INT SPL - Scottish Premier League

[TXT]

Smith wants swift end to Miller talks

Rangers manager Walter Smith admits the prospect of Kenny Miller signing a pre-contract agreement with another club this month would result in an "awkward situation'' for all concerned.

The striker was left out of the squad for Monday night's 3-0 win over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup, as he and his representative held talks with both Birmingham and Fiorentina.

Rangers have already accepted an offer from the Midlands club but Miller could yet opt to go down the pre-contract route and wait until the summer when his current deal expires before quitting the Scottish champions.

"That would be a difficult issue for anybody, including the player, never mind the club, never mind anything else,'' Smith said. "But we are not the only club facing that, there are a whole load of clubs who face a situation where players maybe sign a pre-contract and are still with that club for the remaining three or four months of the season.

"It's an awkward situation for everybody concerned. If a player goes and signs a lucrative contract elsewhere and he remains at your club, it's a very difficult thing to go and ask him to go out and throw himself in front of some big ugly centre half. That's what makes the situation a difficult one. I would hope we would know quite soon exactly what we face.''

Regardless of what Miller decides, Smith wants a quick resolution to the situation. He added: "He's currently in negotiations with two clubs and we don't know what the outcome of those talks are going to be so we just have to wait and see.

"We don't know whether he's going to leave or not. It's a difficult situation to comment on because we don't know what's going to happen. Hopefully we will find out shortly.

"I didn't think it was the right thing for him to be involved in this game with so much going on around him. Hopefully that situation can be clarified within the next couple of days. We don't want it to drag on.''

 

[TXT]

Rangers to face Celtic

Rangers and Celtic will meet at Ibrox in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.

The Old Firm rivals were paired together in Tuesday's draw at Hampden and the match will be played on February 5 or 6.

Celtic avoided a cup shock when they defeated Berwick in the last round, while Rangers eased past Kilmarnock last night. Walter Smith's men will again have home advantage on their side but the memory of this month's defeat to Celtic at the same venue will still be fresh in the memory.

Their meeting is the only clear tie at the moment, with replays or re-arranged fixtures yet to determine to rest of the games.

Hibernian have a home game against either SPL rivals St Mirren or Peterhead if they can overcome Ayr United. Likewise, Edinburgh rivals Hearts will host Falkirk or Partick Thistle if they progress past St Johnstone in Tuesday's rearranged tie.

Queen of the South would face the longest journey if they defeat Brechin City, with a potential meeting with Highland League side Buckie awaiting them if they overcome East Stirling.

The other ties are Aberdeen v Montrose or Dunfermline, Inverness v Morton or Airdrie, Hamilton v Dundee United or Ross County, Stenhousemuir or Threave Rovers or Stranraer v Motherwell.

 

[TXT]

Hibernian 0 - 3 Celtic

Stokes back to haunt Hibs

Anthony Stokes scored twice on his return to Easter Road as SPL leaders Celtic claimed a comfortable win over Hibernian.

After setting up a 44th-minute opener for Gary Hooper, who was returning from an ankle injury, Stokes tucked in a 50th-minute penalty following a foul by Lewis Stevenson.

Stokes, who moved to Celtic last August after helping Hibs to fourth place last season, skilfully netted his second after 64 minutes to confirm a 12th league loss of the season for his former club.

A 15th win of the campaign consolidated Celtic's place at the top of the SPL and saw the Bhoys end a difficult week on a high.

Neil Lennon's men now have 49 points, but Rangers have three games in hand - four if you include this afternoon's clash with bottom club Hamilton.

Manager Lennon is appealing a six-match touchline ban imposed this week after he was sent to the stand by today's referee Craig Thomson during a defeat by Hearts in November.

The ban did not prevent Lennon from branding the performance of referee Willie Collum as "not good enough'' in the 1-1 draw at Hamilton on Wednesday night.

Collum was today in close proximity to Lennon - he was the fourth official.

