Killie’s first post-split fixture was a 0-0 share of the spoils at Rugby Park against Hearts
A couple times in a battle Hearts largely dominated, they exhaled in relief. Halfway through the half, Kenneth Vargas rattled the bar, and a few moments later, Cammy Devlin curled a shot from the edge of the box that touched the corner of the bar and post.
Will Dennis did well to dive low and deny Jorge Grant after the break in a game of limited opportunities, while Marley Watkins wasted a fantastic opportunity to seal the victory for Killie at the last second. In the last seconds, Kevin van Veen set up the striker, but Zander Clark blocked his shot.
Despite acknowledging that it was a poor performance, the gaffer was eager to highlight the advantages, saying: “That could be a really important point for us.” I’ve told the players that we don’t have a crystal ball. Gaining points in the top six is challenging, particularly when the Old Firm is vying for the championship.
Because we play and compete as a unit, we conduct ourselves like a top six team. The question is what comes next, and that’s position four. We have a lot to gain when we take on the top teams in the league.
“We still have work to do, but hopefully by the time we play Celtic here, it will be solidified. We have two away games left at Ibrox and St. Mirren.”
“We weren’t at our best, but since we returned from the winter break, only Rangers have defeated us,” he continued. We shown our aggressiveness and eagerness to win the game.
We’re carrying a few strains, and some of our boys haven’t had the minutes on the training pitch we’d have liked. Two or three of our boys haven’t trained since the St Johnstone game a few weeks ago. I felt that we occasionally appeared a little odd and lanky, which made us feel a little uneasy. We have to do more than that in order to defeat Hearts, but in order to compete and still get points, that is what we have in the locker room.”
