Danny Armstrong scores from the spotSNS

Danny Armstrong has scored six of his past seven penalties

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

Kilmarnock 3-2 Dundee: Watch highlights

10 May 2025

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Kilmarnock held off Dundee's late fightback to secure their Scottish Premiership status as Hearts prepare to make an official approach for manager Derek McInnes.

Danny Armstrong's penalty gave Kilmarnock the lead before the break, but Lyall Cameron's first goal of the afternoon levelled.

Two headers, scored by Bruce Anderson and Robbie Deas, looked to have finished the game but Cameron netted again - this time a stunner from the edge of the box - to set up a tense finale.

However, the hosts held on and, having achieved safety, the club will now have to deal with Hearts' attempts to lure their manager to Tynecastle.

McInnes told BBC Scotland after the match: "I hear all the speculation but there's been no contact from club to club as far as I'm aware.

"It's hard for me to say anything other than that. The fact there's been no contact from club to club.

"There's been a lot of speculation but we've had far too much to occupy ourselves with. I've been focused on making sure we're alright.

"I love this club, it's given me so many highlights and I'm really enjoying days like today. They make it worthwhile. If anything's to change with that, it's not in my control."

On the pitch, his side produced another professional performance to exorcise any relegation fears.

The win over Dundee was their fourth in five games and they have been the form team of the bottom-six split.

Armstrong's 31st-minute penalty - his second in two games and awarded for Seb Palmer-Houlden's foul on Liam Donnelly - put Killie in the driving seat but they should have been ahead before that as Bruce Anderson rolled a big chance wide.

Dundee enjoyed more possession but were struggling to do much with it until the 76th minute when Lyall Cameron got on to Oluwaseun Adewumi's pass and squeezed the ball past Kieran O'Hara.

Parity lasted mere seconds though, as Kilmarnock went up the left-hand side where Donnelly crossed to Anderson, flying through the air to power his header into the net.

A lot of Killie's chances came from set-plays and the goal that proved to be the winner came from a corner as Deas headed in Armstrong's curled delivery.

There was still time for Cameron to twist and turn on the edge of the box, firing a lasered shot into the bottom corner, but it would not be enough.

Kilmarnock remain ninth, safe with two games to play, while Dundee sit 10th, two points above Ross County - who they play on Wednesday night.

McInnes speculation no distraction for Kilmarnock

Calm, resilient, professional and disciplined. All words that McInnes used pre-game to describe his team in the past few weeks.

For much of this game, they showed that again. Quite happy to allow Dundee to have the ball, they soaked up pressure and then hit on the back - almost to devastating effect.

They could have been more clinical in front of goal - looking at you, Anderson - but they made up for that with their threat from set-pieces.

However, matches between these two are never simple and Kilmarnock had to show a lot of fight to hold off the wave of Dundee momentum at the end.

How will these players cope if McInnes is to go? This is his team, built in his image. Big, strong Kilmarnock have finally started to stand tall at the right time.

Play-off panic threatens to seep in at Dundee

Any belief Dundee had of leaving Ayrshire with points was fleeting.

The hope attained from Cameron's first goal lasted all of a minute. The game only lasted six more minutes after his second.

But that feeling of missing the opportunity for a point will linger.

For all the possession, they struggled to test the keeper for large parts. The introduction of Adewumi was hugely influential. He set up one, almost scored another, and looked a much better partner for Simon Murray.

Now so much rests on Wednesday night and the game against County.

What they said

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "It wasn't straightforward, the heat played a factor but the boys worked extremely hard.

"The games against Dundee are always dramatic, you're never quite there but I thought we were worthy winners.

Dundee boss Tony Docherty: "There's confusion throughout, for the second week. I don't want to be the manager who comes out every week and complains about referees and VAR, but there's huge confusion about the decision not to give the penalty kick [for the foul on Simon Murray].

"I've been in to see Don [Robertson], who I think is a very good referee. He's a bit embarrassed. The sequence of events was he was called across by VAR, they reviewed the offside, saw it wasn't offside, but decided it was outside the box."

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