The home side were looking for their third
consecutive win and Jefferies named an unchanged team for the first time
this term, while Hearts head coach Craig Levein made four changes with
Neil MacFarlane, Austin McCann, Wilfred Oueifio and De Vries all coming
in.
And, after a lively start to the game, the home
side went agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock after just two
minutes.
Scotland Under-21 international Kris Boyd
sprung the offside trap to run onto a perfectly-weighted through ball
from Peter Canero.
But, with just Roddy McKenzie to beat, he
drilled his right-foot shot just past the upright.
(Photo
from SNS & used with permission)
Andy Kirk squandered Hearts' first chance of
the game in the 11th minute when he was granted a free header from
Jean-Louis Valois' corner but he put his effort wide from five yards.
Valois became the first player to find himself
in Kevin Toner's book for a bringing Canero down in full flight before
Kirk squandered another great chance in the 21st minute for Hearts.
The pacy Oueifio found the young striker in the
centre and he had time to take the ball on to goal but instead slashed
his right-foot volley wide of the target.
The home crowd were becoming increasingly angry
with the referee as he failed to penalise De Vries in the 29th minute
for a foul on Freddie Dindeleux.
But Kilmarnock will wonder how they failed to
go in front in the 32nd minute after a tricky run from Canero.
He skipped between two challenges and pulled
the ball across the face of goal but Paul Di Giacomo and Boyd failed to
get to the ball and McKenzie gladly leapt on the ball.
(Photo
from SNS & used with permission)
In the
dying seconds of the half, Kirk missed another glorious chance when the
ball broke to him just inside the box but he fired wide with the goal at
his mercy.
But just two minutes after the re-start a
mistake by Marshall gift-wrapped the visitors a much-needed
breakthrough.
De Vries capitalised on a slip by Dindeleux and
cut inside on his left to fire goalwards but the Kilmarnock man let the
ball squirm through his hands and over the line.
Jefferies made two changes in the 55th minute
as he attempted to fight his way back into the match.
Former Hearts striker Gary McSwegan and Craig
Dargo, who returned after tearing his tendons in a freak training ground
accident in August, came on for Di Giacomo and Murray.
The visitors, however, were dealt a blow
moments later when Pressley was forced to leave the field through injury
and on came Andy Webster.
But Jefferies' changes almost brought the
desired affect as Canero should have levelled the scores in the 65th
minute.
Alan Mahood slid the ball into the youngster's
path but he drilled his shot straight at him instead of placing the ball
past him.
Hearts almost conceded again a minute later
when McSwegan slid the ball through to Mahood, but McKenzie again came
off his line quickly to block his effort.
De Vries then controlled Maybury's ball and
pulled off a first-time shot from 25 yards which looked destined for the
bottom corner.
But Marshall made some amends for his earlier
blunder to save to his right.
Kilmarnock: Marshall, Fowler (Locke 73),
Dindeleux, Shields, Dillon, Canero, Fulton, Mahood, Murray (Dargo 56),
Boyd, Di Giacomo (McSwegan 55).
Subs Not Used: Meldrum, Hay.
Booked: Mahood.
Attendance: 6,511
