Celtic 1-0 Kilmarnock: David Watson's late equaliser leaves Celtic only one point clear at top
- Published
David Watson (right) headed his second goal of the season at Celtic Park
Kilmarnock again proved a thorn in Celtic's side as a stoppage-time equaliser from David Watson prevented the champions from moving three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Derek McInnes' visitors were seeking an unprecedented third win over the Glasgow side in a single season.
His side again proved tricky opponents but were undone when Celtic found a rare moment of space inside the box and the unmarked Kyogo Furuhashi scored with a precise header.
Both sides had their chances after the break as the Celtic players and crowd became increasingly frustrated, before substitute Watson rose to head past goalkeeper Joe Hart - a goal awarded after a VAR check.
Rodgers and his reigning champions will now be looking more nervously over their shoulders, with Rangers having a chance to overtake them at the top when they face St Johnstone on Sunday.
Kilmarnock, meanwhile, are unbeaten in six and are two points clear of St Mirren in fourth.
"While it was 1-0, the belief was always there," said manager Derek McInnes. "We had belief something was going to land for us.
"There's a sense in the dressing room we could've won it, but we'll take a point at Celtic Park. We were good value for that. It wasn't a smash and grab."
With the return of Danny Armstrong, Kilmarnock lined up with two wingers and McInnes admitted he had been "brave" with his formation in an attempt to pose a threat to the home defence.
His tactics had already worked twice at Rugby Park this season - once in the league and once in the League Cup - but winning in the east end of Glasgow was always going to be a tougher task.
Kilmarnock did manage the first sight at goal, only for Marley Watkins to head straight at Hart.
At the other end, the visitors' formation was limiting sights at goal, although goalkeeper Will Dennis did deny Luis Palma from point-blank range.
Celtic needed patience and they were finally rewarded after pinging the ball from side to side at the edge of the penalty box before Tony Ralston's cross found Kyogo lurking unmarked at the back post to provide a typical clinical finish.
Kilmarnock responded by forcing a Hart save to deny Liam Donnelly and had a penalty shout denied when Stephen Welsh tackled Watkins.
However, it was Celtic who went closest to adding to the scoreline just before half time when Dennis parried a Matt O'Riley shot and the midfielder's header on the rebound was cleared off the line by Corrie Nbada.
O'Riley was again denied after the break as Dennis dived full length to push away the Denmark midfielder's side-foot from 10 yards.
Donnelly, too, was the victim of a second fine save as Hart did well to parry the midfielder's powerful header over the crossbar, then Armstrong kicked thin air when found unmarked at the back post.
Watson and Fraser Murray had been dropped to the bench, but the young duo were sent on to devastating effect, with the former having already found the side netting before meeting his fellow midfielder's fine cross to the far post.
A draw was enough to stir the home crowd into a chorus of boos and it could have been worse, with Murray having a chance to secure that third win of the season over Celtic as he broke clear only to fire straight at Hart.
Player of the match - Liam Donnelly (Kilmarnock)
Donnelly (left) not only performed a fine job at keeping Celtic's dangerous midfield at bay but was also a threat in the home penalty box.
Worrying times for Rodgers but Killie continue to grow - analysis
It's worrying times for Celtic, Rodgers and their expectant fans.
They had managed to stay top of the table thanks to a string of victories despite some frustration in the stands about performances.
Now, though, the pressure is on after a rare stumble at home and the possibility of being overtaken by their city rivals 24 hours later.
Yes, Celtic had the chances to extend their lead before Kilmarnock's equaliser, but it could have been worse had the visitors also been more clinical and Rodgers will have some thinking to do about how to improve his stuttering side.
McInnes again proved to be an astute handler of Celtic's current tactics and his side continue to go from strength to strength.
Two points clear of St Mirren after the Paisley side lost away to bottom side Livingston, Kilmarnock are now in a strong position to clinch fourth place behind Hearts.
What they said
'It's not a one-off. It's happened too many times'
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "The performance level was nowhere near what we'd want. It looked like we'd get away with it. Very disappointing.
"It's the nature of how we conceded, it's not the first time. It's not a one-off, it's happened too many times. But there's still a long way to go. Every title is there to fight for, we're still there to do that. I totally get the reaction of the supporters."
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "We came with an attacking team. The reason I picked that was to carry that threat and have a punch in us.
"We had to suffer a wee bit in terms of possession in the first half, but we felt a wee bit hard done-by by the fact we go in 1-0 down. That said, while they had a lot of possession, it was a lot of their players who we wanted to be in possession."
Kilmarnock draw at Celtic 'not a smash and grab'
What's next?
Celtic next visit Motherwell on Sunday, 25 February (12:00 GMT), with Kilmarnock hosting Aberdeen the previous day at 15:00.