manager of Kilmarnock after Alessio was sacked. After three games in caretaker charge, Dyer was appointed Kilmarnock manager to the end of the 2019–20 season.
In January 2020, Kilmarnock entered the Scottish Cup in the fourth round where they defeated Queen's Park 6–0. In the fifth round, they lost 4–3 after extra time in a replay against Aberdeen.
On 13 March 2020 – with Kilmarnock eight in the table after a 1–0 loss to Hamilton Academical – all SPFL leagues were indefinitely suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2020, manager Alex Dyer signed a permanent two-year contract with Kilmarnock.

## Match results
### Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers |
| 30 June 2019 | Gaz Metan Mediaș | Campo La Quinta | 0–0 | |
| 3 July 2019 | Dinamo București | Marbella Football Centre | 0–3 | |

### Premiership

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 4 August 2019 | Rangers | H | 1–2 | O'Donnell 83' | 9,196 | 9th |
| 10 August 2019 | Hamilton Academical | A | 0–2 | | 2,766 | 12th |
| 24 August 2019 | Aberdeen | H | 0–0 | | 5,250 | 12th |
| 31 August 2019 | St Johnstone | A | 1–0 | O'Donnell 40' | 3,427 | 6th |
| 14 September 2019 | Hibernian | H | 2–0 | Millar 56', El Makrini 79' | 5,458 | 6th |
| 22 September 2019 | Celtic | A | 1–3 | Brophy 33' | 57,137 | 7th |
| 28 September 2019 | Ross County | H | 0–0 | | 4,906 | 7th |
| 5 October 2019 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 1–0 | Burke 42' | 16,711 | 6th |
| 19 October 2019 | Livingston | H | 2–1 | Dicker 39', McKenzie 55' | 4,828 | 5th |
| 26 October 2019 | St Mirren | H | 1–0 | Dicker 78' | 6,389 | 3rd |
| 30 October 2019 | Motherwell | A | 1–2 | Thomas 31' | 4,676 | 5th |
| 2 November 2019 | Aberdeen | A | 0–3 | | 13,131 | 5th |
| 9 November 2019 | Hamilton Academical | H | 2–2 | El Makrini 45+2', Brophy 48' | 5,045 | 5th |
| 23 November 2019 | Heart of Midlothian | H | 3–0 | Burke 9', 16' Brophy 14' | 6,278 | 5th |
| 30 November 2019 | Hibernian | A | 2–2 | Bruce 66' Del Fabro 90+3' | 16,180 | 5th |
| 4 December 2019 | St Johnstone | H | 0–0 | | 4,083 | 5th |
| 7 December 2019 | Livingston | A | 0–3 | | 1,531 | 5th |
| 14 December 2019 | Ross County | A | 0–1 | | 3,688 | 5th |
| 21 December 2019 | Motherwell | H | 0–1 | | 5,688 | 5th |
| 26 December 2019 | Rangers | A | 0–1 | | 49,885 | 6th |
| 29 December 2019 | St Mirren | A | 0–1 | | 6,363 | 7th |
| 22 January 2020 | Celtic | H | 1–3 | Kabamba 66' | 8,307 | 7th |
| 25 January 2020 | St Johnstone | A | 1–2 | Burke 22' (pen.) | 2,609 | 7th |
| 1 February 2020 | Ross County | H | 3–1 | Brophy 54', 57' (pen.), Kabamba 82' | 4,733 | 7th |
| 5 February 2020 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 3–2 | Findlay 24', Burke 38', Brophy 50' | 16,211 | 7th |
| 12 February 2020 | Rangers | H | 2–1 | O'Donnell 77', Brophy 89' | 8,096 | 7th |
| 16 February 2020 | Hibernian | H | 1–2 | Burke 30' | 5,370 | 7th |
| 23 February 2020 | Celtic | A | 1–3 | Brophy 6' (pen.) | 58,883 | 7th |
| 4 March 2020 | Aberdeen | H | 2–2 | Brophy 17' (pen.), Kiltie 23' | 4,217 | 7th |
| 7 March 2020 | Hamilton Academical | A | 1–0 | | 2,145 | 8th |
| 14 March 2020 | St Mirren | H | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | 8th |
| 21 March 2020 | Motherwell | A | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | 8th |
| 4 April 2020 | Livingston | H | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | 8th |

### Scottish Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 18 January 2020 | Fourth round | Queen's Park | H | 6–0 | Bruce 9', Findlay 26', 44', Kiltie 62', Kabamba 89', Johnson 90+1' | 4,198 |
| 8 February 2020 | Fifth round | Aberdeen | A | 0–0 | | 9,430 |
| 19 February 2020 | Fifth round replay | Aberdeen | H | 3–4 (a.e.t.) | El Makrini 43', Brophy 98', Kabamba 116' | 5,658 |

