Marley Watkins urges Kilmarnock to build on Saints point by claiming first win

Marley Watkins believes Kilmarnock can kick on again from their hard-fought 2-2 comeback draw against St Mirren on Saturday.

Saints striker Toyosi Olusanya headed the home side into the lead in the seventh minute before Watkins levelled four minutes later in a feisty encounter which the 33-year-old claimed “felt like a war zone, a good battle, a good game for the neutral, both sides going at it.”

Skipper Mark O’Hara restored the Buddies’ lead with a 40th-minute penalty before Killie defender Joe Wright was sent off for violent conduct just before the break after clashing with Shaun Rooney, his second and Killie’s fourth red of the season.

Derek McInnes’ side kept pushing forward after the break despite being a man down and got a deserved equaliser in the 70th minute with an own goal by Jonah Ayunga from a Matty Kennedy corner.

Fellow Saints substitute James Scott had the ball in the Killie net in the closing stages only to see it chalked off for a Marcus Fraser high boot, leaving the Ayrshire men with a deserved point.

Killie moved off the bottom of the William Hill Premiership but although they have had only one win in 12 games in all competitions this season, the former Aberdeen, Inverness and Bristol City forward said: “We can build on it. We’d have liked the three points but things happen in football.

“It’s a good point in the end but we need to build on it and make sure we get our first win in the next league game.

“We were the better team in the second half, even with 10 men. They’re a quality team, I’ve got a lot of respect for St Mirren.

“It’s always a battle. It’s a good point in the end under the circumstances, so we’ve just got to take it into the next game.

“At our best, we should get top six. Every week, we’ve got to make sure we keep our standards high and start climbing.”