The odds favoured one of the teams taking all three points and it
took only 30 seconds for Killie's Moroccan midfielder Taouil to test Ma-Kalambay
with a left-footed drive from 14 yards out, the Hibs keeper saving at
the expense of an unproductive corner.
Kilmarnock's early promise gave way to a more evenly-contested match
which did little though to involve either Ma-Kalambay or Combe.
Midway through the first half a driving run from Hibs midfielder
Merouane Zemmama took him 40 yards to the edge of the Killie box but the
little Moroccan slipped just before getting his shot away and the danger
was quickly over.
The next attempt at goal came from Zemmama on the half-hour mark when
he turned smartly at the edge of the Kilmarnock penalty area but his
shot was yards wide of the target.
But in the 35th minute, with a piece of play that was out of kilter
with the rest of the first half, the home side took the lead through
Nish.
Gary Wales sent the willing Hamill down the right with a smart pass
and when the Killie defender's whipped-in cross came to the front post,
Colin Nish beat Hibs skipper Rob Jones to flick it past
Ma-Kalambay, the ball tantalisingly striking both posts before rolling
over the line.
Hibs brought on Shiels for the start of the second half and in the
47th minute the Irishman calmly set up Jones to blast his 25-yard drive
over the junction of bar and post.
The sound of referee Mike McCurry's whistle, mostly for niggly fouls,
continued to punctuate the play, but Nish almost grabbed a second when
he beat the Easter Road side's offside trap wide on the left and took a
David Fernandez pass.
The former Dunfermline striker's lack of pace forced him inside but
he skipped past the back-tracking Jones and fired in a powerful drive
from 20 yards which Ma-Kalambay did well to beat away.
The introduction of Shiels, however, had obviously fired up the
visitors and he began to cause problems for Killie on both flanks as the
Leith men went in search of the equaliser with some conviction.
But Killie were holding out and indeed Taouil even afforded himself a
spectacular over-head attempt from the edge of the box which Ma-Kalambay
stretched to grab low down at his right-hand post.
In the 74th minute, as the Leith revival began to wilt, the Rugby
Park side grabbed a second through Taouil.
Nish twisted and turned on the left-hand side of the Hibs box before
he flighted the ball over to the back post, where his team-mate volleyed
home from around 10 yards out.
It should have been over but Kilmarnock almost let the visitors back
into the game. It seemed as if the Ayrshire side would cruise all the
way to the final whistle but some hapless defending left the home fans
in the 6,372 crowd praying for full-time.
In the 89th minute Hibs pulled a goal back after Combe brought down
Shiels inside the box when there appeared no real danger, the Irishman
sending the Killie keeper the wrong way from the spot.
It set up a fraught last few minutes but the home side were rewarded
with the three points that they deserved.
75 mins
