Killie had had several attempts on the Pars goal by the time the first goal was put away, and the Aussie Invincible had been involved in every one. In the sixth minute he burst in from the touchline and slipped a reverse pass beyond the defence, but it was a fraction too strong for Steven Naismith. The pair combined again a minute later and Naismith played in Kris Boyd, but his powerful effort was straight at keeper Derek Stillie.
Invincibile's 11th minute cross broke kindly for Allan Johnston, but his poorly struck shot was blocked. Johnston, however, made amends two minutes later when he crafted the opener. He used some old fashioned wing play to skin young Greg Ross, and his chipped cross was only cleared as far as Naismith, who shot home from 16 yards.
Dunfermline weren't in the game, but they equalised with their first concerted attack. Lee Makel's corner was met perfectly by Andy Tod at the edge of the area and his header was flicked home by Jesper Christiansen, who was standing directly in front of Alan Combe and unsighted the keeper.
The first half looked like finishing in a stalemate until Dunfermline skipper Scott Thomson forced Stillie into handling a back-pass in the 43rd minute. The keeper was livid and was booked for his reaction, and was further incensed when Kris Boyd accepted Peter Leven's touch and fired home what proved to be the winner.
Killie were the better side at the start of the second half, and Peter Leven looked certain to create a third goal when he went down in the box with Naismith ready to tap the ball home, but instead of a penalty kick referee Kenny Clark booked Leven for taking a dive.
Johnston almost scored a third after Naismith had nicked the ball from Stillie, but Tod recovered to clear on the line. Barry Nicholson came closest to rescuing a point for the disappointing Dunfermline, but his snap-shot flew narrowly wide.