Scottish Premiership play-off final: Kilmarnock 4-0 Falkirk (4-1)

Lee Clark celebrated Kilmarnock's third goal by running down the touchline and grabbing a fan's scarf

Kilmarnock preserved their 23-year stay in the Scottish Premiership in the most emphatic fashion by thumping Falkirk in the second leg of the play-off final.

Lee Clark's reborn team scored two goals inside the first eight minutes from Greg Kiltie and Miles Addison to wipe out their 1-0 first-leg deficit.

Kiltie added his second and Killie's third just after the hour.

Amid joyous scenes at a sun-kissed Rugby Park, Kris Boyd rolled in the fourth, laid on by Josh Magennis.

At the end, a few hundred Killie fans invaded the pitch. One laid a flare on the artificial surface and ran away. The celebrating supporters quickly exited the field and resumed their survival party in the stand.

The visitors applauded their wonderful support. They have earned a reputation for their feats of footballing escapology this season, but this was a challenge that proved way beyond them.

Such a miserable season ended in relief for Killie. Finally, after so many awful performances and so much vulnerability, they got their act together.

Their attitude was top class, their ruthlessness a marked contrast to their performance in the first leg when they missed a number of decent chances.

Greg Kiltie's early goal gave Kilmarnock impetus

For them, the challenge is to make sure that they don't put their supporters through this torment again for quite some time.

Killie found the answers, but they still have many questions to ponder in the summer.

Peter Houston had opted to play the defensive-minded Tom Taiwo instead of the more attacking Blair Alston, but the Falkirk manager's attempt at keeping it tight and stifling Killie was blown to smithereens within minutes.

The opening goal came after just three minutes when the returning, and heavily influential, Magennis went by a spooked Luke Leahy and squared for Kiltie, who controlled it with his first touch and fired past Danny Rogers with his second.

Falkirk's weakness down their left side was exposed again within five minutes.

This time it was Lee Hodson supplying the ammunition and Craig Sibbald standing still and allowing him to do it. Hodson's cross to the back post came off Aaron Muirhead's head, when under pressure from Boyd, and fell to Addison, who smashed home from close range.

Miles Addison forced the ball over the line for Kilmarnock's second goal

The huge visiting support were as stunned as their team. At 2-1 on aggregate the tie was far from over, but Falkirk could not find a rhythm, and could not apply enough pressure to a Killie defence that had a newly-found concentration and discipline.

Falkirk needed to take risks in pursuit of a goal, but risk-taking came at a big price.

As Falkirk piled forward, Killie picked them off at the back. The third came after 62 minutes when Tope Abadeyi went down the left and found a bit of accuracy with his pass to Kiltie, who did the rest.

The Killie fans were in raptures now, their season saved. There was one more flourish when Magennis was left to do damage up that right-hand side again.

The Northern Ireland international combined with Boyd and the striker had a simple job of putting away the goal that sparked further joy laced with huge relief.

Killie had survived a hapless season. Falkirk, on the other hand, could not finish off a thrilling one.