Aberdeen recorded as comfortable a victory as they could have hoped for before breathing a huge sigh of relief.
Sam Cosgrove scored his 16th goal of the campaign, hit the post and had a strong penalty claim turned down to underline his importance to the team before being forced off just after the hour mark against Kilmarnock.
Dons boss Derek McInnes has reason to be fearful given the horrendous luck he has had with injuries this season but he was delighted with his players’ performance against Angelo Alessio’s side and relieved Cosgrove had survived unscathed.
He said: “There is a lot to be pleased about today. We’ve scored three goals against a team like Kilmarnock who are normally very difficult to breach. It’s never easy against them.
“We went with a front two to try to take advantage of the challenge they have at centre back.
“When we didn’t have the ball first half they had far too much possession for my liking but no one can deny we were the better team.
“We hit the post, should have had a penalty when Cosgrove was wiped out and added a third to add a bit of polish.
“It was good to get three goals and the clean sheet and I’m pleased to take the three points.”
On Cosgrove, McInnes added: “Sam felt his groin tighten. We were debating which striker to take off when Gary Dicker went back into midfield as he and Alan Power in there means you need an extra midfielder in there.
“Sam probably could have played on but we decided not to take the risk. Sam will be fine for next week as will Craig Bryson.”
The heavy rain ensured conditions were tough for both teams but it was the Dons who opened the scoring with their first attempt at goal and it was Curtis Main who delivered it with his first goal since February 2.
Lewis Ferguson was the architect, driving forward before picking out the run of Main into the box but the former Motherwell forward finished in style with a fine diving header past Laurentiu Branescu for his first goal in an Aberdeen shirt.
The Dons played with freedom, unshackled by the pressure of finding an early goal following their opener, and the only surprise was that it took them until the 28th minute to double their lead.
Zak Vyner fired wide before Sam Cosgrove saw his effort blocked for a corner but from the resulting set piece Ryan Hedges played the ball short to Niall McGinn who found Cosgrove with his delivery into the box and the striker beat Branescu with a powerful downward header for his 16th goal of the season.
Kilmarnock responded strongly to falling 2-0 behind and they put the Dons under pressure in the final 15 minutes of the first half as they tried to find a goal to get back in the game.
Power came closest with a fierce 20 yard deflected effort which Joe Lewis did well to turn past the post.
Cosgrove could have put the game beyond the visitors four minutes after the interval when he let fly from 20 yards but his powerful drive rebounded off the post with Branescu beaten and Killie scrambled the ball clear.
Cosgrove’s final contribution was to appeal for a penalty after being sent sprawling in the box by Killie substitute Stephen Hendrie. The big striker then limped off and his replacement Connor McLennan was denied a goal when Branescu made a terrific save to keep out his first-time effort from Jon Gallagher’s low cross.
McLennan was denied again by Branescu as Aberdeen upped the tempo in the final half hour. The pressure built with Ferguson robbing Niko Hamalainen of the ball out wide before setting off on a run which took him into the box where his effort was headed off the line by Iain Wilson.
But the Dons would not be denied a third and got their reward eight minutes from time when McLennan’s corner was flicked on at the near post by Greg Leigh for Scott McKenna to score at the back post.