Kilmarnock 0-0 Hamilton Academical

Kilmarnock and Hamilton Academical drew a blank in the Scottish Premiership.

Ali Crawford missed a hat-trick of chances for Accies in the first half while Killie's Kris Boyd twice headed wide from close range.

Souleymane Coulibaly's volley for the hosts just after the break was well saved by Gary Woods.

Boyd fired into the net after connecting with an Adam Frizzell shot but the striker was flagged offside as both sides had to settle for a point.

There was a familiarity about the manner in which Accies enjoyed periods of dominance and yet failed to capitalise.

It is a characteristic that has haunted them throughout the early part of the season and has cost them points on several occasions.

So it proved again in east Ayrshire as a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping denied them a breakthrough.

And though a point away from home might prove valuable in the final analysis, a win would certainly have been more welcome.

Accies were culpable of a lack of composure and accuracy in front of goal, with the normally reliable Crawford skewing shots wide or hitting tamely into the keeper's arms.

Rakish Bingham missed arguably the chance of the match when he headed wide of goal from inside the six-yard box.

But Accies were not the only team guilty of profligacy in front of goal.

Kilmarnock - and Boyd - in particular passed up good chances, with the striker heading off target from good positions on a couple of occasions.

He was also caught offside far too often, notably when tapping Frizzell's shot into the net.

When the strikers did find their shooting boots, both keepers earned their corn with some excellent saves.

Woods kept out a controlled Coulibaly volley and also denied Frizzell late in the game, with the Kilmarnock substitute making a good impression from the bench.

Jamie MacDonald, so often a hero for Kilmarnock, did superbly to tip Greg Docherty's goal-bound header round the post.

And he did likewise with a Massimo Donati long-range volley in added time to ensure the game ended in a stalemate.

Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark: "It was a good point when you consider Jamie's made a fantastic save right at the death. I don't think we deserved anything more - Hamilton have had their fair share of opportunities.

"We've blown a big opportunity to get ourselves into the top six going into the international break and feel good about ourselves.

"In comparison to where we were in our last two home games and where we were against Inverness and St Johnstone, we didn't play enough on the front foot and we let Hamilton's shape cause us too many problems."

Hamilton manager Martin Canning: "I thought we deserved to win the game on opportunities created but if you're having one of those days when the ball's not going to go in for you, you need to keep the back door shut.

"I thought Dougie Imrie should have had a penalty [in the first half] - he's wrong side of the defender and I don't see why he would go down as he's driving across the box.

"If we continue to perform to a high level, I've no doubt we can win games."