Kilmarnock ensured Premiership standing for an additional season with an eventful 3-2 win over Dundee at Rugby Park.
Attacker Danny Armstrong scored from the spot within the thirty first minute to place the hosts forward, however Dens Park midfielder Lyall Cameron levelled with quarter-hour remaining.
Bruce Anderson restored the Killie’s lead a minute later and defender Robbie Deas headed in a 3rd in stoppage time, however Cameron drove in his second quickly after to make sure a nervous closing minutes for the house followers, with the win making certain they completed protected from a relegation play-off spot.
With two fixtures remaining, Dundee are in tenth place, two factors forward of Ross County and 5 forward of backside facet St Johnstone, and their combat for survival goes on.
Killie went into the sport on good type, having received three of their previous 4 within the league, and Dundee keeper Trevor Carson quickly needed to make a vital save from Deas’s header from a nook.
Anderson then missed a gilt-edged likelihood for the Ayrshire outfit within the seventh minute after good work from wing-back Corrie Ndaba to set him up, the Kilmarnock striker scuffing his shot from eight yards previous the put up.
On the different finish, dwelling goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara made a very good diving save from Simon Murray’s long-distant effort.
The hustle and bustle between two evenly matched sides continued earlier than Killie midfielder Liam Donnelly crumpled beneath from a problem from Dundee’s Sebastian Palmer-Houlden as they contested a deep cross into the field, and referee Don Robertson pointed to the spot.
A VAR verify confirmed the choice and Armstrong thrashed the penalty excessive into the online for his third objective in 4 video games, giving Derek McInnes’s males the interval edge.
The house facet began the second half by urgent Dundee into some determined defending, though Ndaba allow them to off within the fiftieth minute when he slashed a shot from 10 yards vast of the goal after being neatly arrange by Fraser Murray.
Within the 57th minute, Killie captain Stuart Findlay received on the tip of an inviting Murray free-kick however someway glanced his header vast from six yards.
Dundee then started to work themselves again into the sport, and within the sixty fifth minute there was a VAR verify for a penalty after Murray claimed Killie substitute Kyle Vassell, on the park simply moments as substitute for Bobby Wales, pushed him contained in the Kilmarnock field.
Robertson, who initially ignored the declare, was despatched to take a look at his pitchside monitor earlier than he waved play on.
Nevertheless, Dundee fought degree when substitute Oluwaseun Adewumi disrupted the house defence and Cameron latched on to the unfastened ball to drive it previous O’Hara and over the road.
The travelling followers have been nonetheless in celebratory mode when the unmarked Anderson made up for his early miss by bulleting in a header from Donnelly’s cross, leaving the Taysiders deflated.
As Dundee drove ahead leaving gaps, Carson made fantastic saves from Kilmarnock substitutes Liam Polworth, Rory McKenzie and Vassell earlier than a 3rd objective got here from the pinnacle of Deas from an Armstrong nook.
Cameron fired in his second within the fifth of 9 added minutes from simply outdoors the field to offer Dundee hope however Killie held out to make sure security.
What the managers stated…
Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes: “I’m just delighted we’ve managed to get a real highlight today.
“I beloved seeing how the gamers responded to the supporters. It was bathing in sunshine on the market.
“We’ve put the fans through the wringer a wee bit in the last few weeks, but you could see the relief clearly from the stands.
“I believe there was additionally a little bit of pleasure within the efficiency as nicely.
“We got three goals and we could have scored more and it was a good day for us. We needed a day like that today.”
Dundee boss Tony Docherty was left confused by a VAR incident which concerned a attainable penalty at 1-0 when striker Simon Murray was pushed to the bottom by Kilmarnock substitute Kyle Vassell.
He stated: “I’ve just been seen speaking to referee Don Robertson himself and he couldn’t clear it up for me. And there’s still confusion 15, 20 minutes after the game as to exactly what happened.
“The reason to me was that the referee was referred to as over by VAR and the sequence they went via was to first verify if it was onside.
“It was onside, and then the decision made was that it was outside the box. But they never showed the referee an image. I don’t know if it was to do with technology.
“I’ve watched the picture and it is contained in the field and by the letter of the legislation it is a penalty kick. I do not need to be the supervisor that is available in each week and talks about referee choices, however it’s for the betterment of the sport.
“The game gets stopped, the referee gets called across because VAR indicated there may be an error, but then they don’t show him an image. And I could tell from my conversation with the referee, he’s not comfortable with that either.”
