Kilmarnock moved closer to an immediate return to the Scottish Premiership with a comfortable 2-0 win at home to struggling Dunfermline.

Kyle Lafferty’s close-range finish in the first half and Oli Shaw’s header in the second kept the hosts four points clear of second-placed Arbroath with only three games to go.

Killie went into the game looking to bounce back from dropping points in a 1-1 draw with Morton last time out and were quickly on the front foot.

Blair Alston had a shot tipped over the bar by Jakub Stolarczyk in the second minute, while the goalkeeper then saved from Lafferty’s header, with Brad Lyons shooting against the bar from the rebound.

Lafferty broke the deadlock in the 26th minute, poking the ball home after Lyons’ driving run and Alston’s clipped pass.

Efe Ambrose brought a routine save out of Zach Hemming at the other end with a weak header.

The visitors continued to rely on Stolarczyk to keep them in the game, the keeper parrying a Shaw effort early in the second half, then keeping out a Stephen McGinn strike before denying Shaw again with another fine save.

But Shaw sealed the points in the 76th minute, heading home from a Fraser Murray corner, to take Kilmarnock a step closer to promotion and leave their opponents still in relegation danger.