Lennon was up against one of his former managers in Colin Calderwood, who was the Celtic boss' manager at Nottingham Forest and was seeking to improve a record of two wins in 12 games in charge at Easter Road.

After drawing 0-0 with Irn-Bru Second Division Ayr in the Scottish Cup last weekend, Hibs responded with a strong start against the SPL leaders.

David Wotherspoon headed wide from Stevenson's cross in the opening minute after the full-back had overlapped on the left before Derek Riordan hit a 30-yard free-kick over.

Celtic's first chance came when Emilio Izaguirre shot tamely at Mark Brown before Daniel Majstorovic inexplicably fluffed a free header from close range following Mark Wilson's free-kick.

The defender was played onside by Hibs' defence, but the ball bounced off his shoulder and head to go off target, much to Lennon's frustration.

Brown then saved with an outstretched leg from Hooper, who was played through by an incisive ball from Beram Kayal, a player earlier booked for fouling Ian Murray.

Hooper needed no second invitation, though, when netting moments later.

Stokes did well on the left of the area to feed his strike partner, whose first touch helped him evade marker Paul Hanlon and he coolly slotted in. It was his 12th goal of the season.

Early in the second half Majstorovic diverted Izaguirre's corner towards goal, with the ball held by Brown.

But Stevenson then scythed down Stokes a yard inside the penalty area after 49 minutes, referee Thomson pointing to the spot without hesitation.

Stokes stepped up and passed the ball straight down the middle of the goal to net for the 11th time since leaving Edinburgh for Glasgow last August.

Stokes shot off target from Paddy McCourt's pass after 56 minutes before Danny Galbraith had an effort ruled out for offside.

Majstorovic cleared off the line after Wotherspoon and Riordan combined before Wilson fouled Merouane Zemmama on the edge of the area. The Moroccan's free-kick was deflected wide.

McCourt then ran at the Hibs defence and made space for a shot, which Brown scrambled around the post.

From the resulting corner Stokes netted his second.

The striker brought down Izaguirre's cross and lofted the ball into the top corner beyond Brown.

It was yet another reminder of how much Hibs have missed his ability in a run which sees them perilously close to the relegation zone.

And he could have had a hat-trick after Francis Dickoh's header from Zemmama's corner was easily held by Fraser Forster.

The goalkeeper launched a counter attack and Stokes, played onside by the Hibs defence, went through one on one with Brown and lofted the ball over the goalkeeper, but Dickoh recovered to head off the line.

Freddie Ljungberg, on for Hooper, had a cross blocked in the area by Murray but Celtic's appeals for handball were ignored.

Forster tipped Duffy's flick from Galbraith's cross on to the bar to deny Hibs as Celtic banked more points, returning the pressure on Rangers.

 

[TXT]

Lennon full of praise

Manager Neil Lennon praised the collective improvement of his Celtic side. Lennon's men now have 49 points, but Rangers have three games in hand - four if you include Saturday's clash with bottom club Hamilton.

Lennon said: "It was pretty comprehensive in the end and but for better finishing it could've been a few more. We were a bit sloppy in the first 20 minutes and I thought once (Beram) Kayal got a grip on the game for us, he got us playing. He got our strikers in the game.''

Hooper was making his return from an ankle injury sustained against Kilmarnock before Christmas. Early indications suggested the former Scunthorpe striker could be out for the season, before a subsequent six-week prognosis.

"He gives the whole team a lift,'' added Lennon. "There were some big improvements in performance today - (James) Forrest, (Mark) Wilson, (Scott) Brown gave us what we know. Kayal was excellent for the time he was on; we just took him off because he was on a yellow and we didn't want to run that risk.''

Lennon also praised Stokes, but believes the striker should have netted a third.

"He's an instinctive player and that will have done him the world of good,'' added the Celtic boss. "Second half he was excellent. He was full of running and really should've got his hat-trick.''

The win was the high point at the end of a difficult week for Celtic. Manager Lennon - one of three intended targets to receive bullets in the post, along with fellow Northern Irishmen Niall McGinn and Paddy McCourt - is appealing a six-match touchline ban imposed this week after he was sent to the stand by today's referee Craig Thomson during a defeat by Hearts in November.

