| Club: | Kilmarnock |
| Season: | 1965–66 |
| Manager: | Malky MacDonald |
| League: | Scottish Division One |
| League Result: | 3rd |
| Cup1: | Scottish Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | R3 |
| Cup2: | Scottish League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | SF |
| Cup3: | European Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | R2 |
| League Topscorer: | Brien McIlroy, 20 |
| Season Topscorer: | Brien McIlroy 28 |
| Prevseason: | 1964–65 |
| Nextseason: | 1966–67 |
| Highest Attendance: | 25,372 (v Rangers, 19 March) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 3,773 (v Falkirk, 16 April) |
| Average Attendance: | 8,706[1] (down 1,770) |
The 1965–66 season was Kilmarnock’s 64th in Scottish League Competitions. They finished 3rd out of 18 clubs in Scottish Division One. They competed in the European Cup for the first time and were knocked out by the eventual winners Real Madrid.
See main article: article and 1965–66 Scottish Division One.
| Match Day | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Kilmarnock Scorer(s) | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 August | Partick Thistle | H | 2–1 | McIlroy 71', 74' | 7,806 | |
| 2 | 11 September | Hibernian | A | 3–3 | McIlroy 32', 33', 71' | 13,385 | |
| 3 | 18 September | St Mirren | H | 3–1 | McFadzean 25', McLean 35' (pen.), Hamilton 65' | 6,536 | |
| 4 | 25 September | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 0–1 | 7,104 | ||
| 5 | 2 October | Hamilton | H | 3–1 | McIlroy 27', McLean 45' (pen.), King 63' | 5,155 | |
| 6 | 9 October | Stirling Albion | A | 3–2 | McIlroy 17', Hamilton 52', 68' | 3,985 | |
| 7 | 16 October | Dundee | H | 5–3 | Hamilton 4', 79', McFadzean 6' 65', McLean 55' (pen.) | 7,829 | |
| 8 | 23 October | Morton | A | 4–1 | McIlroy 30', 48' 82', Hamilton 43' | 8,458 | |
| 9 | 30 October | Clyde | H | 1–2 | Hamilton 52' | 6,362 | |
| 10 | 6 November | Aberdeen | A | 0–1 | 8,907 | ||
| 11 | 13 November | Motherwell | H | 5–0 | McInally 23', McIlroy 66', 69', Hamilton 75', Murray 86' | 6,689 | |
| 12 | 20 November | Rangers | A | 0–5 | 33,225 | ||
| 13 | 3 December | Celtic | A | 1–2 | McIlroy 57' | 21,131 | |
| 14 | 11 December | Falkirk | A | 2–3 | McLean 44' (pen.), McFadzean 89 | 2,617 | |
| 15 | 18 December | Dundee United | A | 0–0 | 7,170 | ||
| 16 | 25 December | St Johnstone | H | 3–1 | McLean 25' (pen.), McIlroy 35', Hamilton 57' | 4,493 | |
| 17 | 1 January | St Mirren | A | 7–4 | McIlroy 9', 64', Mason 14', McLean 29', McInally 35', 43', Murray 87' | 3,906 | |
| 18 | 3 January | Hibernian | H | 1–0 | Mason 45' | 11,298 | |
| 19 | 8 January | Partick Thistle | A | 0–1 | 6,310 | ||
| 20 | 15 January | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 1–0 | McInally 86' | 8,526 | |
| 21 | 22 January | Hamilton | A | 4–1 | Mason 5', Queen 44', 52', McInally 78' | 2,573 | |
| 22 | 29 January | Stirling Albion | H | 2–1 | McGuinness 35' (o.g.), Queen 67' | 5,651 | |
| 23 | 12 February | Dundee | A | 2–0 | Black 29', 40 | 8,782 | |
| 24 | 26 February | Clyde | A | 4–1 | Queen 20', Murray 49', Black 85', McLean 87' (pen.) | 5,137 | |
| 25 | 28 February | Morton | H | 4–0 | McInally 13', 63', Queen 41', Murray 70' | 7,148 | |
| 26 | 9 March | Aberdeen | H | 1–3 | McLean 60' (pen.) | 5,592 | |
| 27 | 12 March | Motherwell | H | 3–0 | McInally 1', 62', McIlroy 14' | 4,383 | |
