Connah's Quay Nomads 1 Kilmarnock 2
Super Stuart Findlay did what he always seems to do and grabbed Kilmarnock a vital winner against Connah’s Quay Nomads tonight.
The Welsh side opened the scoring in the first leg of this Europa League clash thanks to a Greg Taylor own goal.
However, an Eamonn Brophy penalty and Findlay’s stoppage-time header spared Killie’s blushes ahead of next week's return at Rugby Park.
Killie dominated the opening period in a tie played on the north Wales coast at Rhyl's Belle Vue Stadium, but struggled to break down Andy Morrison's men.
It was an uneventful opening 20 minutes until Nomads’ Callum Roberts was booked for a late tackle on Killie left-back Taylor.
Killie, playing European football for the first time in 18 years, had a scare three minutes later when they struggled to deal with a Nomads ball into the area but Chris Burke headed it out to safety by way of a corner.
And Nomads had another chance in the 29th minute when Michael Wilde latched on to a long ball but his tame header was easily held on to by Jamie MacDonald.
Stephen O’Donnell sparked a decent opportunity for Killie just after the half-hour mark with some skill to get into the box but his cross was blocked out for a corner.
Burke could have opened the scoring for Angelo Alessio on his Killie dugout debut in the 34th minute but his shot drifted just wide.
Four minutes into the second half, Killie had a penalty shout when Alan Power was bundled down in the box but Belgian whistler Erik Lambrechts waved play on.
Kirk Broadfoot had a decent chance in the 62nd minute but it was well saved by Nomads goalkeeper Lewis Brass who tipped it onto the bar.
In the 66th minute, new signing Mohamed El Makrini came on for Rory McKenzie to make his debut in the blue and white.
Burke created a positive chance two minutes later when he cut inside from the right wing but his poor shot was easily saved by Brass.
Disaster then struck for Killie in the 76th minute when Taylor diverted the ball into his own net to give Nomads the lead and leave home fans dreaming of a huge upset.
But Killie recovered and equalised in the 82nd minute when Brophy converted his spot-kick after Power was brought down in the area.
Nomads goalscorer Wilde was booked for a late challenge three minutes later with the game set up for a thrilling finale.
Brophy had a fantastic chance with just one minute left of regulation time with a free header but Brass held well.
The Nomads keeper would be beaten, though, as Findlay popped up in the dying seconds to power home a header to clinch victory for Killie.
