Former Kilmarnock man Lee Erwin haunted his former side as he netted in the dying moments to secure a 1-0 Ross County win.
Chances were few and far between in the first 25 minutes, with a missed Dario Del Fabro chance for Killie the closest either team came to scoring before Brian Graham had a few decent efforts shortly afterwards.
Graham missed a chance. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
County were building pressure and Stewart had a good shot denied by Laurentiu Branescu. Into the second half and the chances lessened as a scrappy affair began to play out. Connor Johnson and Eamonn Brophy then had two golden opportunities that missed the net.
Lee Erwin missed one of the game’s best chance, flashing a powerful effort inches past the post. He made up for that in the final moments though, converting the ball into the net after a late effort came crashing off the bar. Kilmarnock are in fifth with this result whilst County find themselves in seventh.
Here are three things we learned.
End to end first
There was just one goal but the game was rocking from side to side regardless. As soon as County were on the attack, Killie were firing right back at the other end.
Brophy was causing trouble. (photo by Alan Rennie/Action Plus via Getty Images)
Alessio was hitting County down the flanks whilst the Staggies were opting for a more direct approach with Graham, Billy McKay and the towering Stewart. They created spaces but none were fully exploited.
Both sides had chances to break the deadlock and eventually County got it.
Johnson impresses on rare start
On what was only his second appearance and start in Killie colours, the Wolves loanee did a decent job in the heart of Alessio’s defence. He replaced Alex Bruce from last weekend’s draw with St Johnstone.
Rare start. (Photo by Sam Bagnall – AMA/Getty Images)
Whilst he did pick up a booking, Johnson matched the County frontline physically, competed well in the air and made sure not many dribbles got past him.
It contributed to a collectively strong defensive effort from the Ayrshire side as they grinded out another point. He did, however, miss a big chance in the second half as he headed over the bar from all of a few yards.
Even nature reflects Kilmarnock and Ross County league standings
With a home win at the Global Energy Stadium, both sides remain extremely close in the table. Killie sit above the Highland side by one point following this result.
Kettlewell’s men earned their draw. (Photo by David Young/Action Plus via Getty Images)
They were even all over the park. Both defences were matching the attacks whilst a good scrap was contested in the middle without an overwhelming victor from it.
On the balance of play a draw was probably a fair result but County won’t care one bit as they take all the points from this tight clash.