We were made to rue wasted chances as the hosts edged a tightly contested affair. 

Kilmarnock 1 (Watkins 72')

Dundee United 0

5.45pm Saturday 1 February 2025

Rugby Park

William Hill Premiership

Images: Richard Wiseman (Club Photographer)

The Team Talk

Jim Goodwin made two changes following last weekend's defeat at the hands of Rangers. 

New signing Allan Campbell was straight in alongside Vicko Ševelj in midfield, whilst Emmanuel Adegboyega returned to the starting 11. 

Glenn Middleton and Kai Fotheringham were the ones who missed out - the latter not involved in this evening's matchday squad. 

Ross Docherty was back among the substitutes after last being involved against St Mirren three weeks ago.  

Nip and Tuck

It was The Terrors who started brightly, fashioning a chance within the opening minute of the match. 

A trademark long throw from Will Ferry caused a scramble in the box and it was forced just inches wide of the mark by Campbell who almost had his dream start.

Jack Walton was forced into his first stop on 12 minutes as a low cross was cushioned towards goal by Joe Wright and palmed behind by our number one. 

A surging run from Danny Armstrong gave the hosts their next chance to break the deadlock, but after driving into space, he fired over the bar from the edge of the United penalty area.

There was little other action barring an aerial clash between Campbell and Brad Lyons, which eventually forced the Killie captain off following some on-field treatment. 

Ruari Paton went close to rippling the net just ahead of four additional minutes with a stretching, acrobatic effort which landed just wide of the post but we went in level after a competitive first half. 

Seeking Command

We squandered a golden opportunity when Luca Stephenson pounced to steal possession and surged towards the Killie box five minutes from the restart. However, a moment of indecision proved costly as a blue and white shirt intercepted his pass for Paton before Adegboyega was shown the first caution of the evening for stopping the resultant counter. 

Dalby almost had his 12th of the season nine minutes later as he met another Ferry throw and nodded it onto the crossbar!

Behind in Angst

We made a double-switch just before falling behind as Paton and Stephenson made way for Louis Moult and Lewis Fiorini. 

 Killie’s opener came with just under 20 minutes to play when a ball into the box was hooked high into the Ayrshire sky. Marley Watkins rose above Walton to nod it home, though it appeared to be a clear foul on our goalkeeper, who was impeded by an arm across his face in the aerial duel. Surprisingly, there was no on-field review.

Ryan Strain came agonisingly close to an equaliser when he connected with a teasing Ferry cross, but he was underneath it all the way and couldn’t keep his header down sending it over the bar from close range.

Middleton and Kristijan Trapanovski were brought on for Emmanuel Adegboyega and Campbell as we pushed to level the score.

Our number 15 nearly created the breakthrough we craved when the ball fell kindly for him on the byline, but his pass across goal had too much pace and flew just beyond the lurking Dalby in the six-yard box.

Our last-gasp hopes rested on a VAR check for a possible United penalty in the final minute of added time, but it was waved away as David Dickinson called time. 

Post-Match Thoughts

Teamlines

Kilmarnock

Starting XI: O’Hara, Ndaba, Wright, Mayo, Lyons (c), Armstrong, Watson, Murray, Magennis, Watkins, Wales

Subs: Glavin, Deas, McKenzie, Mackay-Steven, Anderson, Ramsay, Donnelly, Brown, Polworth

Dundee United

Starting XI: Walton, Strain, Holt, Ševelj, Ferry, Adegboyega, Stephenson, Dalby, Paton, Campbell, Gallagher (c)

Subs: Richards, Graham, Trapanovski, Fiorini, Moult, Babunski, Middleton, van der Sande, Docherty

Next Up

With no fixture next weekend, we're back to business in a fortnight as we travel to Celtic Park for the second time in as many months.

Full ticket details can be found HERE! 

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