Kilmarnock were frustrated by Motherwell as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Rugby Park in the William Hill Premier League.

It was far from a classic but Ayrshire deserved all three points as they dominated their opponents.

Kilmarnock had 16 shots, 14 corners and one goal ruled out – rightly so – but they could not find a way through Motherwell’s resolute defence.

Derek McInnes’ side could have moved into the top six with a win but remain ninth, while Motherwell held on to hold on to a point to consolidate fifth place.

Kilmarnock denied the opener just three minutes later when Marley Watkins fumbled in Fraser Murray’s clever counterattack from 10 yards. Excellent opportunity.

The home side continued their bright start as Corey Ndaba’s cross was almost deflected into his own net by Liam Gordon.

From the resulting corner, Aston Oxborough produced a superb reflex save to keep out Joe Wright’s shot before Ivan Wilson curled the ball over the line.

Motherwell settled into the game after an early storm, with Tony Watt forcing Robbie McCrory into an easy try in the 24th minute after good work from Tawanda Masvanshis. Low shot saved.

Killie thought they had broken the deadlock just three minutes later when Brad Lyons poked home after some good work from Murray, but it was ruled offside after a VAR review.

Kilmarnock were further frustrated minutes later when referee Don Robertson dismissed an appeal against Kofi Balmer for a handball call and the VAR official agreed.

Kilmarnock had over 70% of the ball in the first half and almost got a deserved goal when Lyon’s header bounced off the crossbar at half-time.

The second half started quietly but Killie went close again after 54 minutes when Wright headed wide from a corner before McCrory again blocked Motherwell striker Watt’s low shot.

There was a clear lack of quality from both sides throughout the game, but the second half was particularly bad, with Motherwell clearly missing the machinations of their talisman Lennon Miller.

Kilmarnock continued to push for the opener as the second half progressed, with Oxborough making another fine save in the 75th minute to keep out Watkins’ close-range effort.

Motherwell introduced new aid Kai Andrews in the second half. He tried to break into the penalty area in the 85th minute. The ball fell seductively into Watt’s hands, but his shot went wide of the goal.

Minutes later another substitute squandered his chance to be the hero, with Bruce Anderson turning in the box and firing wide, while Killie almost won the match in stoppage time.

Bobby Welsh’s excellent cutback found Jake Burroughs eight yards out and the goal was empty, but Dan Casey’s excellent block won a hard-fought game for his side.

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Derek McGinnis, Kilmarnock:

“A draw should feel like a loss at home and that’s what it felt like tonight. It was one-way traffic and we were in total control of the game. Everything we did was there but you need to find a way to score.

“Motherwell defended well and we had a goal disallowed and hit the crossbar. It’s hard to criticize when the only part missing is the final part but we have to make sure they win.”

“When we dominate games like this, we need to score more goals to get to where we want to be as a team. You don’t always dominate games like this, but when you do, you need to score Seize the opportunity.

“The last few games have felt like missed opportunities for us because we could have been in the top six tonight.

“I thought we deserved a penalty. Balmer’s hand was out and away from his body so I’m surprised no one saw it.

“I never saw it at the time, but when I turned on my phone I had about 10 messages. My analyst showed me the replay and I thought that was it.”

Stuart Kettlewell, Motherwell:

“It was an uncomfortable game in many ways. If I’m honest, Kilmarnock were the better side, created better chances and had better possessions in the game Control.

“I felt like we never got started and we let them come at us. They put too many balls into our zone and we relied too much on our goalie tonight.

“His performance was outstanding and you need that in the league but we played better and lost this season. It was our second clean sheet since the bounce and we are only three points behind third place ”

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