### League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 17 August 2019 | Second round | Hamilton Academical | H | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Thomas 113' | 3,762 |
| 25 September 2019 | Quarter-final | Hibernian | H | 0–0 (a.e.t.) 4–5p | | 4,780 |

### Europa League

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 11 July 2019 | First qualifying round 1st leg | Connah's Quay Nomads | A | 2–1 | Brophy 82' (pen.), Findlay 90+2' | 1,410 |
| 18 July 2019 | First qualifying round 2nd leg | Connah's Quay Nomads | H | 0–2 | | 8,306 |

## Club statistics
### Competition Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premiership | 4 August 2019 | 7 March 2020 | Matchday 1 | Eighth | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 030.00 |
| Scottish Cup | 18 January 2020 | 19 February 2020 | Fourth round | Fifth round replay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 033.33 |
| League Cup | 17 August 2019 | 25 September 2019 | Second round | Quarter-final | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 050.00 |
| Europa League | 11 July 2019 | 18 July 2019 | First qualifying round | First qualifying round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 37 | 12 | 8 | 17 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 032.43 |
Source: Competitions

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG |
| 6 | St Johnstone | 29 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 28 | 46 | −18 | 36 | 1.24 |
| 7 | Hibernian | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 37 | 1.23 |
| 8 | Kilmarnock | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 33 | 1.10 |
| 9 | St Mirren | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 24 | 41 | −17 | 29 | 0.97 |
| 10 | Ross County | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 29 | 60 | −31 | 29 | 0.97 |
* ↑ All play-off matches were cancelled, as clubs voted to curtail the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Squad statistics

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Europa League | Europa League | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Jamie MacDonald | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Stephen O'Donnell | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Greg Taylor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Stephen Hendrie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Alex Bruce | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Connor Johnson | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Alan Power | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Rory McKenzie | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Gary Dicker | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Eamonn Brophy | 28 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Greg Kiltie | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Liam Millar | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Harry Bunn | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Laurențiu Brănescu | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 13 | GK | Devlin MacKay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Niko Hämäläinen | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Mohamed El Makrini | 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Simeon Jackson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Stuart Findlay | 18 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | DF | Calum Waters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Kirk Broadfoot | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Iain Wilson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Adam Frizzell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Ross Millen | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Dom Thomas | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | Jan Koprivec | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | Harvey St Clair | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Dario Del Fabro | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | Osman Sow | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Nicke Kabamba | 9 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Chris Burke | 26 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | Innes Cameron | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Ally Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | FW | Kyle Connell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source:

## Player transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | Previous Club | Fee |
| 8 July 2019 | GK | Laurențiu Brănescu | Juventus | Loan |
| 9 July 2019 | MF | Mohamed El Makrini | Roda JC | Free |
| 17 July 2019 | DF | Alex Bruce | Unattached | Free |
| 6 August 2019 | FW | Liam Millar | Liverpool | Loan |
| 20 August 2019 | DF | Niko Hämäläinen | Queens Park Rangers | Loan |
| 29 August 2019 | DF | Dario Del Fabro | Juventus | Loan |
| 2 September 2019 | FW | Osman Sow | Dundee United | Loan |
| 2 September 2019 | DF | Connor Johnson | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Loan |
| 2 September 2019 | FW | Harvey St Clair | Venezia | Loan |
| 6 September 2019 | DF | Stephen Hendrie | Southend United | Free |
| 10 September 2019 | GK | Jan Koprivec | Unattached | Free |
| 17 October 2019 | FW | Simeon Jackson | Unattached | Free |
| 15 January 2020 | MF | Harry Bunn | Unattached | Free |
| 17 January 2020 | FW | Nicke Kabamba | Hartlepool United | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2020 | DF | Kirk Broadfoot | St Mirren | Undisclosed |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | Subsequent Club | Fee |
| 18 June 2019 | FW | Kris Boyd | Retired | n/a |
| 20 June 2019 | DF | Scott Boyd | Retired | n/a |
| 1 July 2019 | MF | Jordan Jones | Rangers | Free |
| 16 July 2019 | MF | Daniel Higgins | Cove Rangers | Free |
| 9 August 2019 | MF | Calum Waters | St Mirren | Loan |
| 2 September 2019 | DF | Greg Taylor | Celtic | £2,200,000 |
| 2 September 2019 | MF | Greg Kiltie | Dunfermline Athletic | Loan |
| 3 September 2019 | DF | Kirk Broadfoot | St Mirren | Free |
| 13 September 2019 | GK | Jamie MacDonald | Alloa Athletic | Loan |
| 1 October 2019 | MF | Adam Frizzell | Dumbarton | Loan |
| 10 January 2020 | MF | Dom Thomas | Dunfermline Athletic | Loan |
| 20 January 2020 | FW | Simeon Jackson | Stevenage | Free |
| 31 January 2020 | DF | Alex Bruce | Free Agent | Free |