Kilmarnock 2 St Mirren 1 Click here to listen to our latest SportCast Relegation battles are ugly. The congress of Kilmarnock and St Mirren last night produced an offspring that bore an uncanny resemblance to the love child of Popeye and the Cabbage Patch Doll.
But if events at Rugby Park were not a thing of beauty, they were still compelling. Football clubs fighting for their future resemble nothing so much as those grisly bits in a David Attenborough documentary when two desperate animals fight over the last scrap of food. It was more physical at Rugby Park, obviously.
One "tackle" by Scott Cuthbert on Kilmarnock substitute James Fowler had observers wincing. Others should only be viewed after the watershed.
It was settled, appropriately, by the alpha male, the leader of the pack himself, Kevin Kyle. But only just. St Mirren almost came back from the grievous blows he inflicted. A disallowed Scott Cuthbert header in the dying seconds was the most painful of endings for them.
Kyle, though, was the difference between the sides. He may resemble the archetypal Junior centre-forward in his loping gait and his lanky excess. But he was once a Premier League player in England. His ability may have diminished since then, but he still has more than enough to prosper in the SPL.
His jump to connect with Mehdi Taouil's cross after 23 was almost languid. His header was not. It crashed into the back on the net as three St Mirren defenders watched in wonder as this blue and white bird of prey struck to deadly effect.
Having stuck the head on St Mirren's hopes of avoiding relegation, Kyle kicked them where it hurt when battle commenced after the break. Willie Gibson's sheer perseverance on the left was followed by a smart cutback. Kyle, of course, scored.
St Mirren, in contrast, produced the crosses but the finish on just one occasion. Dennis Wyness clipped home from close in late in the match.
St Mirren started the game with the exuberance of hope. They ended it knowing that it was merely the most empty of promises. Their anguish was compounded when what would have been a late equaliser from a Cuthbert header was disallowed for pushing.
It was the unlikeliest of frantic endings for Alan Combe, the Kilmarnock goalkeeper, who had enjoyed a comfortable night until St Mirren's desperate ending.
Kilmarnock had been playing in a comfort zone by then, even indulging in backheels and stepovers. Seriously. St Mirren almost but quite made them pay for this impertinence. But it was dominance that was the key and it came from Kyle. He had given them a platform to work from, a stability that the visitors never enjoyed. His goals had given them a gap that St Mirren could not close.
Kilmarnock were stripped of the excellent services of Simon Ford through injury in the first half but their reshaped defence, with Frazer Wright relishing his return to the fray, dealt comfortably with most of what St Mirren could throw at them.
Craig Dargo came on as St Mirren refused to believe that this was not going to be their night, perhaps was not going to be their season. Kyle, meanwhile, cleared decisively with his head, volleyed accurately at goal and could afford to chip over from a good position.
When the increasingly influential Gibson found Taouil inside the box it was inevitable that his shot would be blocked. The Moroccan had enjoyed a productive night and embroidered the game with some neat play. But this was Kyle's night.
Kilmarnock may just be staying up. St Mirren, meanwhile, are so low they are looking up to MPs.
