Falkirk delivered another late show with Will Vaulks scoring in stoppage time to take a lead into the second leg of the Premiership play-off final.

Kilmarnock were left reeling, having spurned several chances, with Tope Obadeyi missing an open goal.

Kris Boyd also should have finished better against a Falkirk side that was playing beneath their best,

They saved their best moment to the end with Vaults drilling the ball past the Kilmarnock goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald.

The visitors had been adamant that they would be a forceful presence. The away dressing room reverberated to loud, uplifting music before kickoff, while the players ended their warm-up with a team huddle in front of the Kilmarnock fans.

Lee Clark would have calculated that emotion had to carry a bearing in the game, and he ensured his players were fired up for the occasion. That sharpened intent was initially intimidating to Falkirk, who spent the opening spell defending in their own half.

Even when the home players were in possession, they were hounded by their opponents. The result was some scrambled minds, but goalkeeper Danny Rogers was alert enough to react when a Gary Dicker cross was deflected, sending the ball in an arc towards the top corner. The Falkirk goalkeeper reached up to claw the ball away from underneath the bar.

Kilmarnock's assertiveness renewed their self-confidence. Their play still lacked a cutting edge, though, and that flaw was highlighted as Falkirk eventually rediscovered their poise. The home side created a handful of chances towards half-time, even though they were all spurned.

Blair Alston could at least point out that he was on the edge of the area when the ball dropped to him, but his effort was tame. John Baird, too, had an excuse when the MacDonald spilled Bob McHugh's shot, since the rebound flew towards Baird at an awkward height and he had to skew his body to make contact, before sending his effort over the bar.

The game seemed ragged and improvised, but Falkirk had the wherewithal to be precise at times. Whenever the opportunity arose, Baird or McHugh peeled out between the centre-backs and full-backs, with their sprightliness and quick feet taking advantage of some cumbersome defending. McHugh was frustrated when he skipped infield and could only curl his effort wide of the far post.

Exertion alone seemed to bind the two sides together. Quality was not a prominent influence, but sheer bloody mindedness could still be the deciding factor across the two legs. Instinct as well as training must have left Craig Sibbald stationed in the goal-line at a corner kick, and he was in the right place to head Kris Boyd's chipped shot away from underneath the bar.

Boyd's guile was evident, though, and he lifted a ball over the top of the Falkirk defence to send Obadeyi running through. A heavy touch took him past Rogers but also into a tight angle, and he could only send the ball into the side-netting with the goal unguarded.

Frustration and tension seemed bound together. As the game rolled back and forth, Boyd could only steer a header straight at Rogers from the back post, while teammates hollered at him for not sending the ball back into the six-yard box.

The only moment of quick, incisive passing was still to come, though, with Luke Leahy sliding the ball to Craig Sibbald from a quick free-kick routine, and he pulled it back for Vaulks to score.