The ban did not prevent Lennon from branding the performance of referee Willie Collum as "not good enough'' in the 1-1 draw at Hamilton on Wednesday night.

Collum was today in close proximity to Lennon - he was the fourth official.

Asked to assess the performance of referee Thomson, Lennon said: "Happy enough - I'll leave it at that.''

Lennon was up against one of his former managers in Colin Calderwood, who was the Celtic boss' manager at Nottingham Forest. Calderwood now has a record of two wins and eight defeats from 13 games in charge at Easter Road, with Hibs perilously close to the foot of the standings. His side also face a tricky Scottish Cup replay at Second Division Ayr on Tuesday night. Calderwood again lamented the defensive weakness of his side.

"It's like a spinning wheel of mistakes and we're going through the full repertoire,'' he said. "The thing that makes it hard is that rotates around the players, but you accept that because we're a team. We should control that last period of the first half a lot better - the last thing you needed was the goal.

"The second half never got started because we conceded the penalty. Our organisation let us down, certainly for the third goal. But it would've been difficult from 2-0.''

 

[TXT]

Support for ten-team SPL

The Scottish Premier League has announced "broad support" for a ten-team Premiership and a 12-team Championship to be introduced as part of a revamp of Scottish Football.

All 12 top-flight clubs met at Hampden on Monday to discuss the best way forward for the game north of the border after initial proposals for a two-tier SPL of 10 teams in each division was met with opposition from some clubs.

A formal vote on the plans discussed at Monday's meeting could be taken in two months.

An SPL statement read: "The Scottish Premier League clubs today reaffirmed their commitment to the work of the Strategic Review Group to develop a structure for the whole of Scottish football.

"Broad support was given to progressing a ten-team Premiership and a 12-team Championship at the top of a pyramid for Scottish football as the preferred option.

"The SPL clubs have asked the executive team to further develop aspects of these proposals and to update the Strategic Review Group's report. The SPL will now consult with the Scottish FA and the Scottish Football League and its clubs before a final decision by the SPL clubs."

Dundee United, Kilmarnock and Inverness had publicly expressed their opposition to a ten-team top flight, while those plans were not fully endorsed by Hearts.

A Supporters Direct poll also revealed that almost 90% of fans polled were opposed to a ten-team top division, but SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster hopes the latest proposals can lead to a consensus being reached.

He said: "Clearly when clubs haven't got a detailed, finalised plan in front of them, then we need to understand that clubs want to reserve their final position and need to see a final document in front of them before they can give their ringing endorsement, but all 12 clubs have agreed to the statement today so hopefully this gives us a mandate to move forward."

 

[TXT]

Celtic take advantage of Rangers slip

Anthony Stokes' 12th goal of the season handed Celtic a 1-0 win over Aberdeen and coupled with Rangers' defeat at Hearts it allowed Neil Lennon's side to tighten their grip on the SPL title race.

The home side, buoyed by the Light Blues' defeat at Hearts earlier in the day, sprang out of the traps and in the 27th minute the Hoops striker ran on to a Gary Hooper pass to round Dons keeper Jamie Langfield before stroking into an empty net.

The second half was less convincing and there were a couple of nervy moments for Celtic before the win was confirmed. However, Stokes' strike was ultimately enough to widen the gap at the top of the table over the Ibrox men, who lost at Hearts earlier in the day, although the champions have two games in hand.

Ryan Stevenson grabbed the only goal of the game as Hearts continued their bid to be taken seriously as title contenders with a 1-0 win over Rangers.

The win allowed the Jambos to move to within two points of the Scottish champions and strengthen their case for a three-way fight for the championship, or to at least split the Old Firm this season.

Defeat at Tynecastle denied Rangers the opportunity to move into pole position ahead of Celtic's game later in the day, with the Hoops next up to face Hearts.

