Kilmarnock brought in 2025 in fine fashion with a dominant 2-0 victory over St Mirren at Rugby Park.
A penalty in either half from Bruce Anderson – the first of which he missed but tapped home the rebound – handed Killie the points and made it three successive home wins and clean sheets.
However the win was marred by a nasty ankle injury suffered by Kyle Vassell just before the interval in a challenge with Buddies defender Richard Taylor.
The win lifts Killie to within three points of their fifth-placed opponents with home games coming up against Ross County and Motherwell in the next six days.
Kilmarnock got their noses in front on eight minutes with the game’s first opportunity. Anderson did well to close down Gogic and block the Cypriot’s attempted clearance. Pouncing on the loose ball, the club’s top scorer then cut inside and was clipped in the box by the defender.
While his penalty was saved by Ellery Balcombe, who went down to his left, the striker was the quickest to react and prodded home the rebound from close range.
Anderson was a pest all afternoon and brought about the game’s first booking midway through the first half when a neat touch took him beyond Taylor, who restored to dragging down the former Livingston man as he looked to charge into the final third.
Chances were few and far between with Joe Wright’s weak header from a Fraser Murray delivery being the best either side was able to chalk up for the remainder of a half in which Killie controlled much of the possession and tempo but were found wanting in the key moments.
The hosts were dealt a hammer blow in the latter stages of the first half when Vassell was forced off before St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson rang the changes in a bid to get back into the clash.
Former Killie man Mark O’Hara was introduced at half-time and striker Mikael Mandron shortly after but the home defence continued to stand firm.
In fact, it was Killie who would score the next goal. And again it came from a Gogic foul inside the box. A neat pass from Anderson sent Magennis charging towards goal with the midfielder being clipped. Having missed in the first half, Anderson made no mistake with his second spot kick, sending Balcombe the wrong way to double his tally and Killie’s advantage.
Gogic’s horrible afternoon was brought to an end before the restart, replaced by Elvis Bwomono.
With St Mirren flinging men forward, there was space for Killie to exploit and they almost ensured it was job done in the closing stages as Innes Cameron raced through on goal but his touch was heavy and allowed Balcombe to come out and thwart the danger.
It mattered not, though, as the Buddies failed to threaten and Killie saw out the game for a deserved and comfortable victory.
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