Aberdeen 2-1 Kilmarnock: Dons extend unbeaten run with comeback victory in Scottish Premiership
Match report as Aberdeen’s improved form in the Scottish Premiership continued with a 2-1 comeback victory over struggling Kilmarnock, whose winless run stretched to 10 games
Sunday 14 December 2025 18:26, UK
Aberdeen’s improved form in the Scottish Premiership continued with a 2-1 comeback victory over struggling Kilmarnock, whose winless run stretched to 10 games.
The Dons toiled in the first period and were fortunate to trail by just one goal at the interval after Tyreece John-Jules opened the scoring for the visitors.
But the hosts upped the tempo in the second half and Kenan Bilalovic levelled before Jesper Karlsson tucked home a late penalty to extend their unbeaten league run to seven matches.
- Teams | Stats
- Got Sky? Watch now on the Sky Sports app 📱
- Not got Sky? Get instant access with no contract 📺
- Scottish Premiership table | Watch Premiership highlights for free
Aberdeen, following their narrow Europa League Conference defeat to Strasbourg on Thursday, were sluggish from the start and Kilmarnock made them pay in the 16th minute.
Carelessness from Topi Keskinen saw the Finland international robbed by James Brown, who slipped ball through for John-Jules. The big striker kept his cool as he ran through on goal to clip the ball past the advancing Dimitar Mitov.
Liam Polworth then curled wide from just outside the box as Killie threatened a quickfire second.
The hosts could not get going and when referee Ross Hardie pointed to the spot in the 32nd minute - following an innocuous handball from Jack Milne, Kilmarnock thought they had the chance to double their lead.
However, after a VAR check, the official reversed his decision after being sent to the monitor.
It was a let-off for the Dons, who continued to live dangerously up until the interval as Bruce Anderson broke clear only for Mitov to make a crucial save.
Graeme Shinnie was introduced for Jimmy Thelin's men at half-time, in place of Alexander Jensen and the veteran almost made an immediate impact when his close-range shot and his follow-up effort were both cleared off the line.
Adil Aouchiche then rattled the woodwork in the 54th minute, his 12-yard volley had goalkeeper Tobi Oluwayemi beaten all ends up but the ball came back off the crossbar.
Aberdeen were much improved and Oluwayemi kept the visitors ahead in the 61st minute when he reacted superbly to deny Dante Polvara after initially spilling Karlsson's free-kick.
Deservedly, however, they drew level in the 78th minute through substitute Bilalovic, who netted his first goal for the club.
Kevin Nisbet beat the offside trap and - from the left side of the penalty area - he squared for the young Swede to stroke home from six yards.
The Dons turned the game around in the 85th minute after being awarded what appeared to be a soft spot-kick.
Brad Lyons was adjudged to have handled the ball following Armstrong's corner and Karlsson stepped up to slot the resulting penalty into the bottom corner.
Kilmarnock boss Kettlewell calls for clarity on handball rule
Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell called for clarity on the handball rule after two key decisions went against his side in defeat to Aberdeen.
Kettlewell, who was serving a one-match touchline ban following his red card in last week's defeat to Rangers, said: "When the referee points to the penalty spot and no Aberdeen player protests, then you are kind of thinking that this is clear cut but they have found some reason not to award what the referee has clearly seen from his line of vision.
"I've been a long time in this game as a player, a coach and a manager and I have absolutely no idea about it anymore in terms of what the guys are looking for.
"I don't have an understanding of what the handball rule is. I don't think any of the supporters do either and we need to be a bit fairer to the people around about football clubs, especially the people that pay their hard-earned cash.
"They must be able to come and understand what the rules are, but none of us do."
Meanwhile, Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin praised his players for their comeback after a much-improved second-half showing.
Thelin said: "Kilmarnock started the game really well but we talked more about ourselves at half-time, how we were acting, the body language.
"The quality and the connections were really poor and also [goalkeeper] Dimitar [Mitov] kept us in the game because Kilmarnock had a big chance to make it 2-0 at half-time. We were really in a bad situation but we decided not to change too much at half-time and instead give the players a chance to show that they can do better.
"Also [Graeme] Shinnie came on with positive energy and then Kenan [Bilalovic] and Marko Lazetic later as well.
"We were pushing really hard to win the game in the second half, creating very good chances and we can't forget about their goalkeeper making some good saves. I'm happy that we won in the end because it was a big turnaround from the first half to the second half."
