62 mins
The
62nd-minute effort sealed an entertaining encounter
for the home side in which both teams held the lead. Jason Thomson opened the scoring for Dunfermline
but the visitors found themselves 2-1 behind
following a double from Paul Heffernan. Dunfermline substitute Ryan Thomson netted an
equaliser just after the break only for Kroca's
wonderful effort to condemn them to their second
straight league defeat. Killie went close early on as Dean Shiels evaded
the attention of Andy Dowie and slid the ball across
the penalty box but nobody was on hand to slot it
home. Dunfermline midfielder Paul Burns then struck the
base of post from the edge of the box a minute
before the visitors grabbed the opening goal. Andy Kirk's header crashed off the underside of
the bar and Thomson was on hand to bundle the ball
over the line. Dunfermline could have doubled their lead minutes
later when Kirk got on the end of David Graham's
cross but Killie goalkeeper Cammy Bell tipped the
ball past the post. Pars boss Jim McIntyre was sent to the stand
after a confrontation with fourth official Ian
Brines after 20 minutes. Kirk was proving to be a threat to the Kilmarnock
rearguard and only a smart tackle by Liam Kelly
denied him an opportunity to double the deficit. Kilmarnock were struggling to regain a foothold
in the match but were handed a glorious opportunity
when referee Brian Winter awarded a penalty after
Alex Keddie clearly felled James Dayton inside the
area. Heffernan made no mistake from the
spot, sending Paul Gallacher the wrong way. As the first half drew to a close Kilmarnock took
the lead. Dean Shiels threaded a clever through ball
to Paul Heffernan who coolly slotted
beyond Gallagher. Pars boss Kenny Shiels replaced Craig Easton with
Ryan Thomson at half-time and the change paid off
within five minutes as he glanced home from Cardle's
inch perfect delivery. Thomson came close to doubling his tally just
before the hour mark when he drilled an effort just
wide of the post following David Graham's knockdown. Kilmarnock restored their advantage on 62 minutes
when Zdenek Kroca delighted the home
supporters with a low curling effort beyond
Gallacher from the edge of the box. The home side almost doubled their lead minutes
later when Shiels weaved his way into the area and
unleashed a stinging effort only to be denied by
Gallacher. The travelling supporters thought their side had
drawn level with 10 minutes remaining when Kirk
nipped in front of Bell to knock the ball into the
net but the striker was adjudged to be offside. Both managers made changes in the closing stages
but despite Dunfermline's determined approach to the
game it was the hosts who looked more likely to add
to their tally. Rory McKeown did well to drive into the box and
he unleashed a stinging effort that forced Gallacher
into another fine stop. The impressive Shiels received a standing ovation
from the Kilmarnock faithful when he limped off with
minutes remaining to be replaced by Spaniard Jorge
Galan. Galan was unable to make an impact during his
three minute appearance though and Kilmarnock
comfortably held out for the three points.
A superb
second-half strike by Czech defender Zdenek Kroca
helped Kilmarnock to a 3-2 Clydesdale Bank Premier
League victory over Dunfermline at Rugby Park.
Sandy's Match Pic's are HERE
