Kilmarnock have been left pissed off by Motherwell as they have been held to a goalless draw at Rugby Park within the William Hill Premiership.
It was removed from a basic however the Ayrshire aspect deserved all three factors as they dominated their opponents.
Kilmarnock had 16 pictures, 14 corners and a purpose dominated out – appropriately – however they may not discover a well past a resolute Motherwell defence.
Derek McInnes’ males might have entered the highest six with a victory, however remained ninth with Motherwell holding on for a degree to consolidate their place in fifth.
Kilmarnock spurned a gilt-edged alternative to open the scoring after simply three minutes when Marley Watkins miscued from 10 yards from Fraser Murray’s intelligent cut-back.
The hosts continued their vibrant begin and Corrie Ndaba’s drilled cross was virtually skewed into his personal internet by Liam Gordon.
From the ensuing nook, Aston Oxborough produced a exceptional reflex save to claw away Joe Wright’s goalbound effort earlier than Ewan Wilson hooked the ball off the road.
After weathering an early storm, Motherwell grew into the sport and Tony Watt pressured Robby McCrorie into a snug low save within the twenty fourth minute after good work from Tawanda Maswanhise.
Killie thought that they had damaged the impasse simply three minutes later when Brad Lyons stabbed residence after a wonderful run from Murray nevertheless it was dominated offside after a VAR assessment.
There was extra frustration for Kilmarnock minutes later when referee Don Robertson waved away their penalty appeals for handball in opposition to Kofi Balmer and the VAR officers agreed.
Kilmarnock had greater than 70 per cent possession within the first half and so they got here agonisingly near finally getting the purpose their efficiency deserved on the stroke of half-time when Lyons’ header rebounded off the bar.
It was an uneventful begin to the second half however Killie went shut once more after 54 minutes when Wright flashed a header broad from a nook earlier than McCrorie once more denied Motherwell striker Watt’s low effort.
There was a definite lack of high quality from both aspect all through the sport however the second half was particularly abject with Motherwell clearly lacking the guile of their talisman Lennon Miller.
Kilmarnock continued to push for the opener because the second half progressed and Oxborough made one other good save to disclaim Watkins from shut vary after 75 minutes.
Motherwell launched new signing Kai Andrews for the latter levels and he regarded to burst into the field within the eighty fifth minute with the ball invitingly falling to Watt however he dragged his shot nicely broad.
And simply minutes later, one other substitute wasted an opportunity to grow to be the hero when Bruce Anderson fired broad on the flip contained in the field earlier than Killie virtually gained it in stoppage time.
Bobby Wales’ glorious cut-back discovered Jack Burroughs eight yards out with the purpose gaping however Dan Casey made an excellent block to earn his aspect a hard-fought level.
The managers
Kilmarnock’s Derek McInnes:
“Draws should feel like losses at home and it felt like that tonight. It was one-way traffic and we completely grabbed hold of the game. Everything that we worked on was there but you need to find a way to score.
“Motherwell defended nicely, we received a purpose disallowed and hit the bar. It is onerous to be vital when the one side lacking was the ultimate half however now we have to verify they’re successful performances.
“We need to score more goals when we dominate games like that to get to where we want to be as a team. You aren’t always going to dominate games like that but when you do, you need to take your chances.
“The previous couple of video games have felt like missed alternatives for us as a result of we might have moved into the highest six tonight.
“I thought we should have had a penalty. Balmer’s hand was out and away from his body so I’m surprised that it wasn’t looked at.
“I by no means noticed it on the time however once I received to my telephone, I had about 10 messages. My analyst confirmed the replay to me and I assumed it was.”
Motherwell’s Stuart Kettlewell:
“It was [an uncomfortable watch] in some ways. If I am brutally trustworthy, Kilmarnock have been the higher aspect, created the higher probabilities and had higher management within the sport.
“I felt that we never got started and we let them come onto us. They got too many balls into our box and we relied on our goalkeeper too much tonight.
“He was sensational and also you want that within the league however we have performed rather a lot higher and misplaced this season. It was our second clear sheet on the bounce and we’re solely three factors off third.”
