Kilmarnock 0-1 Heart of Midlothian: Three things we learned

The players warm up ahead of the Premiership encounter

Hearts extended their winning run to four Premiership games with a narrow victory over Kilmarnock at a wintery Rugby Park thanks to a Will Dennis own-goal. Let’s look at what stood out:

In-form Hearts take advantage of a goalkeeping howler

The hosts started relatively well but didn’t create any opportunities of note. This would come back to bite Kilmarnock as Hearts took advantage of some hesitation in their backline. Lawrence Shankland got in behind, had a shot and forced the mistake from Kilmarnock ‘keeper Will Dennis, who allowed the ball to trickle over the line to give the away side the lead after 18 minutes.

 

The travelling Jam Tarts faithful will undoubtedly have been delighted when they took the lead, thanks to the good work of Shankland. Even more so since Shankland’s strike partner, Liam Boyce, left the field with an injury after half an hour.

 

Things almost went from bad to worse for Dennis in the Killie goal as he wiped out onrushing Hearts attacker, Yutaro Oda. Referee David Dickinson showed the shot-stopper a yellow card. VAR was consulted but Dickinson’s on-field decision stood. That may have been because Oda was found to have been offside, sparing the blushes of Dennis, Derek McInnes and the home support.

 

Hearts, despite their superiority in terms of the scoreline, and ultimately the result, may be disappointed with how little they created throughout the game. Steven Naismith's side only had a single shot on target.

Killie aren’t unbeatable at home

It is well-known within Scottish football the Kilmarnock are a force to be reckoned with at Rugby Park, but they struggle on the road. Only Celtic have a better home record than the Ayrshire side so far this season. This was only their second home defeat of the campaign.

 

Hearts proved that Killie are indeed beatable at home but are a tough nut to crack. Killie’s main men were rather quiet. Danny Armstrong showed his quality in flashes, but the Hearts defence had him well marshalled. Killie’s two strikers, Marley Watkins and captain Kyle Vassell were also starved of service.

 

The home side’s best chance of the afternoon came in second-half stoppage time when Stuart Findlay rose highest to meet Armstong's corner. His header went over the bar. Findlay’s headed effort effectively summed up the game in an attacking sense: Plenty of endeavour but lacking in quality and conviction.

Killie drop out the top six as Hearts climb to third

With this result, Kilmarnock sit in seventh place in the Premiership, with Dundee a point ahead of them after their 3-3 draw with Motherwell. With a trip to Pittodrie in midweek and Celtic travelling to East Ayrshire next weekend, this is a significant opportunity missed by the Ayrshire side.

 

The Jambos will be delighted to have climbed to third in the table, creating a platform which they will be keen to build upon in the hope they don’t give up that spot. They will be aiming to continue their impressive run when they welcome Rangers to Tynecastle on Wednesday before travelling to Aberdeen next weekend.

SportLaurie Finlayson