Battling Kilmarnock inflicted Celtic’s first cup defeat under Brendan Rodgers to set up a Viaplay Cup quarter-final encounter with Hearts.

But his side struggled to create openings against their energetic Premiership hosts and Marley Watkins scored the only goal in the 59th minute.

Kilmarnock, who beat Rangers at Rugby Park on the opening day of the league season, showed courage and worked with an unwavering spirit.

Despite just 30% possession, Derek McInnes’ side had the best of the few chances there were.

Defender Corrie Ndaba was close twice in the first half, with an early volley and a header in stoppage time. After the break, Kyle Magennis had a post knocked off by Joe Hart.

Watkins started the move that led to the goal with a hard drive down the left and he was in the right place to deflect Danny Armstrong’s cross shot into the net.

Kilmarnock goalkeeper Will Dennis was rarely bothered, making a few routine saves.

When Celtic substitute Yang Hyun-Jun got a good look at the goal late in the game, Brad Lyons made a fantastic block.

Kilmarnock camped out in his own penalty area for seven minutes of stoppage time, holding on to spark wild celebratory scenes in the ends of the stadium.

Player of the Match – David Watson

Kilmarnock overtake Celtic for deserved win – analysis

Celtic had won six of the last seven editions of this tournament, while Rodgers won seven out of seven trophies in his first spell in charge.

This time, the former Liverpool and Leicester City boss fell at the first hurdle.

Rodgers will be frustrated with his side’s lack of dynamism in attack and may have concerns about his options on the bench.

Kilmarnock threw in tackles and regularly disrupted the visitors’ new central defensive partnership of Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbielke, with the Swede making his debut just days after signing.

Magennis did a great job of negating the influence of Celtic captain Callum McGregor in the middle of the park, with the help of 18-year-old David Watson, who never stopped running.

what they said

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: “I’m really happy with everything I saw today. I thought we limited Celtic to very few. It’s a testament to the players in front of my keeper, who in three games faced two or three shots .

“There’s no point in beating Celtic if we don’t win now. I just told the boys. No one will remember this result if we don’t keep winning it.”

Celtic Coach Brendan Rodgers: “We didn’t do enough when we had the ball. We didn’t show enough personality and didn’t show the quality to win the game.

“You have to give Kilmarnock all the credit. They defended hard, got their breaks and took one of the few chances they had in the game.

“I have to analyze us though, and the quality wasn’t good enough in the game.”