Kilmarnock

Being bundled out of the Viaplay Cup in added time was bad enough for Kilmarnock, but it also continued a worrying trend of late lapses.

Hearts’ last-gasp winner at Rugby Park means Derek McInnes’ side have now conceded beyond the 90th minute in three of their past five games.

It has also cost them three Premiership points, with Motherwell snatching a 2-1 win with the last kick at Fir Park before Dundee salvaged a 2-2 draw at the death last weekend.

“Derek will be really disappointed – that’s three games that they’ve conceded after the 90th minute. It's becoming a bad habit for Kilmarnock and will really hurt them if they continue to do that,” former Killie keeper Cammy Bell told Sportsound.

“So Derek will need to identify what’s going wrong in the last minutes, whether it’s a concentration thing that they were overrun at the back there. It’s something they need to look at.”

Ex-Killie player and manager Lee McCulloch says McInnes’ side paid for “naive defending” late on in the quarter-final loss to Hearts.

“They were charging forward for the winner and have left themselves exposed at the back with two v two,” said McCulloch.

“Derek will have made the players aware that conceding late goals is not good enough. It comes down to game management, especially from your centre-halves to pull and push people into place. Maybe a bit of naive defending from Kilmarnock.”

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Were you at Rugby Park or following the match from elsewhere?

Either way, we want your views on the game - have your say here.

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "I thought we were terrific second half, we had to come from losing a disappointing goal.

"Half time came at a good time, we tinkered with it, we put Matty Kennedy through the middle, effectively going with Danny [Armstrong] stretched out on one side and tried to occupy their centre backs a bit more.

"We had four or five shots in the first five or six minutes of the second half and something we’ve been guilty of is not hitting the target enough, but I thought there was a real belief about us, I thought we dragged the cup tie to where we needed it to be and we get a deserved equaliser.

"We are guilty of naivety towards the end. We hit a diagonal free-kick that opens the pitch up when there’s no need to do it, it’s almost as if we were losing the game and we had to throw caution to the wind.

"We’ve paid the ultimate price."

Kheredine Idessane, BBC Sport Scotland at Rugby Park

For Kilmarnock, there was nothing but disappointment and frustration.

They couldn't take their chances and the marquee defeat of Celtic in the last round now counts for nothing.

That's now three games out of their last five that they've conceded a goal after the 90th minute.

Matty Kennedy put in a solid shift for Killie today.

His early chance and assist for the goal are obvious picks for key moments.

Through the middle in the second 45 he was stellar too.

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Derek McInnes makes one change to the side that drew 2-2 with Dundee at the weekend.

Forward Marley Watkins drops out of the squad with a groin injury to be replaced by 18-year-old midfielder David Watson.

Defender Corrie Ndaba returns to the bench for the hosts after a spell out through injury.

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Kilmarnock XI: Dennis, Mayo, Findlay, Wright, Deas, Armstrong, Lyons, Watson, Magennis, Kennedy, Vassell.

Substitutes: O'Hara, Sanders, Davies, Ndaba, Polworth, Murray, McKenzie, Cameron, Dallas.

Hearts XI: Clark, Sibbick, Kent, Rowles, Kingsley, Nieuwenhof, Devlin, Grant, Forrest, Vargas, Shankland.

Substitutes: McGovern, Haring, Baningime, Boyce, Halliday, Denholm, Tait, Offiah, Lowry.

Sandy Armour, Killie Hippo fanzine

As a Killie fan I'm used to going from the highest high to the lowest low in a short space of time and the old blood pressure follows suit.

Saturday at Dens was one of those days when I went from thinking we were heading to a very welcome away win to worrying that the dropped points could cost us at the end of the season.

Our atrocious record on the road is well documented and we will never get a better chance of a victory than we did at Dundee. Managers and punters love to talk about game management - well, it's safe to say our constant bad habit of losing cheap late goals puts us at the bottom of the game management table.

In the cold light of day I try to pinpoint the reason for that weakness, but there is no one reason and my head is swimming trying to fathom it out.

It boils down to poor individual errors, poor use of substitutions or an overall negative mindset where we would rather sit on a lead as opposed to going for the jugular and killing the game. Our recruitment has been a mixed bag and it seems our weaknesses have been highlighted in recent games but we'll leave that issue for another week.

We host high flying St Mirren this weekend in what is bound to be a keenly fought and tight encounter; I fancy we'll sneak a single goal victory.

Kilmarnock have midfielder Liam Donnelly and centre-half Corrie Ndaba back from injury for Tuesday's Viaplay Cup quarter-final at home to Scottish Premiership rivals Heart of Midlothian.

But forward Marley Watkins drops out with a groin injury and could potentially miss Saturday's league game against St Mirren as well.