Merouane Zemmama missed a penalty as Hibernian became further embroiled in relegation trouble after conceding two goals from set-pieces to lose 2-0 at Motherwell.

Jamie Murphy and Steven Saunders both headed home inswinging Stevie Hammell deliveries midway through the first half to earn Stuart McCall his first Clydesdale Bank Premier League win as Motherwell manager.

Zemmama blazed over from the spot a minute before half-time, and Hibs failed to seriously test Darren Randolph despite enjoying the territorial advantage in the second period.

With half of Hibernian's four wins this season coming against Motherwell, they may have welcomed the trip to Fir Park following their midweek Scottish Cup exit against Ayr. But the concession of soft goals and their inability to make possession count suggest they are in for a relegation battle after falling to second bottom of the SPL.

Hibernian have not won in 10 games or scored for five as manager Colin Calderwood struggles to find his best team.

Garry Kenneth scored a 90th-minute equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw for nine-man Dundee United in their match at Kilmarnock.

The hosts had gone in front four minutes from the break thanks to Conor Sammon, who netted from close range, drilling into the bottom left corner.

Kilmarnock had Alexei Eremenko sent off nine minutes into the second half, and he was followed down the tunnel within 11 minutes by visiting players Scott Robertson and Jon Daly, who each received two yellow cards in quick succession.

Hamilton narrowed the gap at the foot of the table to three points as they secured a welcome 1-1 draw in Inverness.

Mickael Antoine-Curier's penalty on the stroke of half-time for the visitors cancelled out Dani Sanchez's close-range opener at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

Visiting substitute Marco Paixao hit the post in the second half and Russell Duncan, off the bench for Inverness, had his low shot cleared off the line as each side looked for a winner.

St Johnstone were denied a hat-trick of wins over St Mirren this season as the clash at McDiarmid Park ended in a 0-0 stalemate. St Mirren goalkeeper Paul Gallacher tipped Chris Millar's curling effort on to the bar and saved Collin Samuel's strike in the first half as the hosts extended their unbeaten run to four.

 

[TXT]

Celtic 1 - 0 Aberdeen

Stokes seals win

Anthony Stokes' first-half winner against Aberdeen at Parkhead took Celtic five points clear of Rangers at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

The home side, buoyed by the Light Blues' defeat at Hearts earlier in the day, sprang out of the traps and in the 27th minute the Hoops striker ran on to a Gary Hooper pass to round Dons keeper Jamie Langfield before stroking into an empty net.

The second half was less convincing and there were a couple of nervy moments for Celtic before the win was confirmed.

However, Stokes' strike was ultimately enough to widen the gap at the top of the table over the Ibrox men, who lost at Hearts earlier in the day, although the champions have two games in hand.

Under former manager Mark McGhee, Aberdeen had suffered a club record 9-0 defeat at Celtic Park on November 6.

Under new boss Craig Brown, the Pittodrie side had won four out of their last five games but they soon found themselves under pressure.

Celtic pressed for the opener with some vigour and as the Dons rearguard defended at a stretch, Hooper's dangerous cross from the right in the 12th minute just failed to get through to his waiting strike-partner Stokes.

In the 21st minute Hoops wide man Paddy McCourt had a decent effort from the edge of the box which just flew past Langfield's right-hand post, moments before Celtic keeper Fraser Forster and stopper Daniel Majstorovic got in a tangle at the other end, almost allowing Dons debutant Nick Blackman to capitalise.

The visitors appeared to have worked their way in the game to an extent but it was Stokes who broke the deadlock after Hooper's through ball had beaten the Dons' defence,.

With the Pittodrie men looking in some hope for offside, the former Hibernian striker confidently rounded Langfield and knocked the ball in from a yard.

Referee Iain Brines incurred the wrath of the home support in the 35th when he initially gave a free-kick against Langfield in the penalty area for picking up what looked to be an Andrew Considine pass back before changing his mind under duress from the Pittodrie players.

But the Celtic players refused to be distracted and in a swift breakaway five minutes from the interval, Stokes sent Hooper racing down the right and was in the box to take the return ball.

