Danny steps up to cure Killie’s fears of a lengthy hangover
Kilmarnock stopped the rot, ending a run of three defeats with a hard-fought but merited victory, one which satisfied home manager Derek Mcinnes.
This win, courtesy of the by-now traditional VAR penalty award, means that his team have taken 14 of their 15 points this season at Rugby Park and the result allows them to go into the five-week World Cup break feeling better about themselves.
“I’m delighted,” Mcinnes said. “It’s been a tough couple of days since losing to United and going into the break after that would have been the worst hangover ever.
“This is the best cure. The win was the antidote. We needed to have life and passion about us, which we didn’t have at Tannadice.
“We used the anger and disappointment of that game and tried to channel it. Once we spoke on Thursday morning, I never mentioned it again – it was all about this game.
“The crowd were great and we dealt with Hibs’ pressure at the end. They were desperate and we had to deal with a lot but we did that.”
Mcinnes made three substitutions after only 34 minutes during his side’s 4-0 defeat by Dundee United at Tannadice in midweek and his displeasure at that display was underlined here when he made seven changes (two enforced) to his starting XI.
His opposite number, Lee Johnson, replaced only three of the side who began their 2-0 home defeat by Ross County on Tuesday.
It was the visitors who looked the sharper at the outset and Mykola Kukharevych was inches away from connecting with Chris Cadden’s inviting cross as it flashed across the face of Sam Walker’s goal.
Once Kilmarnock began to look lively, Marijan Cabraja collected a yellow card for clattering Danny Armstrong in the 12th minute. That was followed by Nohan Kenneh almost slicing Blair Alston’s driven cross into his own net.
At the other end, Ukrainian striker Mykola Kukharevych had the ball in the net with a cute finish from Elias Melkersen’s cutback in the 24th minute but assistantreferee Dougie Potter flagged for offside, a call confirmed by VAR.
The home side became bolder but that wasn’t matched with a rise in their creativity. However, neither team was playing with the confidence required to try anything out of the ordinary so ordinary was what we were left with.
Paul Hanlon should have given Hibs the lead three minutes after the restart when he was left with a free header from a Joe Newell corner but couldn’t adjust his head and he missed the target by yards.
They were to pay for squandering that opportunity when the hosts took the lead in controversial fashion. Liam Polworth was caught from behind by Cabraja as he was leaving the penalty area.
It was a senseless challenge to begin with but it became worse when, after yet another interminable delay (three minutes), VAR decided the offence had been committed just inside the 18-yard box and the ref pointed to the spot.
Danny Armstrong, Killie’s top scorer, signed a two-year extension to his contract on Friday and celebrated by sending David Marshall the wrong way with his penalty to claim his eighth goal of the campaign.
Ryan Porteous, who had already been booked for a moment of rashness, could then have seen red for an act of simulation but the defender escaped on that occasion.
Melkersen wasn’t too far away with an acrobatic overhead kick but Hibs hadn’t worked Sam Walker at all in the second half, although the keeper ought to have been made to pay when he flapped at a corner.