Alan Cochrane @ Rugby Park

The ball wouldn't drop, the ball wouldn't sit up, there was a last gasp tackle, we didn't get any of the three penalties we could have. Sound like a hard luck story? Well it was; in a way. If lady luck was smiling at Motherwell a fortnight ago, she was looking the other way and scowling today.

Both teams were short of regular players, with Killie missing Fowler, Hay, Invincibile, Skora and O'Leary to name but a few, and that's without bringing up the two million pound "N" word, which meant that we started with FIVE changes from the side that narrowly lost to Rangers last week. One of them was new signing Ryan Jarvis, and while he wasn't always as involved as he would have liked, and was replaced by David Fernandez after an hour, he did enough in his partnership with Colin Nish up front to suggest there might be a bit to come from the player who was an English schools and youth internationalist.

While there were no goals in the first period it was open and fluid, and Killie had the better of the exchanges. A Jarvis head flick from a Gibson cross grazed the back post, a penalty shout was waived away when Nish appeared to be pulled back, and Rhian Dodds watched in anguish as a blistering shot scraped over the bar. And yet the best chance fell to Aberdeen just before the break when Combe was tempted out of his area, Smith fired in a cross, and Lovell headed wide with the goal gaping.

Aberdeen started the second half much more purposefully, and after having a couple of shots comfortably saved by Combe, got their reward seven minutes in. Killie didn't deal properly with a Smith corner and Lee Miller took advantage of the slackness to flick the ball past Combe into the net. That set up what was practically a siege for the rest of the game, but Aberdeen got their defence packed, and between that and some sheer good fortune, they held Killie out. Gibson, who was rightly adjudged man of the match, teased and prodded down the left, Wales and Nish worked tirelessly, and Fernandez tricked and feinted his way through, but no gaps appeared. A couple of penalty claims were ignored, and Foster headed a Johnston volley off the line which I doubt he even saw, but it wasn't Kilmarnock's day. Just to prove it, Gary Wales got stretchered off with 5 minutes left.

Jimmy Calderwood thought his side were fortunate to get all the points, and even he was surprised that Killie didn't get at least one penalty. Jim Jefferies was annoyed at the way we lost the goal, but praised his players for the way they knuckled down and kept trying right to the death to get at least a share of the spoils. And that "N" word? He reckons he's just got to find another Naismith. It must help to be an optimist if you're a Killie manager.

Kilmarnock: Combe, Lilley, Wright, Ford, Nish, Wales (Koudou), Johnston, Murray, Dodds, Gibson, Jarvis (Fernandez)

Aberdeen: Soutar, Hart, McNamara, Considine, Foster, Smith, Nicholson, Clark, Young (Mackie), Miller, Lovell (Touzani)

Referee: Stephen Finnie