Kilmarnock 2-0 Dundee Utd: Match Report

Kilmarnock 2-0 Dundee Utd: Match Report - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game as it happened.Killie up to thirdTope Obadeyi scored his third goal in two games to send Kilmarnock on their way to third place in the Scottish Premiership with a 2-0 victory over leaders Dundee United.Obadeyi and Mark Connolly netted within two second-half minutes as Killie recorded a fourth consecutive league win at Rugby Park and moved two points off the top.The hosts dominated for long spells in the first half and hit the bar through Josh Magennis, who caused the United defence countless problems with his pace and power.And they took control of the game in the 63rd minute when Alexei Eremenko kept the ball in at the bi-line and cut it back for Obadeyi. The winger took a brilliant touch to nick the ball away from a United defender before stabbing it past Radoslaw Cierzniak.The bulk of the 3,953 crowd were soon celebrating again when Connolly out-muscled fellow centre-back Jaroslaw Fojut to head home from Eremenko's corner.United could not force their way back in and substitute Robbie Muirhead almost added a late third with a spectacular strike that was palmed over by Cierzniak.The home side had caught United cold in the opening stages as some heavy rain added some zip to the recently-laid artificial surface at Rugby Park.Magennis had a series of shots and crosses in the first 10 minutes and Cierzniak did well to dive and push away his best effort, a header from a Chris Chantler that bounced off the surface.Eremenko and Obadeyi were off target with volleys and the former, who was pulling the strings in midfield, curled a 30-yard free-kick not far wide as the onslaught continued.United improved after 20 minutes and Killie goalkeeper Craig Samson had to be quickly off his line to sweep the ball away from the feet of Stuart Armstrong after the United midfielder bustled his way through the heart of the home defence.After the rain stopped, Killie had a decent spell of passing which came to nothing but a long ball almost brought them joy in the 38th minute.Magennis again made a nuisance of himself as he chased Ross Barbour's ball down the middle and he got in between the United central defence and Cierzniak to get a foot to the ball on the edge of the area.But the Northern Ireland international saw his lobbed effort bounce just before the line and then loop on to the top of the crossbar.Eremenko forced a save before the break with a free-kick that skidded off the surface and flew into Cierzniak's arms with Magennis close to getting a potentially crucial touch.Samson had been hurt in his challenge with Armstrong and did not reappear after the break as Conor Brennan took his place.The start of the second half proved far tighter but the game changed in that two-minute spell and there proved no way back for United, despite some pressure from the visiting side.Substitutes Gary Mackay-Steven and Ola Adeyemo, who was making his debut, fired wide from half-chances and Brennan ensured a debut clean sheet when he stopped Chris Erskine's low strike.And Killie came closer to a third goal when Muirhead hit his ambitious left-footed strike from long range.

Source: PA