Source: Team_Talk
Jefferies hails Kilmarnock 'bottle'
Killie dominated the first half at Rugby Park but Darren Barr headed Falkirk in front 11 minutes into the second period.
Defeat for Kilmarnock would have left them joint bottom of the SPL and there was an air of dread among the home fans. But Kevin Kyle levelled midway through the half with a 20-yard strike Dani Mallo could not hold.
The response delighted Jefferies, who is confident his side can play their way to safety with home games against St Mirren and Inverness in the coming week.
He said: "When you're in this position and things go against you, like going 1-0 behind when we should have been in front, I was asked the question whether the team have the bottle to come back.
"We deserved to get the equaliser and Kyle took the paintwork off the post with a header near the end that beat the keeper all ends up.
"If my players show that determination and get a wee break along the way in the next two games, we will be all right.
"We showed we have got enough about us to get out of it."
Jefferies added: "It would have been worse if we lost the game because we would have been level with them. That could be a vital point at the end of the season.
"But the performance was better and I thought over the 90 minutes we were the better side."
Kyle, who scored a hat-trick against Falkirk last month, also came close in the first half when Mallo blocked his close-range header.
And Bairns assistant manager Brian Rice admitted the former Sunderland striker had been a thorn in the visitors' side.
"He has been fantastic against us in the two games," Rice said.
"He's a handful, he has good touch and good vision and he was
unlucky with a great header.
"He has played at a high level, he's a Scottish international. He'll get in the Brazil team if he keeps playing against us every week."
Rice was positive about the draw, which moves Falkirk two points behind St Mirren following the latter's 3-1 defeat by Motherwell.
"I think a point is a good result; Kilmarnock put us under a lot of pressure in the first half," he added.
"It's disappointing that after we scored we seemed to get camped in, and eventually lost the goal."
Meanwhile, Rice revealed there was concern over Mark Stewart, who lasted only four minutes before being accidentally poked in the eye by Garry Hay.
"The doctor has taken him to hospital," Rice said. "They were a
bit concerned about him. There was a lot of blood around his eye. The kid was struggling."
