Coulibaly to rescue as Killie turn it round

IT would be fair to say Souleymane Coulibaly has lost his status as the most high-profile Ivorian to arrive in Scottish football this summer. However, the Kilmarnock striker could be every bit as influential for the Rugby Park outfit as his countryman Kolo Toure will be in the colours of Celtic. Kilmarnock were on the cusp of a Betfred Cup exit when goals from Jonny Fairbairn and Sean Mackie gave League Two Berwick Rangers a lead. However, the 21-year-old hit back with two goals in five minutes to restore parity. The comeback was complete after 85 minutes when Rory McKenzie headed home the winner. Killie were stunned after 11 minutes when Fairbairn stooped to head home a Steven Thomson corner. With the visitors pushing for parity, Berwick doubled their lead with a slick counter-attack on 55 minutes, with Jordyn Sheerin finding Mackie and the leftback rifled a low shot beyond Oliver Davies. However, Killie showed resolve in the face of defeat and Coulibaly fired home to halve their arrears. The Ivorian rattled home another five minutes later before the turnaround was completed when McKenzie headed home. Killie boss Lee Clark said: ‘Coulibaly will be an exciting player for the fans. He is a really special talent. He can score every type of goal and for a little guy he has a great leap. ‘They are all a great bunch and superb to work with. I just need to find a way to get better performances out of them all. ‘I congratulate the players in the spirit but the performance was really below par. We got out of jail and must improve.’