Kilmarnock 2-1 Hamilton Academical: 10-man hosts hold on for win

Hamilton Academical head coach Brian Rice says he "expected more" from his side in their 2-1 Scottish Premiership loss to 10-man Kilmarnock.

Eamonn Brophy was given a first-half red after Hakeem Odoffin's goal had cancelled out Greg Kiltie's opener.

Nicke Kabamba's winner came after 57 minutes, as Ryan Fulton spilled Gary Dicker's effort into his path.

Accies drop to 10th in the table as a result, and Rice was disappointed with their performance.

"We never did enough to win the game." said Rice.

"I don't even know if we did enough to get a point. I expect more when we're up against ten men."

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In the week that followed their late win at Livingston, things could not have gone much worse for Hamilton. Defender Lee Hodson was forced to self-isolate after his house-mate - St Mirren goalkeeper Jak Alnwick - tested positive for Covid-19, while three fellow Accies players also returned positive tests and were unavailable for Saturday's fixture.

Despite that and a growing list of injuries, head coach Rice expected a performance and he will have been disappointed with how they started the match.

Having gone close with a free-kick a minute prior, Chris Burke picked up the ball in the ninth minute, slalomed around two players before slipping a pass in behind a third, and into the path of Kiltie, who drove the ball into the corner of the net to give the hosts an early lead.

But less than 10 minutes later, Accies were level. David Templeton swung in a corner which was met by Odoffin, and after Danny Rogers saved his initial effort, the defender turned in the rebound.

Things then went from bad to worse for Killie as Brophy saw red after just 23 minutes. As Scott McMann cleared the ball, the Kilmarnock striker went in with studs showing and connected with McMann's shin, forcing the hand of referee Nick Walsh.

But half-time allowed them to regroup, and Alex Dyer's team came out by far the better side and they got their reward.

Burke was once again at the heart of it as the ball eventually fell to Gary Dicker on the edge of the box. The central-midfielder stung the palms of Fulton, who could only parry the effort as far as Kabamba, with the forward making no mistake to put his side back in front.

Accies, despite having the extra-man advantage, failed to mount any sustained pressure on the Kilmarnock goal, and it was the hosts who came closest to scoring again, as Fulton thwarted Aaron Tshibola at his near post.

Though seven minutes of additional time were awarded, mainly due to the home goalkeeper Danny Rogers receiving treatment on two separate occasions, Kilmarnock were able to see the game out without any last-gasp drama.

Man of the match - Chris Burke

Despite not getting on the scoresheet himself, Chris Burke provided a stunning assist for Kilmarnock's opening goal and was instrumental in their victory .

What we learned

Kilmarnock showed phenomenal fight to come out of this game with three points. They did not sit back and allow Hamilton to come on to them before counter-attacking, 10-man Killie took the game to their opponents.

If you had not seen the first half, you would have guessed that Accies were the side with 10 men. Kilmarnock came out for the second half full of courage and energy, knowing that they would have to both outplay and outrun their opponents, and they did exactly that.

For Hamilton Academical, it has to go down as not just a point dropped, but three points dropped. The game was there for the taking, and they let it slip through their fingers. Brian Rice will be very disappointed with their second-half performance.

What they said

Kilmarnock manager Alex Dyer: "They were outstanding to a man, they were great, every single one of them.

"Especially because we went down to 10 men. They were brilliant, I can't praise them enough. I'm just so proud of them. Everyone put a shift in, even the substitutes that came on."

Hamilton head coach Brian Rice: "No excuses, credit to Kilmarnock, Alex and his team. We never did enough to win the game.

"I don't even know if we did enough to get a point. I expect more when we're up against ten men."

What next?

Next up for Kilmarnock is an away trip to St Mirren, while Hamilton Academical host Dundee United.