Aberdeen looked all set to win at Rugby Park
for the first time in seven years, after Kilmarnock completely dominated the game but
were forced to share the points thanks to a dramatic
last minute goal from Barry McLaughlin.
Alan Mahood gave the Ayrshire side a
well-deserved lead midway through the second-half but Laurent D'Jaffo
snatched an equaliser.
Darren Young looked to have clinched an
unlikely first win in seven years at Rugby Park for the vistors until
McLaughlin popped with seconds remaining.
The home side started off at breakneck speed
with a couple of runs by Jose Quitongo putting the visitors` defence
under pressure.
But it was Peter Canero who gave the Don's
defence its first scare with a blistering shot from 20-yards that
David Preece could only beat away.
Aberdeen took until the 7th minute to trouble
Killie but Canaro got back in time to clear from Nicholas Fabiano who
was sent clear by James McAllister.
Gary McSwegan then missed a great opportunity
to set up Kris Boyd but he hesitated with his cross and the Dons
defence got back in numbers to clear.
Kilmarnock continued to create several good
openings against a lacklustre Aberdeen side but couldn't find the
finishing touch.
Gary Locke's free-kick from 30 yards was just
wide of goal and seconds later Locke's shot from just inside the box
was blocked.
Then McSwegan came close to opening Killie's
account as he headed Quitongo's cross just wide.
Kilmarnock should have been several goals in
front by the interval but were denied by a combination of bad luck and
poor finishing.
The start of the second half followed much
the same pattern with Kilmarnock on the offensive.
Locke wasted an opportunity to get the ball
into the Aberdeen box in the 47th minute when his cross was too close
to the Dons` keeper who collected it easily.
Kilmarnock at last got the breakthrough they
deserved in the 55th minute from the unlikely source of Alan Mahood.
The midfielder was handily-placed to lash the
ball into the roof of the net after Boyd's close-in shot was blocked.
After 64 minutes Aberdeen equalised against
the run of play when D'Jaffo took advantage of slack play in the
Killie defence to run through and shoot low past Gordon Marshall.
Incredibly, the Pittodrie side took the lead
with eight minutes to go when Darren Young volleyed past Marshall
after a Steve Fulton clearance landed at his feet.
But with seconds remaining Barry
McLaughlin scored his first goal for Kilmarnock with a well placed
header, to earn the home side a deserved share of the points and
stretch their unbeaten run to four games.
