Neil McCann admitted that the goals his side conceded were “incredibly angering” as Kilmarnock failed to take advantage of St Johnstone’s red card at Rugby Park.
Kilmarnock started the game brightly and were given even more cause for optimism in the 13th minute after St Johnstone goalkeeper Toby Steward was sent off. Killie scored from the resulting free kick as Cathal McCarthy headed home from a Greg Kiltie cross.
When discussing the effect of the red card on the game, McCann stated that “football has been around for a long time now. We have all seen it that when a team go down to ten men they give another ten percent”.
The hosts continued to put pressure on St Johnstone but could not double their lead. Danny Schmidt then equalised for the visitors following a corner kick. McCann described the goal as “really painful” and admitted “that’s not good enough”. Kilmarnock regained the lead almost immediately after conceding through Djenairo Daniëls and went into half time ahead.
After soaking up lots of pressure, St Johnstone managed to find an equaliser through Joel Cotterill following a quick counter attack. Despite having the vast majority of the ball and multiple chances, Kilmarnock could not find the winner.
McCann emphasised the fact that Kilmarnock were on top for the majority of the game. The manager stated that “we completely controlled the game…..Control is not the issue. It is the calmness and the quality that we need”. He admitted that “the quality evaded us today” when discussing the multiple chances his side had to retake the lead.
The draw lifts Kilmarnock into 11th place, although 12th placed Hibernian have a game in hand. Kilmarnock travel to Celtic Park for their next game and will hope that they can take advantage of the poor run of form the reigning champions are currently going through.
