Kilmarnock 1-2 Aberdeen: Derek McInnes' substitutions seal late comeback

Aberdeen came from behind late on to beat Kilmarnock 2-1 on Sunday and keep Rangers at bay in the hunt for second place in the Scottish Premiership.

Dons manager Derek McInnes - who distanced himself from the vacant Rangers job - threw on substitutes Peter Pawlett and Jayden Stockley in the second half to great effect after going a goal behind at Rugby Park to Rory McKenzie's 41st-minute strike.

Kilmarnock substitute Miles Addison had two minutes to forget as a mix up with goalkeeper Freddie Woodman allowed Stockley to draw level in the 83rd minute, before Pawlett's strike deflected off him to hand Aberdeen a late win and leave Rangers needing to beat Dundee to stay within three points of them.

Lee McCulloch looked to have earned a win in his first game as Kilmarnock interim manager before the late turnaround, and will decide his own future next week following Lee Clark's departure to Bury.

McInnes kept an unchanged side from the 7-2 demolition of Motherwell and almost saw his side ahead inside 13 minutes, with Niall McGinn's back-post shot well saved by Woodman from close range.

But it was Kilmarnock who rocked the visitors when Mark Reynolds, who was substituted at half-time, twice failed to clear and deflected McKenzie's shot into the bottom corner himself to hand over the lead just before half-time.

Conor Sammon felt Killie should have had a chance to double their lead in the first minute of the second half, appealing for a penalty under the challenge of Ashton Taylor.

Kris Boyd's fiercely-struck half volley then almost caught Joe Lewis off guard but drifted narrowly wide of the post to keep the score at 1-0.

With half an hour left, Aberdeen only found a foothold in the game when Kenny McLean lost a boot, still managing to test Woodman with a shot from distance before firing just off target moments later having had time to correct his footwear.

With just seven minutes remaining Stockley sneaked in between Addison and Woodman, who both hesitated in clearing a loose ball, to poke the ball into the top corner and draw Aberdeen level.

And in the 85th minute the away side stole all three points when Pawlett's shot found the far corner off Addison, who had earlier failed to deal with Aberdeen's cross into the box, leaving Kilmarnock stuck in the bottom half of the table.

Kilmarnock interim manager Lee McCulloch:

"I'm proud as anything of the way the boys applied themselves and bought into the game plan, and the way they worked. I'm disappointed but not worried.

"I spoke to the dressing room as a whole and told them all to go home and watch the game and come back in Tuesday with a smile on their face and a spring in their step."

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes:

"The performance was in total contrast to Wednesday night but it's still the same three points.

"We looked on Wednesday night as if we couldn't do anything wrong, we were absolutely on top of our game, and today in the first half it was the opposite. We were sloppy with our work. Credit to Kilmarnock, Lee set them up well and they were very compact.

"I don't think we could have gone any more attacking, just to try and force the issue, and thankfully we have managed to find a way to win."