Kilmarnock boosted their hopes of Scottish Premiership survival with a vital victory over St Mirren, which eases them four points clear of their relegation rivals in the play-off spot with two games to play.

Miguel Freckleton's early own goal and a superb second-half double from Findlay Curtis prolong an impressive sequence of results in Paisley for Kilmarnock, who have now only lost once in their last eight visits.

Given what was at stake, this was a curiously lacklustre display by St Mirren, who rarely threatened a comfortable Kilmarnock side and now find their hopes of Premiership safety out of their own hands.

Having lost goals in the first minute of their previous three away games, there was no repeat for Kilmarnock, who were ahead inside 10 minutes.

Tom Lowery's cross was meant for Joe Hugill at the back post, but Freckleton's attempted block diverted the ball beyond a stranded Ross Sinclair in goal.

The goalkeeper was then called into action to claw away a goalbound Lowery header after a superb Kilmarnock break, although an offside flag indicated the effort would potentially have been ruled out.

It took St Mirren virtually the duration of the half to create anything at the other end but they could easily have gone in level at the break.

A fine Scott Tanser cross was perfect for Mark O'Hara, but he aimed his shot straight at Max Stryjek.

That miss was brutally exposed by Kilmarnock within 30 seconds of the restart, Curtis taking full advantage of a slip in the home defence to curl home in front of an ecstatic travelling support.

Their happiness increased 10-fold with 20 minutes left when Curtis scored a similar goal from a similar position - another instinctive, first-time finish from the 19-year-old World Cup hopeful, who is on loan from Rangers.

St Mirren could and should have pulled themselves to within a goal of parity before Kilmarnock's third, but midfielder Killian Phillips shot wide from the middle of the penalty area when many in the ground were expecting the net to bulge.

Such wastefulness pretty much summed up their day - and general lack of a clinical edge this season - and it leaves Kilmarnock just one win away from securing their top-flight status.

St Mirren really struggled to cope with Kilmarnock's energy, movement and general zest for the game.

Visiting boss Neil McCann wanted his side to show bravery and they certainly did, with the hosts a pale imitation of the outfit who stormed to a League Cup triumph over Celtic late last year.

Kilmarnock have become a real bogey side for them at the SMISA. They started as if they really meant business, a nice change for any of the visiting support who had watched their side concede in the opening seconds of recent away games.

They seemed much more up for this one than the Paisley side, who took far too long to realise what was at stake. That's four wins from their last seven matches for the re-energised Ayrshire side, who will fancy their chances of staying up.

The star of the show, of course, was young Curtis - showing the kind of form which helped him score goals in the early part of Russell Martin's tenure before his Ibrox opportunities dried up.

He's flourishing at Kilmarnock, though, and if he keeps playing like this, his inclusion in the Scotland squad could well extend to this summer's World Cup.

By contrast, St Mirren have now lost five in a row in all competitions.

They've really struggled since their December day of glory at Hampden and will require a major change in form and fortune to move away from 11th place and a relegation play-off against either Partick Thistle or Dunfermline Athletic.

St Mirren interim manager Craig McLeish: "I'm embarrassed, first and foremost. It's my responsibility, I'm leading the group. There's frustration, there's anger.

"It's the first day since I've taken over the group that I've been really disappointed in us. We were second best all over the pitch. We didn't show the fight and desire.

"We owe the fans an apology. We didn't fight. We've said some harsh truths in the dressing room. It's now out of our hands, we have to rely on results from others and take care of ours first and foremost.

"We had players on the pitch that weren't fighting and that's not acceptable. If you're not going to fight, you're not going to step foot on the pitch. I have to go with the players I can trust."

Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann: "We came to really difficult place, full stadium, St Mirren would come at us. We were ready for it.

"I felt there was massive belief among the players. To get the win is so pleasing. We showed today how good a side we are.

"The fans have really come with us. We were in a difficult position when we came in. They've seen we're a good side and we're playing in an attractive manner that's engaging them.

"We showed in the second half how good we can be. It could have been four or five, but I don't want to be too greedy.

"We've not done anything yet. We've got a brilliant three points and we'll enjoy it."

It's a quick turnaround for both. St Mirren travel to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen in their penultimate match of the season on Tuesday (19:45 BST) at the same time as Kilmarnock host Dundee.