Kilmarnock 4-1 Berwick

Photo by Jeff Holmes

Three goals in the final 20 minutes spared Kilmarnock further embarrassment as Gary Locke's side finally eased past Berwick in the second round of the Scottish League Cup.

Darren Lavery threatened to cause more misery for Locke following Kilmarnock's second 4-0 home defeat of the season when he cancelled out Kris Boyd's first-half penalty with a brilliant effort on 55 minutes.

But Rory McKenzie's deflected strike and a solo effort from Craig Slater turned the game back in Killie's favour before a sensational last-minute strike from Kallum Higginbotham sealed a 4-1 victory in front of 1,484 fans at Rugby Park.

Kilmarnock made five changes following their thrashing by Ross County with Josh Magennis and Higginbotham dropping out along with injured trio Darryl Westlake, Lee McCulloch and Mark Connolly, as Locke opted for a youthful line-up with eight homegrown players.

Killie conceded two goals inside five minutes on Saturday and they struggled to get the ball under control in a nervy start.

Blair Henderson and Michael McKenna shot just wide for Rangers but the visitors shot themselves in the foot in the 16th minute when McKenna tripped Greg Kiltie just inside the box. Boyd found the bottom corner from the spot.

Jamie MacDonald soon pushed over Lavery's shot but Kilmarnock took control.

Boyd could have had a first-half hat-trick, heading inches over from Rory McKenzie's cross, hitting the post from 20 yards and seeing another header cleared off the line.

McKenzie missed a sitter after a clever flick by Aaron Splaine, who soon forced a decent stop from Kevin Walker.

But the hosts slacked off after the break and Lavery took down a long ball, turned and curled a left-footed shot into the corner from 22 yards.

Kiltie and Boyd were denied by brilliant goal-line clearances from 42-year-old Berwick player/manager Colin Cameron, Locke's former Hearts team-mate, before the hosts regained the lead in the 70th minute. McKenzie worked space in a crowded penalty box to get a shot away and it deflected past Walker from 16 yards.

Berwick had loud penalty claims rejected when Henderson claimed he was held by Mark O'Hara, but Slater settled matters in the 77th minute when he burst through the middle and dinked the ball over Walker.

The midfielder hit the bar moments later but Higginbotham stole the show with a first-time effort into the top corner from 30 yards.