Tyreece John JulesSNS

At a glance

  • Tyreece John-Jules scored a hat-trick as Kilmarnock found their scoring touch

  • The Rugby Park side closed the gap on Dundee and St Mirren to just three points

  • St Mirren's five-match unbeaten run came to an end as Kilmarnock punished defensive lapses

Andy Coyle

Tyreece John-Jules netted a hat-trick as Kilmarnock fought to a thrilling win over St Mirren that boosted their hopes of climbing out of the Scottish Premiership play-off spot.

The striker's treble, along with Greg Kiltie's header, settled an end-to-end contest at Rugby Park that drew 11th-placed Killie to within three points of Dundee and a St Mirren side who had hoped to pull clear of danger.

The visitors had a dream start, taking the lead after just eight minutes as Killian Phillips produced a cute backheel to finish after Mikael Mandron's attempt had spilled into the middle of the box.

The visitors were relatively comfortable for the majority of the half with Kilmarnock's efforts not producing clear cut chances. That all turned around in three minutes before the break.

Findlay Curtis was the provider, swinging in a perfect cross that split the St Mirren defenders. Kiltie made a well-judged run into the gap and nodded past Shamal George.

Just before the half-time whistle, Kilmarnock took the lead, and in some style. A ball into the St Mirren box was only partially cleared and a shot back into the box was deflected to the back post. John-Jules met it with an acrobatic volley that flew past George and into the back of the net.

St Mirren came out with renewed purpose after the interval and were soon level. Declan John's ball in from the left was met by Mandron, who hit a low shot across the face of goal that Kelle Roos could only palm out. Phillips met the loose ball with an emphatic finish.

With 15 minutes to go, Killie regained the lead. Joe Hugill put in an inviting ball from the left and John-Jules scored at the second attempt. Things were soon to get even better for the Kilmarnock striker.

A direct ball up the middle put the forward shoulder to shoulder with Marcus Fraser and when he won that duel he thumped an emphatic finish past George and wheeled away celebrating his hat-trick and Kilmarnock's fourth.

St Mirren pulled one back deep into injury time when Scott Tanser volleyed in after a corner but it was too late to make a difference and Kilmarnock took what could be three vital points in their fight to climb out of the relegation play-off spot.

Analysis: Kilmarnock's attacking intent and instinct pay rich dividends

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson had laid out the stakes clearly before kick-off, saying the onus was on Kilmarnock to attack given their league position.

With Livingston well adrift at the foot of the table, Kilmarnock were out to make sure they were not similarly removed from the rest of the league in 11th place and looking at a play-off for survival.

St Mirren, unbeaten in five games, knew a victory would move them up to seventh and ease their fears of getting drawn into a battle further down.

John-Jules had only signed a short-term contract when he moved to Rugby Park last summer after his exit from Crawley Town.

He had two Kilmarnock goals to his name when he agreed an extension to the end of the season just over a month ago, but goals against Hibs and Aberdeen have now been followed by a crucial hat-trick in a game that will build huge confidence.

His first goal was one for the showreel, a powerful, acrobatic volley. It seemed to fire up the belief in his side even further.

For St Mirren, their worst fears were realised after a promising start.

Robinson won't enjoy watching Kilmarnock's goals back, with his usually reliable defence giving things up too easily.

The fight to the final whistle and late consolation will give encouragement that the appetite is there but solidity and concentration will need to return quickly. The imminent return of Mark O'Hara and Keanu Baccus as midfield options will allow Alex Gogic to move back into the heart of the defence and should help in that regard.

However, the Buddies will be well aware that they are now fully in a relegation battle after three years of top-six finishes and have work to do to feel safe.

What they said

Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann: "There's so much to like about the performance. There was a lot of guts in there.

"We went 1-0 down, and then St Mirren scored early in the second half and you wonder if that's going to take the sting out of us a wee bit. But they didn't and they went again.

"It could have been a lot more, in my opinion. I know the 4-3 scoreline looks tight but we fully deserved the three points and probably should have won by a couple more goals.

"Tyreece John-Jules has just started to elevate his performances because he's had a good run in the team after not playing a lot of football.

"I'm so happy for him that he's got the match ball."

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson: "If you concede four goals you're not going to win games of football. If you score three goals you should win the game, never mind take a point.

"The defending was really, really poor. They didn't have to work for any of the four goals and that's the frustrating bit.

"We said a victory would make us well clear [of relegation trouble]. We're not well clear now.

"We have to find a way. We need to get back on another run as soon as we possibly can."

What's next?

St Mirren face Hibernian on Saturday at Easter Road (15:00 GMT), while Kilmarnock host Celtic on Saturday (14:00).

Player of the match

K. Roos
6.00
13 K. Roos
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21 M. Schjønning-Larsen
6.00
6 R. Deas
6.00
25 E. Brown
6.00
52 F. Curtis
6.00
31 L. Polworth
6.00
8 B. Lyons
6.00
12 D. Watson
6.00
11 G. Kiltie
6.00
19 B. Anderson
6.00
24 T. John-Jules
6.00
2 J. Brandon
6.00
44 J. Hugill
6.00
7 R. McKenzie
6.00
22 J. Thomson
6.00
36 A. Tshibola
6.00
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