Alan Cochrane @ Rugby Park

With over three quarters of the game gone, Killie were a goal down and looking unlikely to get anything out of it. They had started well enough but apart from a Nish near post flick which was cleared off the line, Dundee United had covered and smothered, and by the middle of the first half had drawn most of the sting from the home attack. They also started the second half the better, and when they went ahead on 49 minutes it was no surprise, although Killie were the authors of their own misfortune. A terrible back pass, a defensive guddle, and Noel Hunt slipped through to knock in a simple chance.

Jim Jefferies brought on first David Fernandez and then Willie Gibson, and while they certainly improved things, it was referee Brian Winter who had the biggest contribution after 76 minutes. The referee had not been having the best night of his career up to that point, with some unusual, even perverse, decisions, but when he brandished a straight red card to left back Christian Kalvanes for what looked like a robust but fair challenge, United's resolve waned, and Kilmarnock's waxed.

The change of personnel was beginning to take effect anyway, with Frazer Wright thundering a cut-back from Steven Naismith off the top edge of the bar, and Colin Nish stepping inside the defence and curling a shot wide of the far post, but it was the unbalancing of the United defence which had the biggest impact on the game. The ref had actually given notice of his attitude throughout by not allowing much in the way of muscular football, and had already booked both Darren Dods and Frazer Wright when others may have decided the tackles were fair. Between that, and the extra pressure being exerted by the home attack, the young Norwegian was unfortunate, and his club will certainly appeal the decision. Two minutes after the sending off, Fernandez held up a ball in the United box, rolled it back to Willie Gibson, and the Dumfries youngster opened his Killie account with a fine drive.

Four minutes from time the three points were sealed when Frazer Wright slammed in a cross from the left and Colin Nish got ahead of the defence to get the daintiest of flicks, and guide the ball past Szamotulski.

Jim Jefferies was relieved and delighted to get the points, because he felt we could have been two down at half time. United played well, but the sending off gave us the impetus to go and get something from the game, and we had a great last 20 minutes where we took advantage of the extra man.

Jim didn't want to talk about the referee because you get into trouble, but Craig Levein had trouble talking about anything else. He just couldn't understand the sending off, because he didn't think it was a foul. Killie were looking for a spark to lift them, and the referee did that for them. To say he was disappointed was an understatement. He was gutted.

Kilmarnock: Combe, Lilley, Wright, Ford, Naismith, Nish, Wales (Gibson), Johnston, Dodds (Fernandez), O'Leary, Hamill

Dundee United: Szamotulski, Dillon, Kalvanes, Wilkie, Dods, Hunt (Goodwillie), Robson, Robertson, Conway (Duff), Gomis, Bauben

Referee: Brian Winter