Marley Watkins notched a controversial winner as Kilmarnock claimed a precious 1-0 victory over Dundee United.
A drab encounter that brought little in the way of opportunities sparked into life in the 72nd minute.
United goalkeeper Jack Walton misjudged the flight of the ball, allowing Watkins to nod the ball home. The visitors furiously appealed for a foul, but the goal would be allowed to stand following a VAR check.
The Rugby Park side have lifted themselves to ninth in the William Hill Premiership table – seven points ahead of St Johnstone, who occupy bottom spot.
Kilmarnock scored a controversial winner
United handed a debut to Allan Campbell, who signed from Charlton earlier in the week.
The former Motherwell midfielder almost made an immediate impact when he prodded just wide of the target after the Killie defence struggled to deal with Will Ferry’s long throw.
Neither keeper had been tested in the early exchanges. However, that would change in the 12th minute when Joe Wright brought out a tremendous save from Walton following a pin-point delivery from Watkins.
A superb driving run by Danny Armstrong ended with a shot which sailed well over before Derek McInnes was forced into a first-half substitution.
Brad Lyons came off the worst following an aerial challenge with Campbell, leading to the Killie skipper being replaced by Liam Polworth.
Chances were at a premium with neither side able to find any sort of fluency in the final stages of the first half.
Kilmarnock’s Marley Watkins celebrates the winner
Fraser Murray should have done better when he turned Armstrong’s cross over the bar, while at the other end an acrobatic effort by Ruari Paton landed just wide of the target.
There was a huge let-off for the hosts in the opening minutes of the second half when Luca Stephenson won possession in a dangerous area, but was let down by a slack pass at a crucial moment.
The woodwork came to Killie’s rescue just before the hour mark. Ferry’s throw-in found Sam Dalby, who was unlucky to see his header strike the crossbar with Kieran O’Hara beaten.
Killie opened the scoring with 18 minutes remaining in what was a moment to forget for Walton.
David Watson’s cross skipped up off Declan Gallagher and Watkins rose above the United keeper to head the ball home.
The United players were adamant Walton had been fouled and surrounded referee David Dickinson, though the goal was allowed to stand.
Jim Goodwin threw caution to the wind in search of a leveller, introducing Kristijan Trapanovski and Glenn Middleton from the bench.
The move nearly paid off after Middleton found himself bearing down on goal, but he attempted to square the ball for Dalby when a shot on goal looked to be the better option.
There was a nervous finish for the home supporters as their side survived a VAR check for a possible handball in the final seconds before the full-time sparked celebrations inside Rugby Park.
What the managers said…
Dundee Utd manager Jim Goodwin…
“The real frustration is the manner of the goal we concede.
“I’ve watched it now from numerous different angles and I can’t understand how the guys in the VAR studio don’t rule that one out or at least ask the referee to come view the monitor.
“Jack Walton is trying to get off the ground and it’s impossible because the Kilmarnock forward’s arm is across his face before he heads it into the goal.
“It wasn’t the scoreline we were hoping for, if the game had finished 0-0 then I don’t think there would have been many complaints from myself or Derek.”
Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes:
“The goal is scabby and it’s untidy from their point of view. There’s nothing controversial about it, the keeper should be stronger.
“We’ve played so much better and not got anything from the game.
“I think Dundee United were better than us in the first half, they looked like a team that had taken confidence from where they are in the league.
“There are different ways of winning games. At this stage of the season and in the context of where we are, we showed so many aspects to get the job done.
“The result oversees everything, it’s a magnificent result and one that we were badly needing.”
Story of the match
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