| 28 | 19 March | Rangers | H | 1–1 | McLean 89' | 25,372 | |
| 29 | 25 March | Celtic | H | 0–2 | 25,035 | ||
| 30 | 4 April | Heart of Midlothian | H | 2–2 | McInally 55', Bertelsen 80' | 5,026 | |
| 31 | 9 April | Heart of Midlothian | A | 3–2 | Bertelsen 39', McIlroy 51', 84' | 6,209 | |
| 32 | 16 April | Falkirk | H | 1–0 | McIlroy 39' | 3,773 | |
| 33 | 23 April | Dundee United | H | 1–0 | Queen 65' | 5,711 | |
| 34 | 30 April | St Johnstone | A | 1–1 | Bertelsen 75' | 2,441 |
See main article: article and 1965–66 Scottish League Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Kilmarnock Scorer(s) | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G3 | 14 August | St Johnstone | A | 1–0 | McIlroy 10' | 5,810 |
| G3 | 18 August | Partick Thistle | H | 2–0 | Black 29', McIlroy 88' | 9,758 |
| G3 | 21 August | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 3–1 | McLean 68', Sneddon 76', McIlroy 90' | 9,073 |
| G3 | 28 August | St Johnstone | H | 3–0 | Black 78', 88', Sneddon 83' | 7,309 |
| G3 | 1 September | Partick Thistle | A | 2–1 | McIlroy 38', McInally 82' | 3,926 |
| G3 | 4 September | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 0–1 | 6,858 | |
| width=30 | P | width=140 | Team | width=30 | Pld | width=30 | W | width=30 | D | width=30 | L | width=30 | GF | width=30 | GA | width=30 | GD | width=30 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kilmarnock | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 2 | Dunfermline Athletic | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 3 | St Johnstone | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 4 | Partick Thistle | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 1 |
| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Kilmarnock Scorer(s) | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QF L1 | 15 September | Ayr United | H | 2–0 | McIlroy 64', Black 77' | 10,728 | |
| QF L2 | 22 September | Ayr United | A | 2–2 | Murray 7', McIlroy 79' | 8,495 | |
| SF | 6 October | Rangers | N | 4–6 | McInally 36', McLean 70', 77' (pen.), 85' | 54,702 |
See main article: article and 1965–66 Scottish Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Kilmarnock Scorer(s) | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 5 February | Morton | A | 1–1 | Queen 65' | 9,735 | |
| R1 R | 9 February | Morton | H | 3–0 | Beattie 8', Black 29', Queen 46' | 11,109 | |
| 2 | 21 February | Motherwell | H | 5–0 | Queen 4', McIlroy 11', McInally 67', W. McCallum 82' (o.g.), Black 84 | 13,209 | |
| QF | 5 March | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 1–2 | McInally 39' | 19,363 |
See main article: 1965-66 European Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Kilmarnock Scorer(s) | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 L1 | 8 September |  17 Nentori | A | 0–0 | 26,495 | ||
| R1 L2 | 29 September | 17 Nentori | H | 1–0 | Black 77' | 15,717 | |
| R2 L1 | 17 November |  Real Madrid | H | 2–2 | McLean 20' (pen.), McInally 60' | 24,325 | |
| R2 L2 | 1 December | Real Madrid | A | 1–5 | McIlroy 22' | 26,879 |
Book: Ross, David . David Ross (author). Everygame-The New Official History of Kilmarnock Football Club. 2001. Kilmarnock Football Club. 0-9541653-0-6.
Book: Hadgraft, Rob . Rob Hadgraft (author). Kilmarnock Champions of Scotland 1964-65. 2005. Desert Island Books. 1-874287-87-2.