However, Langfield was equal to the Irishman's drive from 12 yards, pushing the ball over for a corner which came to nothing although there was still plenty of defending to be done by Brown's men before half-time.

Aberdeen might have taken some comfort from the occasional moments of nervousness in the Celtic defence which caused some concern for the home fans in the first half.

However, the Granite City club were put on the back foot again almost immediately after the game restarted although in the 50th minute Dons striker Chris Maguire had a snap-shot from 25 yards which went past the far post.

Moments later, after Hoops defender Thomas Rogne failed to control a long ball, Maguire came closer with a better effort from the same distance.

As Celtic reasserted themselves and the Dons retreated, McCourt and skipper Scott Brown both had rather poor attempts from distance.

The play stuttered rather than flowed towards the Aberdeen goal but Celtic could not get the second goal which would have made the latter stages less nervy.

In the 75th minute former Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg was given a huge cheer when he replaced McCourt to make his home debut.

Play was stretched in the closing minutes but Celtic held on against a late Aberdeen surge to take the points and increase the pressure on Old Firm rivals Rangers as the SPL title races hots up further.

 

[TXT]

Heart of Midlothian 1 - 0 Rangers

Hearts underline title credentials

Ryan Stevenson grabbed the only goal of the game as Hearts continued their bid to be taken seriously as title contenders with a 1-0 win over Rangers in the Scottish Premier League.

The win allowed the Jambos to move to within two points of the Scottish champions and strengthen their case for a three-way fight for the championship, or to at least split the Old Firm this season.

Defeat at Tynecastle denied Rangers the opportunity to move into pole position ahead of Celtic's game later in the day, with the Hoops next up to face Hearts.

Hearts striker Kevin Kyle failed to recover from a groin problem, meaning Stevenson was deployed in an unfamiliar forward role, while Rudi Skacel was passed fit for the clash at Tynecastle.

Rangers were boosted by the return of Madjid Bougherra from suspension and both Steven Naismith and Sasa Papac from injury. Kyle Lafferty started up front following Kenny Miller's midweek departure to Bursaspor.

The match was just 27 seconds old when Hearts goalkeeper Marian Kello was called into action to parry a Lafferty shot to his right after the striker carved out an early chance on goal.

At the other end, Skacel did well to cut inside before setting up Stevenson in front of goal but he volleyed well over, with Allan McGregor untroubled in the Rangers goal.

Lafferty had another chance for Rangers when he collected from Maurice Edu but connected awkwardly and his tame effort was easily gathered by Kello.

Rangers still looked dangerous and Naismith slipped a lovely pass to Jamie Ness in plenty of space and the youngster forced a decent save from Kello, before seeing a swerving effort tipped just wide of the far post seconds later.

It was proving to be a busy afternoon for Kello, who blocked another stinging shot from Lafferty, before denying Naismith the opener from a powerful drive.

Lee McCulloch then picked up the first yellow card of the game for a clumsy challenge on David Templeton. He was joined in referee Mike Tumilty's book by Bougherra for a foul on Stevenson.

With half-time fast approaching, Skacel could have snatched the lead for Hearts with a shot from the left which fizzed across the face of goal and past the upright, before McGregor blocked from Stephen Elliott.

Rangers tried to break the deadlock shortly after the restart when Papac went on a surging run before seeing his point-blank shot blocked by Kello, who was in superb form for Hearts.

The champions had another chance to pile on the pressure when Lafferty was fouled by Ismael Bouzid 25 yards out but a decent opportunity was squandered when Steven Davis' free-kick failed to make it past the Hearts wall.

Lafferty was withdrawn with 20 minutes to go and replaced by Nikica Jelavic, who had recently returned to action after recovering from a serious ankle injury sustained at the same venue almost four months ago.

But it was Hearts who opened the scoring after 77 minutes. Skacel went to ground in the box under pressure from Ness but there was no penalty as play raged on in the packed goalmouth.

Skacel picked himself up to have a half-shot on goal which was forced into the back of the net by Stevenson from close-range.

