Kilmarnock put on an excellent second-half display to defeat a despondent Hibernian. 

Story of the game

Both sides struggled in the first half and there was not a great deal of football played to keep the spectators at Rugby Park happy.

Killie keeper Laurentiu Branescu produced a fantastic stop to deny Stevie Mallan when his free-kick looked goal-bound. 

However, that was the only real action and the scores were level at half time.

The hosts were a completely different side after the restart.

There was a real urgency about their play and they were rewarded on the 56th minute when Stephen O'Donnell found Liverpool loanee Liam Millar with an outrageous pass and the young Canadian slotted past Ofir Marciano to open the scoring.

Angelo Alessio's side really gained confidence from the goal and started to play some lovely stuff. 

Millar came close to adding to his, and Killie's tally, but was denied by Marciano and Eamonn Brophy missed a half-chance. 

The Ayrshire side did eventually wrap the game up on the 78th minute when summer signing Mo El-Makrini capped off a lovely team move with a neat finish beyond Marciano.

There was evident relief on the face of the Killie players and management staff at the final whistle, whilst the Hibs fans voiced their displeasure at the result.

Takeaways

Killie playing the Italian way

This is Killie's second league win of the season and it is their third win in their past four games. 

They have recorded four clean sheets in their last four games and finally, look as though they are beginning to gel and take on Alessio's methods. 

The Italian admits that he is pleased with the upturn in form and he thanked his staff for playing their part. 

Speaking to the BBC, Alessio said: "We are happy because we deserved the win. 

"I saw my team play very well in the second half.

"I want to thank my staff because every week we work together for this." 

Pressure mounting on Hibs

This result leaves Hibs without a win since the opening game of the season.

Despite never really being in the game, head coach Paul Heckingbottom insisted that his side controlled the game and that defensive mishaps cost them.

Heckingbottom told the BBC: "The disappointing thing is we controlled the game but got beat 2-0 from two shots on target."

The result leaves Killie sitting in sixth place whilst Hibs are ninth.