10 OUT OF 10
Del hails ‘heroic’ Killie as they hold on after red card
Derek McInnes hailed his 10- man Killie heroes after ending a two-month wait for a league win with a triumph over adversity against Hearts.
The Rugby Park boss believes the manner of the performance as well as three priceless points have boosted their hopes of beating the drop as they pulled themselves four points ahead of second bottom Ross County.
Lawrence Shankland’s opener was cancelled out by Danny Armstrong’s penalty before Christian Doidge’s winner completed the fightback as the hosts hung on despite skipper Rory McKenzie’s second-half red card and McInnes was left beaming.
He said: “It was heroic at times. I thought the effort was brilliant and the connection with the support was there and we are going to need that. It was a very good day’s work for us. It was a thoroughly deserved win. All the subs played their parts too.
“We restricted a very strong Hearts team littered with top players to very little. It felt like we were always on the edge and we were playing last minute football for 40 minutes or so.
“The support got behind the team too. The fans have been fortunate because our home form would get us into Europe. It’s been out of this world. But our away form would get us relegated.
“Our away form has been nowhere near that. The fans ns got right behind us and it’s t’s going to take more of that in the coming weeks.”
“It was a real shot in the arm m for us to see the game out.”
Jambos netted against the he run of play in the seventh h minute and it was a selffinf licted wound as Jeriel l Dorsett gifted possession to o Shankland who cracked d home a low shot from the edge of the box.
The hosts almost levelled moments later when Jones found space inside the area but his strike was wayward when the Irishman should have been hitting the target.
Parity was restored in the 22nd minute as Killie were awarded a penalty af ter Zander Clark ’ s clumsy attempt to take the ball from the feet of Kyle Vassell after spilling Liam Donnelly’s shot and referee Euan Anderson correctly pointed to the spot to a llow Armst rong to emphatically drive the ball home.
Vassell’s headed attempt then scraped a post with Clark stranded as Killie continued to carry the greater threat.
Alan Forrest had a low shot for the visitors blocked but they found themselves behind seconds before the break.
Again it was a defensive calamity from Clark as he failed to make contact with the ball with an attempted punch at an Armstrong cross and Doidge nipped in to bundle home a second for his side off of his shin.
Clark wouldn’t reappear after a the interval as the Scotland S squad man made way w for Ross Stuart.
The game’s controversial f llashpoint arrived on the hour h mark as McKenzie was shown sh a straight red for a lunge lu on Jorge Grant as VAR did di little to halt any persecution tio complex burning within the th Ayrshire side after recent decisions de which haven’t gone their th way.
Hearts H rarely looked like finding fin an equaliser as the hosts ho dug in to secure a deserved de victory.