Rangers could have hauled themselves level when Jelavic tried his luck with an ambitious overhead kick which crashed off the underside of the bar as Hearts held on for the win.

 

[TXT]

Motherwell 2 - 0 Hibernian

Zemmama woe for Hibs

Merouane Zemmama missed a penalty as Hibernian became further embroiled in relegation trouble after conceding two goals from set-pieces at Fir Park.

Jamie Murphy and Steven Saunders both headed home inswinging Stevie Hammell deliveries midway through the first half to earn Stuart McCall his first Clydesdale Bank Premier League win as Motherwell manager.

Zemmama blazed over from the spot a minute before half-time, and Hibs failed to seriously test Darren Randolph despite enjoying the territorial advantage in the second period.

With half of Hibernian's four wins this season coming against Motherwell, they may have welcomed the trip to Fir Park following their midweek Scottish Cup exit against Ayr.

But the concession of soft goals and their inability to make possession count suggest they are in for a relegation battle after falling to second bottom of the SPL.

Hibernian have not won in 10 games or scored for five as manager Colin Calderwood struggles to find his best team. Calderwood dropped Derek Riordan as he made four changes to the team that lost at Somerset Park.

Callum Booth made his first Hibernian start at left-back with Steven Thicot coming in at right-back. Paul Hanlon moved to centre-back, allowing Ian Murray to join the recalled Danny Galbraith and Merouane Zemmama in midfield.

McCall handed Northern Ireland international Steve Jones a debut on the left flank following his loan signing from Walsall. The Motherwell boss had been hoping to field striker Mike Grella after taking him up from Leeds but the Scottish Football Association blocked the loan transfer after refusing to recognise his spell at Carlisle as an emergency loan.

Despite the comfortable win, and a fourth clean sheet in five games, McCall is still in need of reinforcements after Motherwell finished the match with most of their team aged 21 or under and struggled to create chances in the second half.

The home side took less than 60 seconds to threaten though when Murphy flicked on Saunders' long throw but Graeme Smith smothered as John Sutton followed in.

Hibs settled but had nothing to show for their possession and Motherwell notched their first SPL goal of 2011 in the 20th minute.

The Hibs defence stood still as Hammell swung in a free-kick and Murphy glanced a header which bounced over the hand of the diving Smith.

The former Motherwell goalkeeper, making only his second SPL appearance since conceding six goals in the thrilling Fir Park draw in May, was beaten at his near post in the 24th minute when Saunders met Hammell's corner.

Motherwell continued to create half-chances - Sutton was unable to turn another inswinging corner from Hammell on target under pressure and Smith held Murphy's long-range drive.

Hibs got a lifeline when Saunders handled inside the box as he and Shaun Hutchinson collided while trying to clear Galbraith's cross. Zemmama had released Galbraith with a clever pass but he lost his composure from the spot as he swept the ball high over the bar.

Hibs were unhappy that referee Alan Muir had blown for the penalty while Rankin prepared to take down Galbraith's cross at the far post.

And their frustration continued after the break when assistant manager Derek Adams, who is in the process of appealing against a lengthy touchline ban, was sent to the stand on the advice of fourth official Kevin Clancy.

The home side allowed Zemmama another chance thanks to sloppy marking at a throw-in but Darren Randolph held his volley.

Nish had replaced Darryl Duffy at half-time and his aerial presence created a half chance following Zemmama's cross, but Galbraith leant back and shot well over.

Zemmama curled a free-kick a yard over as Motherwell struggled to settle in the second period, not helped by the loss of Tom Hateley to injury.

Steven Meechan came on and Jonathan Page soon joined him in midfield to shadow Zemmama after replacing Jones, who had shown some neat touches.

Riordan came on for Rankin and Hibs continued to press but they could not cut Motherwell open. Randolph comfortably held two Riordan free-kicks and Nish volleyed over from a tight angle as Hibs drifted to another defeat.

