St Mirren 0-1 Kilmarnock: Fourth-placed visitors take home three points
- Published
Marley Watkins now has two goals in two games and is becoming a key figure for Kilmarnock
Derek McInnes says Kilmarnock have "turned around" their away form after they held off St Mirren to consolidate fourth place in the Scottish Premiership.
The visitors started the better and a quick counter-attack put Marley Watkins through on goal, with the Welshmen finishing high into the net for what proved to be the winner.
Kilmarnock allowed their hosts to come back into it, failing to show a clinical touch and relying on Will Dennis to make a few good saves to hold on.
McInnes' side are now unbeaten in four games without conceding on the road, including two wins, and are only the second away team to triumph at the SMiSA Stadium this season.
"There's a trust with the support," McInnes told BBC Scotland. "It wasn't long ago that nobody looked forward to coming away from home. We've turned that around.
"Performances on the road this season have been far better. The last time we kept three clean sheets in a row was 2000.
"We're not looking at teams round about us. We just want to make sure we carry ourselves like a top-six team."
Kilmarnock have a four-point cushion in fourth, while St Mirren remain fifth, with only two wins in their last 10 games.
Kilmarnock's upturn in away form combined with McInnes' incredible record over St Mirren - he had lost just one top-flight game to the Paisley side in 29 matches - might have worried the home fans.
The visitors started on the front foot, but it was St Mirren's Jonah Ayunga who had the ball in the net first, although the offside flag was up quickly as Toyosi Olusanya had gone too early in the build-up.
Then Kilmarnock struck. Countering from their own half, Kyle Vassell and Matty Kennedy combined to slip in Watkins, who finished well past former Kilmarnock goalkeeper Zach Hemming.
There was a chance for the visitors to double their lead when Armstrong nicked the ball from Richard Taylor and was brought down the edge of the box.
Kennedy curled the free-kick into the wall and it hit Scott Tanser's arm, but it was above the shirt sleeve. VAR was not interested.
The second half was far longer to kick into life, but both keepers had to make good saves to keep the score as it was. Dennis denied a James Bolton header, with Hemming parrying a stinging Rory McKenzie volley.
Kilmarnock were resolute at the back until the last, inviting pressure but surviving to pick up another clean sheet.
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Kilmarnock's achievement should not be underestimated - only Rangers had left the SMiSA Stadium with all three points this season.
Similar to the weekend win over St Johnstone, McInnes' side started brightly. Brad Lyons was spraying the ball left and right, Danny Armstrong was his slippery self on the wing.
They had chances to make life more comfortable but allowed St Mirren to creep back into it. That's when they relied on Dennis and his defenders, who kept their fifth clean sheet in 10 games.
St Mirren look devoid of the confidence they showed early in the season, when they were able to dig deep and find good results from nowhere.
What they said
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "I felt we deserved more than what we got out of the game. At the moment it's not happening for us results-wise. The performances have been decent but we've not been ruthless.
"They were ruthless, they got one chance they scored. We're just going through a spell where we're not scoring goals and that goes for the whole team."
Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes: "When you get ahead sometimes you need to play against the clock and negate the opposition. We could have picked them off on the break a couple of times, but four away clean sheets in a row - you have to do a lot right to do that."
What's next?
St Mirren visit Aberdeen on Saturday while Kilmarnock host Dundee at the same time (15:00 GMT).