Boss McCulloch salutes Killie response after 1-1 draw with Dundee
The gaffer was pleased with captain Gordon Greer, who grabbed their goal
Kilmarnock boss Lee McCulloch praised the response of Gordon Greer and his team-mates after the captain netted an equaliser after his slip led to an early opener from Dundee.
Greer lost his footing on the ball inside his own box in the fourth minute and Faissal El Bakhtaoui converted a rebound seconds later after Dundee kept the pressure on.
But the 36-year-old defender sealed a 1-1 Ladbrokes Premiership draw at Rugby Park when he drilled home in the 64th minute after Kris Boyd had headed back Jordan Jones' corner seconds after coming off the bench.
McCulloch said: “I thought over the course of the game we were the better team, again just an individual mistake at the start of the match, which happens. If we want to try and play a certain way, these mistakes are going to happen.
“The biggest thing is how we react to it and we showed great character to react to the mistake.
“I'd have been pleased for anyone to get the goal. We win together and lose together. That's the mentality we've got.
“Gordon's been fantastic for us. He's been man of the match in the last four or five games he's played. He slips and the players round about have not managed to dig him out a hole. It was great character from him and the rest of the boys.”
Boyd had a glorious chance to win the game with the last kick of the ball, but the substitute screwed a volley well wide following Lee Erwin's cross.
“At the time I thought, 'Right good chance',” McCulloch said. “'Goal' is what I thought. But having watched it again, it has checked on that surface. He went to hit it with his right foot, it bounced and checked on the surface, then he went with his left. It was in between his feet. But we had more chances than that.”
Dundee manager Neil McCann felt his side lacked a spark, but questioned whether Greer's goal should have stood and whether Killie midfielder Calum Waters should have received more than a yellow card for a 60th-minute foul on Jack Hendry.
McCann said: “I thought Kris Boyd was all over the top of Cammy Kerr. Cammy was leaning back and clearly it's a bit of a mismatch, but I thought his arms were up.
“There was a goal chalked off last week with Steven Anderson for virtually the same thing where he was climbing above Darren O'Dea, and I felt there was a case there for a foul.”
On Waters' challenge, McCann said: “For me, it was like a car crash. He was going in at such a speed. I know you can say he mistimed it, but there was a clear split second when he knocked it past him and then the impact. It could have been a real serious one."