 

[TXT]

Kilmarnock 1 - 1 Dundee United

Kenneth late show saves nine-man United

Garry Kenneth scored a 90th-minute equaliser to salvage a point from a 1-1 draw for nine-man Dundee United at Kilmarnock.

The hosts had gone in front four minutes from the break when Conor Sammon drilled into the bottom left corner.

Kilmarnock had Alexei Eremenko sent off nine minutes into the second half, and he was followed down the tunnel within 11 minutes by visiting players Scott Robertson and Jon Daly, who both received two yellow cards in quick succession.

Sammon regained his starting place in the Kilmarnock line-up after turning down a move to Scunthorpe United.

Manager of the month Mixu Paatelainen made two changes to the home team.

Rugby Park's top scorer, who came off the bench in his side's 2-1 midweek defeat by Hearts, was included along with Jamie Hamill, who returned from suspension, while James Fowler and Mehdi Taouil dropped to the bench.

United goalkeeper Dusan Pernis recovered from a thigh injury to take his place in goal after missing Wednesday's penalty shoot-out victory at Ross County in the Scottish Cup.

It was one of four changes made by visiting manager Peter Houston - Craig Conway, Scott Robertson and Barry Douglas, all of whom came off the bench in the cup tie, started in place of the injured Paul Dixon and benched Garry Kenneth and David Robertson.

The lively Alexei Eremenko tested the United defence on just two minutes when he ran from the halfway line to the edge of the area and won a corner with his shot, the set piece being headed over by Frazer Wright.

Liam Kelly headed a cross narrowly wide of the left-hand post; while Sammon was then unable to direct on target a diving header from Garry Hay's promising cross.

Pernis was called upon to produce an impressive save on 25 minutes - Rui Miguel cut inside through the United defence, from right to left, and his eventual shot saw the goalkeeper stretch to tip it over the bar for a corner.

Goodwillie was about to celebrate as his low diagonal effort from the right looked certain to sneak in at the opposite post but, just as the ball appeared set to trundle across the line, it touched the upright and rolled on the goalline, allowing Hamill to pop up at the last possible opportunity and dramatically sweep it to safety.

Liam Kelly and then Sammon had further efforts before Kilmarnock took full advantage of their earlier reprieve by taking the lead five minutes before the break.

Sammon was in possession and bearing down on the left-hand side of the box, but elected to square across goal instead of shooting; the ball was then sent back across the box by Eremenko and Sammon lashed a close-range effort into the bottom left corner.

Kilmarnock were reduced to 10 men just 10 minutes after the restart when Eremenko was shown a straight red card for his reaction to a midfield foul by Scott Robertson, the Dundee United player also being booked the incident.

It was 10-man Kilmarnock who regrouped and had the next opportunity - Mohamadou Sissoko made an excellent run up the right and found Sammon in the centre; the lone striker held up the ball for the arrival of Miguel on the left, but he blazed his shot over.

As tempers remained high, United managed to see their numerical advantage become a one-man deficit within 11 minutes of Eremenko's dismissal.

Just before the hour, Robertson received a swift second yellow card for a crunching challenge on Miguel close to his own penalty box; and six minutes later, he was followed to the away dressing room by captain Jon Daly, earning his second booking for the presence of an elbow as he challenged Sammon just 10 minutes after his first yellow card for dissent in the aftermath of the Eremenko incident.

Hamill hit the woodwork when he had a chance to double the hosts' lead from a good move as the game entered its final quarter.

Rui Miguel found Sammon on the right corner of the box and crossed for his team mate, only for Hamill's effort to rebound from the bottom of the left-hand upright.

Manuel Pascali then tried an ambitious lob forward to Sammon, with which he connected but was unable to direct his effort on target.

United's nine men worked hard in the latter stages, Goodwillie's heading over from a Barry Douglas corner seven minutes from time, and home goalkeeper Bell also holding a second set piece delivered by the same player after a penalty-box scramble.

The visitors were rewarded with an equaliser less than 30 seconds from full-time, substitute Kenneth netting with a speculative shot from distance.