Kilmarnock 2 Dundee 2

Kilmarnock were held to a 2-2 draw by Dundee at BBSP Stadium Rugby Park this afternoon.

Joe Hugill and Michael Schjønning-Larsen twice had Killie in front, but Neil McCann’s side couldn’t quite do enough to hang on for all three points on bring a friend for free day.

The visitors enjoyed most of the possession in the early stages, but as Killie looked to make a foray up the park, Halliday had clearly been told to keep very close attention to Findlay Curtis. The right-back appeared to catch the attacker with an elbow off the ball, as the referee brandished a yellow card.

This signalled the hosts coming alive in the game, and it wasn’t long before Hugill opened the scoring.

Greg Kiltie pounced on a second ball on the edge of the box. He played it into Bruce Anderson’s feet, as the striker – who was drafted into the starting XI – managed to get a shot away. This was deflected high into the air, as Hugill ran onto the looping ball and finished delightfully with a powerful first-time volley from close-range to give Killie a 1-0 lead on 13 minutes.

With Yogane fit enough to play though, Dundee maintained a constant threat in wider areas. He got a yard of space to deliver into the box for the unmarked Murray to head home inside the six-yard box 11 minutes later as the Dark Blues hit back.

And just two minutes after, the striker found the back of the net once more. He thundered the ball past Kelle Roos after the goalkeeper spilled a shot from range, however, VAR intervened to rule the goal out due to the striker being in an offside position. The score remained 1-1 for the time being.

It wouldn’t be level for long though, as a pulsating first-half took another twist.

This time it was Schjønning-Larsen who got on the scoresheet with an inch-perfect hit into the near bottom corner to totally wrong-foot Dees keeper McCracken. The left-back picked up a position in an advanced area, just around the edge of the box after neat play on the wings. The ball broke nicely for the Estonian, as he showed his prowess in attack with a lovely finish to restore Killie’s advantage.

After the break, Curtis got on the end of a deliciously dinked cross by Kiltie after some patient and confident build-up play by Killie. The on-loan player headed over the bar, though.

Just a minute later, Hugill showed a superb burst of pace to get away from Koummetio on the left channel. The forward managed to get goal side as he travelled into the box and get a shot away, but McCracken saved well at a tight angle before Dundee then recovered to clear.

Killie were getting closer to a third, and they really should’ve found the net when Kiltie received the ball in a favourable position following a defensive effort by the away team. The attacking midfielder stalled when going to pull the trigger, which allowed McCracken to smother the ball to avert the danger.

Pressley made a triple change shortly before the hour-mark. This almost yielded an instant impact as Hay met a corner with a near-post header, but the ball met the side netting. They eventually equalised on 80 minutes through substitute Wright, who found a way underneath Roos after nipping in behind Brandon on the inside left.

Referee Ross Hardie awarded Dundee a penalty in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time as he penalised Jamie Brandon for a foul inside the box. There was a lengthy delay, spanning almost eight minutes, as VAR checked the infringement, as well as for offside against the Dundee attacker who hit the deck. Hardie had to check the pitchside monitor due to a technical issue relating to the usage of VAR, but stuck by his original decision.

Roos produced a vital stop to ensure the game ended level at 2-2, as the towering keeper got down low to his right to deny Westley.

Crowd: 6,435.

Team: Roos, Brandon, Deas, Kiltie, Stanger, Lowery (Watson, 85’), Anderson (McKenzie, 76’), Schjønning-Larsen (Thompson, 71’), Tshibola (Lyons, 85’), Hugill, Curtis.

Unused subs: Stryjek, Mayo, Magennis, Cleșcenco, Polworth.