Dundee United gave themselves an early Christmas gift as their two strikers finally hit the back of the net.
Marc McNulty’s debut strike for the Tangerines got them off and running on 25 minutes.
Then, just three minutes later, his fellow attacker Lawrence Shankland ended his own personal drought with his first goal in three months.
They were a couple of crackers that lit up the stadium on a bleak midwinter’s night.
Winning this fixture would have been good enough but to have McNulty and Shankland on target in the same game was a huge bonus.
The 2-0 victory moved them up into fifth spot – two points clear of Motherwell, who come to visit on Saturday.
Micky Mellon’s men have now reached the halfway mark in their campaign after 19 matches and boast a very decent 24 points.
They should be satisfied with that achievement.
The Tangerines made two changes to the team that kicked off against Hibs as they lined up in a 4-4-2 formation.
There were rewards for Saturday scorer Luke Bolton and fellow Easter Road sub Paul McMullan. Both started the match, with Ryan Edwards and Nicky Clark dropping to the bench.
United made a decent start and Bolton should have done better as he raced into the box on six minutes but instead played the ball out for a goalkick.
Tangerines’ goalkeeper Benji Siegrist, the hero against Hibs, got down well to smother a shot from Eamonn Brophy three minutes later as Killie had a go.
McMullan tested Kilmarnock keeper Danny Rogers with a strike after good build-up play from Jamie Robson but it was the visitors who should have been 1-0 up on 17 minutes when Greg Kiltie blasted his shot past the post from eight yards when it looked easier to score.
On 25 minutes, United took the lead with a special strike from McNulty.
The on-loan Reading frontman skipped past Kirk Broadfoot’s challenge after receiving the ball from Shankland, took a touch and then lashed the ball into the net from 20 yards.
Just three minutes later, it was 2-0 with provider turned scorer this time.
Shankland received the ball from Bolton after the Englishman had raced up the left and, with his back to goal, the Scotland international somehow worked himself around and then picked his spot past Rogers.
Those were two terrific finishes from the front two and an especially welcome counter for Shankland, with the goal his first since a tap-in against Hamilton Accies on September 26 and only his third of the season.
Five minutes before the break, Killie wide man Chris Burke tried his luck with a strike from distance but it flew past the post.
Then, on the stroke of half-time, Calum Waters played the whistle as United tried to catch Killie offside but his low shot went by the far post.
Four minutes after the restart, McNulty went in search of his second and the Tangerines’ third when he seemed to have a clear path to goal. However, he lost his footing and the chance was lost.
Broadfoot shot well over for the visitors before Waters nodded past at the back post on 53 minutes.
United brought on Peter Pawlett for Calum Butcher on 61 minutes, who appeared to have injured his hamstring, while Kilmarnock made a double change as Nicke Kabamba and Mitch Pinnock came off their bench.
Kabamba was quickly in the thick of it as he missed a ball that ran through to Burke, who had only Siegrist to beat but made a hash of his shot.
On 70 minutes, referee Steven McLean, who had been letting a lot of challenges go, finally booked Alan Power for a late, late one on United’s Liam Smith.
A minute later, United’s McMullan created space for himself at the edge of the box but his attempt missed the target.
The Tangerines first looked like scoring then they should have had a spotkick – all in the space of a couple of seconds.
Firstly, sub Nicky Clark, who had replaced McNulty, burst into the box but his low drive was saved by Rogers. Then the ball rebounded out to McMullan, who looked to be hacked down by Killie defender Stuart Findlay but the ref said no.
On 81 minutes, Shankland flicked the ball on to Clark but he couldn’t quite get it under control and it ran out for a corner. The setpiece was met by the head of United central defender Mark Connolly, who was ruled to have commited a foul.
Dundee United: Siegrist, Smith, Connolly, Reynolds, McMullan, McNulty (Clark 76), Robson, Butcher (Pawlett 61), Bolton (Sporle 81), Shankland, Fuchs. Subs not used: Deniz, Powers, Edwards, Harkes, Appere, Neilson.
Kilmarnock: Rogers, Dikamona (Kabamba 61), Broadfoot, Power (Mulumbu 74), McKenzie, Brophy (Whitehall 74), Kiltie (Pinnock 61), Findlay, Waters, Tshibola, Burke. Subs not used: Doyle, Taylor.
Referee: Steven McLean.