64 Mins
Paul Heffernan marked his
first start for Kilmarnock with a double against
Hibernian to help Kenny Shiels record his first win
as manager at the 11th attempt. Former Doncaster
striker Heffernan started and finished a thoroughly
convincing Clydesdale Bank Premier League victory
with two composed finishes. James Dayton was another stand-out in a slick
team performance, with his brilliantly-executed
free-kick the pick of the goals. Dayton helped restore Kilmarnock's lead just
before the interval when his cross was turned home
by Hibs defender Paul Hanlon. Hibs handed second-half debuts to experienced
striker Junior Agogo, former Aston Villa midfielder
Isaiah Osbourne and on-loan Newcastle forward Phil
Airey, but their only high point came when Garry
O'Connor netted in the 13th minute. Although O'Connor took his goal in style, even
that bright moment owed much to a mistake from the
otherwise impressive Kilmarnock defender Ryan
O'Leary. Killie played some free-flowing football with
Gary Harkins showing some impressive touches in
midfield and in 29-year-old Heffernan they might
have found a replacement for his fellow Irishman
Conor Sammon.
Rory McKeown played a high ball in between the
visiting centre-backs and Paul Heffernan
stroked the ball underneath Graham Stack from 12
yards. (Right). The home side were moving the ball around with
confidence but they then shot themselves in the
foot. O'Leary tried to play a difficult pass out of
defence but put it at the feet of Lewis Stevenson,
who quickly found O'Connor in the left channel. The striker beat one man and brilliantly lifted
the ball over Cammy Bell into the far corner. Hibs almost returned the gift two minutes later
when David Stephens mis-kicked Dayton's low cross
straight to the feet of David Silva, but Stack
blocked the Portuguese wide man's drive from 16
yards. Heffernan had a great chance for his second after
a brilliant through ball by Harkins. The forward
took the ball round Stack but could not keep the
ball tight enough to his feet and the goalkeeper
recovered to save. The goalkeeper soon parried Silva's powerful
strike on the run from 22 yards. Kilmarnock continued to make the running and were
rewarded in the 41st minute. Dayton turned Callum Booth one way then the other
before firing a low ball across the six-yard box,
which was turned into his own net by the stretching
Hanlon as he slid in with Heffernan.
But Kilmarnock continued to make the better
chances. Jamsie Dayton (right) curled
a left-footed free-kick just over the near
post after being felled inches outside the box by
David Wotherspoon, who soon wrestled Danny Buijs off
the ball despite being booked for the earlier foul. Liam Kelly curled wide after another good
Kilmarnock move and Heffernan twice got a shot away
after a quick ball up front, neither of them
threatening Stack. And the visitors looked a beaten team following a
moment of brilliance from Dayton in the 65th minute. The midfielder lined up a free-kick 25 yards out
after Wotherspoon had bundled over Buijs, and curled
a left-footed effort over the wall and into the top
corner. Booth got some respite from his tormenting at the
hands of Dayton when he shot straight at Bell before
Wotherspoon escaped with a lecture from referee
Steven McLean following a trip on Shiels.
Wotherspoon was unsurprisingly taken off for
Airey before the restart but Calderwood could do
nothing to prevent Kilmarnock cutting through his
defence. Heffernan had a glorious chance for a hat-trick
after clever passing from substitutes Jorge Galan
and Dean Shiels presented him with an open goal, but
he hit the top of the bar from six yards.
The
Ayrshire side have struggled to win since Conor
Sammon left for Wigan in January and Heffernan,
whose first start was delayed by injury following
his arrival from Sheffield Wednesday, displayed a
cool head when he opened the scoring inside three
minutes.
Hibs
manager Colin Calderwood brought on Osbourne and
Agogo for Stevenson and Matt Thornhill at half-time,
and they initially looked more of a threat with
their new 4-4-2 formation.
Kilmarnock
dished out their own punishment within seconds,
though, as Dayton found overlapping right-back Buijs,
whose near-post cross was stroked into the top
corner by Heffernan's volley.
Sandy's Match Pic's are HERE
