‘Killie come back to earn a point at Tynecastle’ – The talking points
It was a tough contest at Tynecastle between 10th-place Kilmarnock and league leaders Heart of Midlothian FC. Out of the two sides, Hearts were the clear favourites, and many were expecting this to be a routine win for Derek McInnes’s men.
However, that clearly wasn’t the outcome with Kilmarnock FC securing a massive and vital point in the 90thminute with a Bruce Anderson rebound.
Killie manager Stuart Kettlewell spoke after the match about how pleased he was with his players’ resilience in gaining a point away from home in such fashion.
Kettlewell said: “It’s a positive ending and result – and it’s massive for us. Full marks to the players – they showed a lot of personality to get back into the game.”
The Ayrshire club have been struggling, having been on the back of six consecutive defeats, but the manager admits this crucial point may be what’s needed to turn things around.
The Killie boss said: “We see it as a point gained, so hopefully we can use it to grow now. The players have been working exceptionally hard to get out of this bad run.”
Kilmarnock striker Bruce Anderson was the main talking point out of Kettlewell’s men after the game, and it is now the second time he has been on the scoresheet, picking up two crucial goals in two games.
Kettlewell added: “It’s massive for us, a really good goal – great striker instincts from Bruce.”
The former Motherwell boss also spoke about the need to capitalise on this result and get the team back to winning ways.
Kettlewell said: “We want to try and turn the corner with victories, not draws. We want to try and move ourselves up the table.”
When asked about his team’s character, Kettlewell assured fans that his players are fighting for the club.
The Kilmarnock manager said: “You can see a team with a never-say-die attitude. I believe in this group of players. The players were pouring everything into it tonight – to come back into the game at such a tough place to come as Tynecastle shows real character.”
Kilmarnock’s top goalscorer, Bruce Anderson, also spoke after the match on behalf of the team, mentioning how happy he was to get the equaliser.
Bruce Anderson said: “It’s been a difficult last few weeks, to get a point in that fashion is good. The most important people are the fans at the football club – that goal is for them.”
The former Livingston FC striker admits the team have been on a bad run but wants to bring back the feel-good factor to Rugby Park.
Anderson said: “The feel-good factor has been missing the last few weeks. Hopefully, there’s a little bit of that today. We have got to build on it now; we’ve had two draws, but we wanted two wins.
We are a tight-knit group of lads – I’ve always had confidence in this group of lads. We’re all leaning on each other. I’ve always had confidence we’ll come out the other side.”
