Tony Yogane bends a shot off the postSNS

Tony Yogane came closest for either side when his first-half effort hit the post

At a glance

  • Kilmarnock earn first point of season with goalless draw at Pittodrie

  • Tshibola sees red for second yellow card in 83rd minute

  • Both sides able to keep first clean sheets of the season

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05/09/26

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Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

Kilmarnock survived the final few minutes with 10 men to earn their first Scottish Premiership point of the season after a spirited goalless draw with Aberdeen.

While Neil McCann's side are yet to win in their first five league games of the season, the performance was far improved from the midweek loss to St Mirren.

Aberdeen could also be slightly happier with their efforts after the 3-0 loss to Celtic drew criticism for their timidity, although home fans weren't best pleased come the final whistle.

While neither side could break the deadlock, there was plenty of endeavour on show with 21 shots between them - but only six were on target.

Kilmarnock could claim to have edged the first half, although Aberdeen did hit a post through Tony Yogane, while Stephen Robinson's men had the better of it in the second.

However they could find no breakthrough, even when Aaron Tshibola was sent off in the 83rd minute for his second yellow card.

The lack of a goal for either side could instead be attributed to a major lack of confidence in the box, and a subsequent lack of quality at the final moment.

However, both managers will probably be far happier with the performances of their sides, while both kept their first clean sheets of the season.

Graphic

Aberdeen analysis: Fans frustrated at season start

Booed off at half-time, booed off at full-time. The levels of patience at Pittodrie are running low, so early on the season.

Robinson changed three of his front four at the break, whipping off captain Kevin Nisbet in the process, and moved to a back three.

The reality is that is got Aberdeen back into the match, with more final third entries and shots than their opponents in the second 45 minutes.

However, despite those stats, they couldn't break a stubborn Kilmarnock down - a side that conceded 14 goals in four games before this.

The lack of quality was obvious, with Aberdeen legend Willie Miller describing the game as "depressing" yet "energetic" on Sportsound.

Aberdeen have now failed to score since the opening weekend's 2-1 win over Hearts, a game in which they were predominantly on the back foot, winning thanks to the latest of rallies.

There's been a lot of new additions, but Robinson needs to find a style and a route to goal quickly.

FT MomentumOpta

Kilmarnock analysis: Clean sheet vital as McCann's side shake habit

In the opening stages of this game, a ball broke to Stuart Armstrong in the Kilmarnock box. Given their tendency to concede early this season, a goal seemed inevitable.

But Armstrong chose to pass instead of pulling the trigger. Panic over, and from then on, Kilmarnock gave as good as they got.

There was a change of shape, back to the 4-2-3-1 that McCann used to good effect last season. It gave them much-needed width, taking pressure off the midfield and full-backs and shoring them up at the back.

As a result, Aberdeen only had two shots on target and, of the two goalkeepers, it was Marius Muller who was by far the busier.

On the left, Erik Ring proved a real threat, while Greg Kiltie lead well in the number 10, often driving forward by himself or popping up in the right position.

There was few penalty shouts for Aberdeen, a Tom Lowery handball and a challenge on Ayoub Mouloua, but both went unpunished and were far from stonewallers.

But those are the little breaks that McCann admitted his team needed, and they earned them today. The only frustration was they couldn't turn a good away performance into a win.

What they said

'I wouldn't say we're heading for relegation after five games'

Aberdeen head coach Stephen Robinson: "Obviously disappointed. We looked tired, we looked lethargic. We've had two very hard games, a lot of travel.

"We got a little bit more energy in the second half, without the quality. We got out of the game what we deserve. It's frustrating. The game was of really poor standard.

"We made tired decisions, too many touches on the ball, too many passes backwards. We tried to get a reaction at half-time, which we did to an extent, but we didn't deserve to win the game."

Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann: "I'm absolutely delighted. The boys were magnificent, we deserved to win. Their goalkeeper was outstanding.

"They changed it at half-time, asked us a few questions, tried to spook us, but I felt we dealt with it with a lot of bravery and discipline.

"Once we settled, we came back into the match and kept pushing for a winner. That wasn't to be, but I felt we deserved the three points. I wasn't overjoyed with the point, I'm just really pleased at what they showed today."

Player of the match

G. Kiltie
6.91
27 M. Müller
6.75
17 S. Armstrong
5.58
40 F. Marshall
5.30
24 N. Guinness-Walker
5.26
5 M. Knoester
5.16
26 D. Happe
5.04
11 L. Smith
4.96
28 C. Cadden
4.88
9 A. Mouloua
4.84
32 A. Aremu
4.67
23 L. Mayo
4.67
21 G. Molloy
4.21
20 T. Olusanya
4.20
31 M. Ntelo
3.86
7 T. Yogane
3.73
15 K. Nisbet
3.72
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