Kyle rose highest to nod Kilmarnock's second before half-time
Kilmarnock recorded their first Scottish Premier League win of 2009 thanks to Kevin Kyle's hat-trick against bottom club Falkirk.
Kyle beat stranded Falkirk goalkeeper Dani Mallo to give the Rugby Park side an 11th-minute lead.
The home side doubled their tally nine minutes before half-time through Kyle's deft header.
Falkirk improved after the interval but were unable to reduce the deficit before Kyle nodded his third late on.
Victory for Kilmarnock lifted them six points clear of Falkirk, who remain three points behind St Mirren, who play Hibernian on Monday.
The hosts were the more enterprising side in the early stages of the match and their prominence was rewarded with Kyle's opener.
Jackie McNamara's mistake allowed Danny Invincibile to have a shot that Mallo blocked, but the Spanish goalkeeper was too far out of his goal to prevent Kyle finding the bottom corner of the net with a composed side-foot finish.
Invincibile squandered a chance to extend Killie's advantage after Kevin McBride had stung the palms of Killie keeper Alan Combe with a shot from 28 yards.
Falkirk fell further behind when Kyle met Mehdi Taouil's swirling cross.
Burton O'Brien threatened for the visitors after the interval. But, despite sending the ball beyond Combe, Garry Hay got back to clear the midfielder's attempt.
The Bairns looked dangerous again when Carl Finnigan's shot drew a save from Combe and Simon Ford had to block Scott Arfield's rebound effort.
Kilmarnock claimed for a penalty when Kyle was fouled, but referee Charlie Richmond awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box.
Invincibile then missed a headed chance from Taouil's cross.
John Hughes' side remained three points adrift at the bottom of the SPL
At the other end, McNamara could not keep his long-range effort on target.
The home side carved out a third goal on 84 minutes with Taouil and Kyle combining to good effect once again.
The Moroccan playmaker's delivery found the high hanging figure of Kyle, who sent a header into the net via the post.
Kyle was promptly given a standing ovation from the home crowd as he was replaced with David Fernandez.
And Kilmarnock may have scored for fourth time when Invincibile's shot was blocked by Mallo in injury time.
Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies:
"I said to them, 'do your talking on the pitch' and they did it today.
"It gives everybody a massive lift.
"I said at half-time that Falkirk would come out and they had one or two chances, which we were a wee bit worried about.
"But they didn't take them and we weathered the storm.
"Kevin Kyle worked hard today. He chased balls and flicked them on. He defended well."
Falkirk manager John Hughes:
"First and foremost, I'll take responsibility for today. I possibly picked the wrong team and possibly the wrong style of play.
"I should have matched them up and gone for a battle, but I felt they won the one-on-one battles all over the pitch.
"And, in Kevin Kyle, they had a great out ball. He was a handful.
"I thought we were the better footballing side, but it just shows you that playing good football doesn't always win you matches.
"Kilmarnock deserved their victory today. I'm just disappointed we lost one or two bad goals.
"The first one was a really bad goal, it gave us a lot to do. In the position that we're in, we can't afford that."
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