KILMARNOCK'S metamorphosis into Hibernian is almost complete.

Just like the Easter Road club last season, the Ayrshire side find themselves in freefall, plummeting down the SPFL Premiership table from a position of relative prosperity to one where a place in the play-offs now seems a real possibility. As Hibs discovered to their cost 12 months ago, it can become almost impossible to halt such a build-up of negative momentum. Should Kilmarnock ultimately end up having to defeat the Championship's leading contender to preserve their top-flight status, you would not fancy their chances on this sort of form.

Gary Locke's side have now lost their last seven matches on the bounce and appear completely out of sorts. Just as with Hibs last year, they have had numerous chances to clinch their safety but seem intent on passing up all of them. A draw against a Motherwell side also in deep peril would have, effectively, eased their worries but, a promising start to both halves aside, it is an outcome that never looked likely. Their lead over 11th-placed Motherwell is now just three points with two matches left to play. They will have another crack at trying to salvage an ever-worsening situation away to Partick Thistle next week.

While dark clouds continue to hover over Rugby Park, a shaft of light has appeared at Motherwell. Ian Baraclough had labelled this definitely the last of what had seemed an ever-lengthening list of "must win" games and his players did not let him down. They were worthy of their victory after forging into a two-goal lead, although they had to endure some nervy moments after Kilmarnock drew one back until Lionel Ainsworth's injury-time goal confirmed the victory. That drew some optimistic chants of "we are staying up" from a section of the home crowd, although there is still work for Motherwell to do. They will head to Paisley next weekend and try to take a further step towards safety.

There were ramifications here for next week's hosts, too. This was a result that ended any faint hopes St Mirren had of avoiding the automatic relegation place, the gap between them and Motherwell now insurmountable in the three matches they have left. In many ways, it almost served as a form of euthanasia, finally putting them out of their misery after a season of unrelenting suffering. They will play Championship football for definite now next year.

Both Motherwell and Kilmarnock remain hopeful of avoiding a similar fate. The concept of splitting a league in two for the final five matches remains largely maligned but there is no doubting it helps create additional tension and drama when it pits direct rivals against each other with so much at stake. Thus these two sides, scrapping for their top-division livelihoods, put in a display that, while lacking in finesse and any real quality, was not short in either commitment or effort.

Kilmarnock have endured such wretched luck of late that their shoulders must have sagged further when they fell behind here despite starting the brighter of the sides. An early Josh Magennis run created a chance for Paul Cairney and although his shot was on target it lacked the direction and venom to really trouble George Long. Magennis himself then had a drive blocked by the goalkeeper, with Sammy Clingan dragging the rebound wide. If any team was going to score it would surely be Kilmarnock.

But, no. Motherwell should have had a penalty for a blatant Daryl Westlake handball that referee Willie Collum somehow missed but beyond that had not really looked like finding a way to goal. A moment of individual brilliance, however, led to them taking a 27th-minute lead. Lee Erwin gracefully picked a path around an array of Kilmarnock defenders before unleashing a shot that Craig Samson could only parry. From all of two yards - his favourite distance - Scott McDonald could scarcely miss and the little Australian duly tapped in before haring away to celebrate his god-given knack of always being in the right place at the right time.

It would get worse for Kilmarnock before the half was out. Lee Ashcroft should have equalised but could only head Cairney's corner past the post and Motherwell made them pay. Steven Hammell sent Erwin off on another mazy dribble and this time he didn't need any help, the forward evading some fairly tame attempts from Ashcroft to tackle him before planting a right-foot shot past Samson. Just 39 minutes had been played but already Kilmarnock looked like a beaten team. supremacy as half-time approached.

Locke had to do something - anything - and it was to make two half-time changes and hope it could spark some sort of fightback. It had an almost immediate effect, his side drawing within a goal just eight minutes after the re-start. It was one of the scrappiest goals seen at Fir Park for quite some time, the ball fizzing around the six-yard box before falling to Magennis who stuck out a leg to knock the ball beyond Long. Kilmarnock, back off the ropes, sensed an opportunity, although the expected cavalry charge from them never really materialised. Instead the contest took on a staccato nature, stopping and starting repeatedly due to a number of petty fouls. Perhaps tired after their early endeavours, it was like two heavyweight sluggers trying to preserve their energy by clinging on to the other desperately.

This impasse clearly suited Motherwell better and Ainsworth's goal improved their mood further. It was quite the opposite among the Kilmarnock contingent. They have seen how this movie tends to end.