Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Lochlin Highet

Kilmarnock 4 Stenhousemuir 1 as Ayrshire side defeat Warriors in comfortable fashion to progress from League Cup group

It was four and easy for Kilmarnock as they fired themselves into the next round of the Premier Sports Cup.

An Oli Shaw brace along with goals from Liam Polworth and Dan Armstrong ensured safe passage out of the group for the Ayrshire side against a spirited Stenhousemuir.

Jordan Jones featured in a Killie strip for the first time since leaving Rugby Park and Arsenal loanee Ryan Alebiosu put in a man of the match performance on his debut.

Boss Derek McInnes said: “We should have won by more but we missed chances, including a penalty. I was also annoyed with the goal we lost because we had two or three opportunities to clear it and we need to be a lot stingier than that because clean sheets can be the bedrock for us this season.

“But it was all about getting through the group for us and we’ve done that while being a wee bit under-cooked. You’ve seen Premiership teams being dumped out of the competition but we treated this game as the cup tie it was.”

Jones had a fantastic chance to open his account after just three minutes as he picked up the ball inside the area, but his low effort rolled past the post.

Polworth then showed him how it’s done three minutes later as he guided a calm finish into the corner leaving former Killie stopper Connor Brennan helpless.

But the Warriors were back in the fight thanks to Matt Yates who dipped a free kick in off the crossbar, leaving Sam Walker no chance.

Kilmarnock's Oli Shaw celebrates after scoring a penalty to make it 2-1 (SNS Group)

Armstrong tried his luck in the 27th minute after having the ball laid on a plate from Alebiosu, but Brennan saved well as he palmed it away.

Alebiosu was involved heavily again just after the half hour mark as his cross was handled inside the box as whistler Greg Aitken pointed for a penalty.

Shaw made no mistake from the spot as he banged in his third goal in three starts.

Two minutes into the second half Killie were awarded another penalty, and a confident Shaw stepped up again.

But this time he wasn’t as clinical from 12 yards as he blasted an effort over the crossbar and into the stands.

Jones had another fantastic chance to add to get off the mark in the 51st minute, but his powerful effort went just wide of the mark.

Killie’s lead was doubled in the 55th minute as Armstrong fired home after getting on the end of a teasing Kerr McInroy cross.

With 11 minutes to go Shaw made up for his missed penalty as he slid in to tap home an effort which was teed up by Rory McKenzie after taking advantage of a long ball that eluded the Stenhousemuir defence.

Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.