Kilmarnock were left frustrated by Motherwell as they went goalless at Rugby Park in the William Hill Premiership.
It was far from a classic, but the Ayrshire side deserved all three points as they dominated their opponents.
Kilmarnock had 16 shots, 14 corners and a goal disallowed – rightly so – but they couldn’t find a way past Motherwell’s resolute defence.
Derek McInnes’ side could have moved into the top six with a win, but remained ninth with Motherwell holding on for a point and cementing their place in fifth.
Kilmarnock spurned a great chance to open the scoring after just three minutes when Marley Watkins mistimed a 10-yard shot from Fraser Murray’s clever shot.
The hosts continued their great start, and Liam Gordon almost cleared Corrie Ndaba’s cross into his own net.
From the ensuing corner, Aston Oxborough pulled off an incredible reflex save from Joe Wright before Ewan Wilson hooked the ball off the line.
After weathering the early storm, Motherwell grew into the game and Tony Watt forced Robby McCrorie into a comfortable low save in the 24th minute after good work from Tawande Maswanhise.
Killie thought they had broken the deadlock just three minutes later when Brad Lyons scored after a great run from Murray, but it was ruled offside after a VAR review.
There was more frustration for Kilmarnock minutes later when referee Don Robertson dismissed their appeals for a handball penalty against Kofi Balmer, the VAR officials agreeing.
Kilmarnock had more than 70 per cent of the possession in the first half and were agonizingly close to getting the goal their performance deserved on the stroke of half-time when Lyons’ header bounced off the crossbar.
The start to the second half was uneventful, but Killie went close again after 54 minutes when Wright headed in a corner before McCrorie again parried a low shot from Motherwell striker Watt.
There was a clear lack of quality from both sides throughout the game, but the second half was particularly unfortunate as Motherwell clearly missed the guile of their talisman Lennon Miller.
Kilmarnock continued to push for the opener as the second half progressed and Oxborough produced another good save to keep out Watkins from close range after 75 minutes.
Motherwell introduced new signing Kai Andrews for the closing stages and he looked set to burst into the box in the 85th minute with the ball invitingly falling to Watt but he pulled his shot wide.
And just minutes later, another substitute squandered a chance to be a hero when Bruce Anderson fired wide on a move inside the box before Killie almost won in stoppage time.
Bobby Wales’ excellent cut-back found Jack Burroughs eight yards in front of goal, but Dan Casey produced an outstanding block to earn his side a hard-fought point.
Managers
Derek McInnes of Kilmarnock:
“Dies should feel like losses at home, and tonight was the case. The traffic was one-way and we completely grabbed the game. Everything we worked for was there, but you have to find a way to score.
“Motherwell defended well, we had a goal disallowed and we hit the bar. It’s hard to be critical when the only aspect missing was the finishing, but we have to make sure they win.
“We need to score more goals when we dominate games like this to get to where we want to be as a team. You’re not always going to dominate games like this, but when you do you have to take your chances.
“The last few games felt like missed opportunities because tonight we could have been in the top six.
“I thought we should have had a penalty. Balmer’s hand was out and away from his body so I’m surprised it wasn’t looked at.
“I didn’t see it at the time, but when I got to my phone, I had about 10 messages. My analyst showed me the replay and I thought it was.”
Stuart Kettlewell from Motherwell:
“It was [an uncomfortable watch] in many ways. If I’m brutally honest, Kilmarnock were the better side, created the better chances and had better control of the game.
“I felt we never got going and let them attack us. They got too many balls into our box and we relied too much on our goalkeeper tonight.
“He was sensational and you need that in the league, but we played a lot better and lost this season. It was our second clean sheet on the rebound and we’re just three points off third place.”
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