St Mirren vs Kilmarnock. Scottish Premiership.
The SMiSA StadiumAttendance6,785.
Match report as Rory McKenzie, Kyle Lafferty and Jordan Jones are all denied by Trevor Carson as Kilmarnock are held to a 0-0 draw by St Mirren, who miss out on third spot in the Scottish Premiership as a result
Saturday 15 October 2022 20:38, UK
St Mirren missed the chance to move back into third place in the cinch Premiership table after being held to a 0-0 draw at home by Kilmarnock.
Stephen Robinson's men had goalkeeper Trevor Carson to thank for making a number of big second-half saves to earn his team a point.
Saints' best chance fell to Curtis Main late in the first period but he headed wide.
They made two changes from the team beaten by Rangers at Ibrox. In came Ryan Strain and Jonah Ayunga, with Alex Greive and Alex Gogic making way.
Kilmarnock also made two changes from their draw with Hearts. Out went Lewis Mayo and Ben Chrisene, replaced by Joe Wright and Ryan Alebiosu.
The visitors had the first chance of the game, Ash Taylor heading over from right in front of goal from a Jordan Jones cross.
Strain then turned creator at the other end with a pass to Ayunga whose shot from a tight angle was saved by Zach Hemming in the visitors' goal.
It was a cagey first half with both teams cancelling each other out.
But Killie came close to opening the scoring when Alebiosu's shot from Danny Armstrong's pass went just wide of the far post.
Main then created some space for himself in a rare St Mirren attack, with his subsequent shot deflected for a corner.
Both teams were struggling to get into the opponents' box and Blair Alston was forced into a long-range effort that Carson grasped.
Hemming was then forced into an even better save at the other end, touching Strain's half-volley from the edge of the box over his crossbar.
The Australian cap's cross was then knocked down by Main only for Ayunga to fluff his shot.
Main then came within inches of breaking the deadlock before half-time but could not steer his header from Scott Tanser's cross on target.
Kilmarnock could have gone in front 10 seconds after the restart. Mark O'Hara's kick-off was poorly controlled by Charles Dunne whose attempted clearance was blocked by Kyle Lafferty.
The striker bore down on goal but could not get his shot beyond Northern Ireland team-mate Carson.
The visitors were on top at the start of the second half and Armstrong's curling effort went just wide.
The same player then saw his driven shot from a short free-kick blocked by Ayunga right in front of goal.
It was all Kilmarnock at this point. Carson had to make another brilliant stop to deny Rory McKenzie and then Jones in quick succession as St Mirren clung on desperately.
The home side had one final late chance but Declan Gallagher headed wide.
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "It certainly wasn't a classic and I have to be honest and say we didn't perform today.
"Killie probably deserved to win the game. Trevor Carson gets us a point today. His two saves were fantastic.
"He's an international goalkeeper so we expect that from him but that's why we brought him to the club. We owe him the point today.
"When you have eight or nine players not at the top of their game as we had today…you can carry one or two but not eight or nine. They're a group of honest boys and they accept that. They know they can be better than that. For whatever reason they didn't perform to their best levels today."
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "I'm not going to make the players feel any worse about themselves after missing good chances but I felt we put so much into the game.
"In the Premiership, your number nine and your goalkeeper normally wins you points when you're not doing so well. Stephen's pleased with his own goalkeeper and I can see where he's coming from. He made a couple of great saves.
"We got a lot from the game apart from the all-important win. We dealt with St Mirren's physical presence. We knew we would have to overcome a team who has started the season well. But coming here, we were very good.
"We were very assured, brave on the ball, good athleticism on the sides but we never got the goal. We'll take the point, the clean sheet and it keeps us unbeaten in the last three games."
Kilmarnock host Dundee United in the Premier Sports Cup on Tuesday night before returning to league duty against Ross County on 22 October.
St Mirren host Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership on the same day. Both matches kick-off at 3pm.
