Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin admitted he was concerned about his side conceding a penalty before Kilmarnock denied them victory with a stoppage-time spot kick.

Bruce Anderson's 95th-minute effort secured a Scottish Premiership point for the struggling visitors after Sam Dalby had headed United in front after 79 minutes.

United midfielder Richard Odada connected with Bobby Wales' foot while in the act of clearing the ball - a similar incident to the way St Mirren's Marcus Fraser caught United's Kevin Holt at Tannadice last Saturday.

Goodwin's men were given a penalty for that and, after consulting the monitor, Steven McLean reversed his decision and awarded a spot kick this week too.

"There are a few decisions that I think will be talking points on Sportscene," said the United manager. "The penalty is really, really soft.

"It's similar to the one that we got last week. It was my concern coming into the game, the amount of song and dance that was made about the penalty last week."

United had dominated the opening 25 minutes, with Dalby sending a shot off a post from close range and Ryan Strain and Will Ferry testing goalkeeper Robby McCrorie.

Kilmarnock managed to stem the flow of United attacks and threatened through Fraser Murray on three occasions.

Emmanuel Adegboyega thought he had broken the impasse when he headed in Strain's deep cross but the flag was quickly up and backed up by the VAR review.

McCrorie and Robbie Deas had collided as they tried to intervene on the Strain cross and the keeper would later be replaced by Kieran O'Hara.

United then took the lead through Dalby, who marked his 25th birthday with an opportunistic finish after Kieran O'Hara could only push out a David Babunski shot.

That looked like earning another win to consolidate fourth place, but Kilmarnock dug deep to find a leveller that leaves them in 10th, a point above Hearts and two clear of bottom side Hibernian.

United, whose unbeaten run extends to a fifth game, move to within five points of third-placed Rangers, who visit Ross County on Sunday.

After such a bright start, the fear for United was that they would rue not taking their early chances. As the match wore on, openings became more sparse

Dalby continues to be a problem for defences but strike partner Louis Moult, making his first start since September, looked short of match sharpness.

Ferry and Strain were a consistent supply line for the forwards and Babunski's influence grew in the second half.

When the goal eventually arrived, it was deserved and they will be frustrated not to have taken all three points.

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes said pre-match that his players should not dwell on Wednesday's 6-0 loss away to Rangers.

For 25 minutes or so at Tannadice, it looked like the sequel as United piled on the pressure.

But after weathering that storm, Kilmarnock got to grips with the challenge with Lewis Mayo, Joe Wright and Deas getting much closer to the United attackers.

After losing the Dalby goal, Kilmarnock had no option but to go for it and were rewarded with the Anderson penalty.

A point on the road is a good response to their midweek humbling.

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "Over the whole, we did enough to win the game. First half, I felt we had really good control. Second half, a little bit different.

"Sam Dalby feels that the goalkeeper has completely wiped him out. I'm not sure there's much contact from the goalkeeper on the ball and there's certainly a punch to the head and a knee in the back for Dalby. That's one that could go either way."

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "It's no more than we deserved. I thought it was a really gutsy performance. It's exactly the type that was required.

"I thought it would've been harsh on us to lose this game 1-0. We thought later in the game, the subs would be important for us and I think that proved pivotal.

"Character was screaming out the team and I'm absolutely delighted that we've got something. In the context of the week, that feels like a really important point."