Alex Dyer heaped praise on his two strikers Eamonn Brophy and Nicke Kabamba after they put Dundee United to the sword in their first outing as a partnership this season.

Kabamba netted two while Scotland cap Brophy scored in the first-half to kill off the Tangerines in a 4-0 rout where Rory McKenzie was the other scorer.

Dyer was delighted to see the deadly duo on form and applauded their link-up play. "They're two good players who want to score goals and they work better together," the Englishman said. "Sometimes, for the benefit of the team, you have to do other things, but today because Alan Power was out we decided to go two up front. We needed a result and a win and we were on the front foot from the start.

"We got the goals at the right time, two before half-time settled us down a bit. It was a good day."

On Brophy, he added: "We want him to get back to what he's good at, he's a better player when he's alongside someone up front. But he's got to understand that the team comes first, I'll always put that first. He showed today he's one of the best strikers in the league. Nicke works tirelessly for the club and together they're a good combination."

The two strikers do indeed look the perfect foil for one another and proved to be just what Killie needed against a visiting United who have started the season very impressively. Micky Mellon's troops didn't quite look their usual inventive selves and were often kept on the back-foot by their hosts.

The action was flowing down the right-flank for Kilmarnock during the early exchanges, with Chris Burke seeing a lot of the ball. He was first to test goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist with an effort which stung the Swiss stopper's fingertips.

Logan Chalmers then had United's first opportunity following really clever footwork from Ian Harkes. The midfielder danced past his marker in the middle of the pitch and released Luke Bolton down the flank. The on loan Man City winger found Chalmers at the back stick, but he sent his header wide of the target.

Killie's Stuart Findlay looked dejected as he hobbled off after just 28 minutes to be replaced by Clevid Dikamona. The disappointment clear to see, but as he hobbled towards the medical room, he stared at the action as his teammates went on to open the scoring. Calum Walters gained possession on the left and he swirled an inch-perfect delivery into the box. Kabamba barrelled onto the delivery to power a header into the net.

Mark Connolly had a header which narrowly trickled wide from a United set-piece before the break, but it was the home side who doubled their lead almost instantaneously. A lobbed flick-on dropped into the path of Brophy inside the area and he steadied himself before firing beyond Siegrist.

After the restart the script flipped, to an extent, with United swarming forward in search of a goal back. It was evident the third goal would be vital and they were desperate to score it. Connolly blazed a scissor-kick over the crossbar before Nicky Clark did the same with a half-volley on the turn.

Zeno Rossi, on his first foray forward of the whole afternoon for Kilmarnock, picked out Kabamba and his half-decent strike from the edge of the area was touched wide by Siegrist. Brophy then tested the goalkeeper from distance but his attempt was well held this time.

Killie sealed their three points with the third goal and it came on the back of a howler from Mark Connolly in the United backline. Chris Burke sent the striker chasing a hopeful ball down the channel that Connolly controlled, but he was pick-pocketed as last man and slipped as he attempted to make the ground back up. Kabamba took time to pick his spot and lashed a powerful left-footed shot past Siegrist, who had no chance.

And it was four for the Ayrshire men - with the pick of the bunch. The move started with Gary Dicker winning the ball back inside his own box. The Irishman found Kabamba, he slid it wide for Mitch Pinnock on the left who sent Greg Kiltie haring on the opposite flank. Substitute Rory McKenzie received the pass and he curled a delicious first-time effort into the far top corner.

There was still time for Youssouf Mulumbu to re-debut for the hosts as he replaced Aaron Tshibola. The ex-Celtic midfielder recently described the homecoming as returning to be with 'family', and he'd have found it difficult to pick a better game to make the comeback for his third spell as a Rugby Park player.

United boss Mellon was frustrated with his side's naivety at the final whistle. Though he still insisted his players did not deserve to ship four. He said: "We feel there was a bit of naivety and you have to be clinical to give yourself a chance of winning at any level. We didn't take care of the details at important times."