Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes heaped praise on his substitutes after they played a pivotal role in a dramatic comeback that saw his side pick up a 3-2 win over Dundee at Dens Park despite trailing by two goals with just four minutes remaining.
Dundee had been deservedly sitting pretty after Ziyad Larkeche opened the scoring midway through the first half with a fine finish into the far corner from the left flank. Killie were handed a boost before the interval as Mo Sylla saw a second yellow for an apparent elbow on Matty Kennedy.
But even that failed to really spark a change in momentum with the away side struggling to break down the Dees defence.
Bruce Anderson was introduced just after the hour mark and rattled the woodwork on 79 minutes as Killie were searching for a leveller – but they fell further behind just two minutes later when poor defending allowed Oluwaseun Adewumi to loop the ball over Robby McCrorie.
Game over surely? Killie had other ideas.
The turnaround started on 86 minutes when Matty Kennedy saw his effort squirm under Jon McCracken and into the net, with Killie bagging a leveller just two minutes later. Mackay-Steven’s delivery found Anderson at the back post with the former Livi man turning the ball home.
And it was another substitute – Bobby Wales – who played a starring role in the winner as the teenage ace showed calmness and composure beyond his years to tee up Kennedy rather than going for goal after neat work inside the box with the winger tapping home to spark jubilant scenes.
The delighted gaffer said: “I think I’m guilty of not making subs early enough in terms of my attacking players. I thought if we got a goal early enough we might be able to salvage something from the game but thankfully we did more than that.
“It was a real nod to the players’ personality, perseverance and quality. My bench was good. Anderson, Bobby Wales, Gary Mackay-Steven and Jack Burroughs added some freshness and movement in the box. I thought Rory McKenzie was outstanding when he came on because he gives you experience and know how but keeps the ball moving.
“It was great that my subs all impacted on a positive result and it’s great going into the international break instead of a win rather than soul searching and thinking about the second goal we lost.”
He added: “It’s five games unbeaten now – but it was four draws going into today’s game and we all know draws don’t get the job done. We’ve been almost there over 90 minutes but not quite and I was getting fed up talking about us being a wee bit unlucky – we just needed to win a game of football.
“The boys were rewarded for their perseverance but it also needs quality.”