Australia defender Nathaniel Atkinson drops out through injury for Hearts, but midfielder Andy Halliday returns.

Derek McInnes has urged his Kilmarnock team to build on the cup credentials he believes they have "already shown this season".

"We have got to be a good cup team," the manager said as he looked forward to Tuesday's quarter-final at home to Heart of Midlothian. "We need to continue to be that.

"Even for the English-based lads coming up, it's different down the road. I played down the road and managed down there. Wembley is so far away and it's beyond the reach for so many teams and the cups are almost an inconvenience down there.

"Whereas here, when you get into the quarter-final stage and you are two games away from a cup final, it's important that we sniff it and take the opportunity that's there.

"I keep saying that to the players, while we are working at Kilmarnock, let's go and do something that we can be remembered for.

"I want us to be that team, but we are going to have to put in a performance because, while Hearts haven't scored too many goals this season, they have certainly not conceded a lot either."

Kilmarnock host Hearts in the quarter-finals of the Viaplay Cup on Tuesday, looking to end their recent winless run.

Would you make changes if you were in Derek McInnes' shoes?

Choose your Killie team here.

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Matty Kennedy is determined to get a second chance with Kilmarnock at Hampden 11 years after his League Cup final near miss.

The winger was only 18 when the Ayrshire side beat Celtic in the 2012 showpiece, but he was already a first-team regular.

However, the Northern Ireland international missed out on the match-day squad and left for Everton later that year.

Having rejoined Kilmarnock from Aberdeen, the 28-year-old hopes to help his side overcome Heart of Midlothian in Tuesday's quarter-final at Rugby Park.

"I started the game before in the league at Inverness and I was in the shape in the build-up to the final," he recalls.

"Kenny Shiels pulled me before the match day before he named the team and said I wasn't going to be involved in the team. I thought I would be on the bench and then I wasn't.

"As a young boy, I was gutted, but it was a good experience for me. I was in the stand and then on the bus afterwards. It makes me hungry to be involved more if we do win silverware.

"I would like to try and make that right for me personally, to be involved with a winning trophy for Kilmarnock.

"It does make you hungry, being so close myself. Friends and family are all from here, they used to take me to training, so if I was to win silverware, I would love to do it at Kilmarnock."

Kilmarnock's Danny Armstrong has been picked in Sportscene presenter Jonathan Sutherland's Team of the Week for his performance in Killie's 2-2 draw with Dundee.

As he so often is, he proved to be the difference maker for Derek McInnes' side, scoring both goals.

Image source, BBC Sport

We asked for your thoughts as a late Dundee equaliser saw Killie leave the city of discovery with just a point.

Anon: Overall a draw is deserved. Poor defending for both teams gave both teams goals. Slack from Kilmarnock to sit in and invite pressure unnecessarily with minutes to go. To cap it off, the ball hadn’t gone out of play and McInnes kicks it back in. Poor from Kilmarnock to throw away a much needed win. Still not the end of the world. 2 massive games now

Tom: Once again, game there for the taking but, manager then puts team into defensive mode sitting back allowing Dundee to come onto us, even with 10 men. We have to put games to bed and play on front foot if we want to climb up the table.

Anon: We really need to kill games like this off. These sort of dropped points are critical over the season wherever you are in the league. Some players need to look at themselves when you can’t put ten men away with so much time left in the game. Getting worried that we are reverting to relying on the big lads tactics again this season.

Former Celtic and Kilmarnock midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu has put an end to suggestions he had retired from football after the 36-year-old joined French third-tier strugglers US Orleans. (Scottish Sun On Sunday), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes is "not convinced" that Dundee midfielder Josh Mulligan deserved to be sent off despite what he thought was a poor challenge.

"When they go down to 10 men, we are in charge of the game, but at 2-1 you are never there," he tells BBC Scotland.

"Really disappointed to lose a goal from a set play. They have a fair size about them and we knew we'd have to stand up to them - that's British football.

"I thought we were really good in the game, first half. We arrived time and again in their box and we're a bit guilty of not putting the ball away. I thought my front two and two wide players were a handful.

"It's mad! I've been sent off before, but that was bizarre. I went and apologised to the referee there. I was convinced the ball was out! The ball boy's went missing second-half. I told the referee, I'm wrong, he has to send me off and I apologise. I'm hoping Sportscene can help me out there."

Jane Lewis, BBC Sport Scotland

Over the piece, Dundee deserved to get something from this match.

After taking the lead, plenty conspired against them. They conceded a penalty - which was the right decision - but the straight red card for Josh Mulligan could be seen as harsh.

Even with 10 men they threatened at times, and despite losing a goal in the 80th minute, their heads didn’t go down. They fought to the end, showed great character and it paid off.

Kilmarnock, on the other hand, will be kicking themselves. With the extra man they should have seen this one out at 2-1.