Managerless Kilmarnock's winless run extended to 11 games after Brian Graham's second-half close-range finish ended Falkirk's four-game Scottish Premiership goal drought and earned a first win in five.

Kris Doolan, in his first outing in interim charge after the departure of Stuart Kettlewell, failed to turn the negative tide of results for the Ayrshire side, who are 11th in the division, three points clear of bottom spot.

Victory for John McGlynn's side lifted them level on points with Aberdeen in sixth place - albeit having played two more games - as their impressive return to the top flight continued.

Kilmarnock's last win came at the start of October, taking just two points from the last 33 available. The exit of Stuart Kettlewell this week did not arrest that run.

Doolan backed his players as having quality but did point to a bit of bad luck and perhaps more importantly a lack of confidence. That began to show as soon as they conceded.

That said, in a game of few chances as the first half wore on, it was Kilmarnock who began to threaten and impose themselves.

James Brown diverted wide from a great position, Brad Lyons fired off target from distance, then Greg Kiltie nipped in but scooped over.

That promised much for the second period but it never materialsed and Falkirk quickly pounced.

A nice move ended when Kyrell Wilson laid the ball into Graham and, from a few yards out, he had time to control the ball and loft it home.

Kilmarnock were left chasing the game once more. Substitute Marcus Dackers nodding over in injury time was as close as they came.

There was no lack of effort but it was all in vain as they fell to another disappointing outcome in a season of many.

It got worse when home defender Dominic Thompson got involved in an exchange with a home supporter at full-time. Troubling times at Rugby Park.

Effort, intent, desire, all there. Impact in front of goal, negligible for Kilmarnock.

It was a familiar story in terms of outcome for these home fans and they let their team know at the end.

Doolan was Graham's boss at Partick Thistle, then Graham took joint-charge after his departure. For him to be the one to spoil his return to the dugout will only add to the frustration, but there will a few other elements that will add to that.

Kilmarnock's long search for a win goes on. They showed promise at times in the first half when they looked the more threatening and defensively solid.

They just couldn't muster that moment to get things heading in a positive direction, and when they conceded, it rarely felt like they would respond despite late pressure.

Doolan called for stability and pointed to the quality of player in the squad as a source of hope, with bad luck and a lack of confidence holding them back.

The confidence part increasingly came to the fore. The players need to respond and show belief and that Doolan is right about their ability.

John McGlynn suggested this may develop into a midfield battle and it largely did in the first period with neither able to produce that moment to unlock their opponent.

The first goal always seemed crucial and when Falkirk got it they managed the game fairly comfortably, almost netting on the counter on a couple of occasions.

McGlynn seemed unfazed by a recent lack of goals in a challenging run. Within that, they did well to take a point against Rangers at Ibrox and and at home against Motherwell. Three clean sheets in their last five is a strong return on top of this win.

Falkirk and their fans couldn't have asked for more since returning to the top flight - 24 points at this stage is something they'd have taken at the start of the campaign.

Kilmarnock interim manager Kris Doolan: "The final touch, when you create chances you have to take one. We didn't create huge chances but we put more balls and bodies in the box.

"We had more possession. But the final pass and touch are the most important ones and we couldn't find that last one to get the goal.

"On the other side, Falkirk get one chance after a bit of indecision from us. In the first half we were so decisive, not letting anything drop or bounce.

"In the second half we did and we're reacting to things. It's the Premiership and you get punished."

Falkirk manager John McGlynn: "The dogged determination to win the game and the spirit the players showed. We had to put our bodies on the line.

"Kilmarnock threw everything at us. Once we got in front they put us under pressure a lot.

"The determination from the whole team to defend. We weren't quite right in the first half, but second we were.

"Delighted for big Brian to get the goal after good play in the build up. It's a huge win. I can only complement the players and once again they've delivered.

"A clean sheet and the winning goal."

Kilmarnock travel to face St Mirren on Saturday (15:00 GMT), while Falkirk take on Dundee at Dens Park at the same time.