Celtic.......................0 Kilmarnock..............0

MUCH like their season as a whole, Celtic started promisingly but failed to deliver. The boos that greeted them at the end were as half-hearted as the team themselves were for most of the night.

The fact that the championship drama fizzled out before the start at Parkhead did not lend itself to a memorable evening, but Kilmarnock might well consider it a night worth remembering if the point gained keeps them in the premier division.

They withstood an early attacking spell from Celtic, during which Tommy Johnson was outstanding, and gradually got their own forwards into the action. They did it so well that it needed two great saves by Gordon Marshall in the first half to keep them out and the keeper came up with another one late in the second period to defy them again.

Celtic, too, had opportunities, notably two that fell to Andy Thom, who made a poor job of each of them. Mark Reilly was in excellent form for Killie, but nobody let them down as they fought hard, but never lost their discipline.

The point they captured puts them that much ahead of their rivals, Motherwell and Hibs, to avoid the play-off position. Now, they are favourites to lead the escape.

That is all that is left to sort out now, apart from a cup final which happens also to involve the team from Ayrshire. The one worry for the manager, Bobby Williamson, is the knee injury that forced striker Jim McIntyre out of the game early on. He is unlikely to play against Dunfermline on Saturday, and may join his fellow striker, Paul Wright, on the doubtful list for the final.

For Celtic, Johnson was one of the few men who looked intent on demonstrating that he had a real appetite for the fray. Inside five minutes the former Aston Villa man had two good efforts on goal.

First he accepted a touch on from Jorge Cadete, and timed his volley well, only to see it blocked by a defender, and then he turned on the edge of the penalty box to hit a fine left-foot shot just outside a post.

Killie, with Robert Prytz making his first start for the club, had to defend in great depth as the home lot pushed forward. Johnson appeared on the scene again with a fine run down the right and an even better cross to the far side found Thom who could have done better than shoot weakly into Lekovic's arms.

Kilmarnock had scarcely been able to get upfield, but Prytz did manage a shot of sorts from a distance, but it was much too high.

Johnson finished the half as he had begun, with a good shot that the keeper could only beat out with his hands.

Killie, despite having been pegged back for much of the time, could point to two superb Marshall saves that had kept them out and, perhaps as they became aware that Celtic had little to get excited about now, looked more and more confident as the minutes wore on.

In 64 minutes Celtic re-placed Thom with McLaughlin, but a few minutes later Mackay had his name taken after a foul on MacPherson.

Mitchell came on for Killie's Bagan and Celtic's Hay for Gray, but it was Reilly who brought out a super save from Marshall when he hit a left- foot shot that the keeper managed to touch over the bar.

Kilmarnock put on Findlay for Prytz, and really ought to have taken the lead five minutes from the end.

Burke broke clear of his pur-suers on the left and looked sure to score, but elected to try to pass the ball to Brown only to see it intercepted by Mackay.

CELTIC - Marshall, Boyd, McKinlay, Hannah, Mackay, Grant, Donnelly, Gray, Johnson, Thom, Cadete.

Substitutes - McLaughlin, Hay, Kelly.

KILMARNOCK- Lekovic, Mac-Pherson, Kerr, Anderson, McGowne, Reilly, Bagan, Prytz, McIntyre, Holt, Burke.

Substitutes - Brown, Mitchell, Findlay.

Referee - J. Rowbotham (Kirkcaldy)