IT was eloquent testimony to the modesty and generosity of spirit displayed by Jamie MacDonald that, after a game in which the Kilmarnock goalkeeper produced a truly astonishing save at the most crucial juncture, he was anxious to talk about anything but his own heroics.

Instead, in the aftermath of Saturday’s priceless first league victory, secured courtesy of a 2-1 win at Tannadice over fellow early-season Ladbrokes Premiership strugglers Dundee United, was parrying praise in all directions, in much the same way his trusty gloves had redirected a succession of second-half efforts from United to safety.

Team-mate Kevin McHattie was one recipient, and little wonder after crowning his debut with a half-volley that flew past a startled Luis Zwick in the home goal with just 60 seconds of regulation time remaining. Apart from taking light-hearted umbrage with the former Hearts youngster’s claim that he scores such goals in training (and presumably past MacDonald) “all the time”, the Rugby Park keeper was lavish in his praise. “Kevin’s strike was fantastic, it takes terrific technique to catch a half-volley like that and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”

The ideal moment in this particular game but also, one suspects, not a moment too soon for Gary Locke, the manager who has borne the brunt of the fans’ frustrations after a win-free start to the season that had left the club rooted to the bottom of the SPFL prior to their first three points of the campaign.

Hence MacDonald dedicating the performance and victory, on behalf of the whole squad, to the man who had been bookies’ favourite to be the first top-flight manager to lose his job. The 29-year-old said: “It’s been very tough for the gaffer and all the lads have felt for him over this last bad run. It’s been hard to pinpoint what has been going wrong. Training has been good, everyone works hard and everybody enjoys it. We all like working with the gaffer.

“On Saturdays though, it has not been working. So to get those first three points today, especially for the manager, it is fantastic. We’ve got a few home games coming up in the league and we’re hoping to take three points from all of them.

“The players couldn’t have been working any harder. We are desperate to do well for the fans and the boss. We had to stop the rot, a couple more bad results and it would not have been looking good. Hopefully this win can start pushing us up the table and we can start winning more games.”

While Kilmarnock have, by their own admission and to the voluble frustration of their support, produced some unacceptable performances so far this term, MacDonald has been one of the few Killie players to excel, perhaps in part because some of the defending in front of him has allowed him plenty of opportunities to display his shot-stopping talents.

How he managed to deny United’s Ryan Dow with eight minutes remaining is still somewhat of a mystery and may have required some minor re-ordering of the laws of physics. Substitute Darko Bodul had wriggled his way clear in the home penalty box and unselfishly squared across the six-yard box for his team-mate to apply the finish into a gaping net.

The United midfielder chose to side-foot into the open goal, a decision that allowed MacDonald to hurl himself across the half the width of his six-yard box and somehow claw the shot clear inches from the line. A disbelieving Dow stood with head in hands after the save and observers could sense that his team-mates may well have concluded that this was not going to be their day, a view taken to its logical conclusion with McHattie’s late winner.

Earlier, Billy McKay’s second-half spot-kick for United had cancelled out Kallum Higginbotham’s penalty just before the interval .

“I just threw myself and hoped for the best,” shrugged MacDonald, reflecting on his save from Dow. “Thankfully, I managed to get my hands on it and it stayed out. Their heads went down a bit after that and I think it was a definite turning point.”

While Kilmarnock may well have reached their turning point, Dundee United remain stuck in a downward spiral. A touching minute’s silence prior to kick-off honouring Tannadice legend Ralph Milne served as a reminder of the standards demanded at Tannadice, and reminded an already disgruntled support how far short Jackie McNamara’s current team are of reaching them.

Striker Billy McKay, however, whose second-half spot-kick for United had cancelled out Kallum Higginbotham’s penalty just before the interval – insisted that a recovery in form and results is within touching distance.

The former Inverness striker, who joined United from Wigan for £200,000 last month, said: “We are so close to getting the results our play deserves but we need the fans to stick by us.

“It’s just the final shot, the final finish that’s still missing. I think 90 per cent of our fans will have been pleased at the way we played, particularly in the second half. If we’d got the second goal against Kilmarnock, we would have scored four or five.

“If they keep creating, I’m going to score goals – and we’re going to climb that table.”

And what better way to start their climb from second-bottom spot than by defeating McKay’s former club at Tannadice?

McKay added: “Inverness haven’t had the best start, although they beat Hearts on and seem to be on the up.

“But, if we play like we did against Kilmarnock and take our chances, we know we can beat anyone.”