A last-gasp goal from Kris Boyd kept Kilmarnock's season alive and made sure that Hearts will have something to play for when they face Rangers on Sunday.

The Ayrshire side now trail Craig Levein's men by three points, although Hearts do have a significant advantage in goals.

First half strikes from Stevie Crawford and Gary Mason put the Pars in the driving seat before a freak effort from Gary McDonald halved the deficit.

Killie rallied in the second period and although they rode their luck at times, they continued to press and got their reward in the dying seconds when Boyd hit home an Andy McLaren cross.

Dunfermline took the lead after only four minutes in simple but effective fashion.

Jason Dair took a corner from the left hand side and whipped the ball in at pace for Nicholson, who had cleverly positioned himself in front of his man.

The midfielder broke free of the pack of players standing in the six-yards box and bulleted a header past the exposed Gordon Marshall to leave Kilmarnock stunned.

The home side were dictating the pace of the game and doubled their advantage soon after when Chris McGroarty picked out Mason with a pass inside the box. Mason mishit his effort but it still found its way past Marshall.

Dair was certainly up for it and was relishing the chance to play in front of the Pars home fans for the final time after being told his contract was not going to be renewed earlier in the week.

He almost added the third goal for Dunfermline when he spotted Marshall slightly off his line and unleashed a blistering shot from 20-yards.

The ball appeared to be sailing high over the bar, but it took a dramatic dip and caused the Killie goalkeeper some concern before he finally realised it was destined to fly just past.

Kilmarnock gave themselves a lifeline after 24 minutes when a lovely move involving Fulton, Gary McSwegan and McDonald ended with the youngster trying a deep cross from the right hand side.

His effort looked fairly harmless and Pars keeper Derek Stillie had plenty of time to watch the ball as it sailed towards him, but he missed it and it smacked off the back post and into the net.

Kilmarnock knew they had to attack in the second half if they were to keep their European dream alive, so Jim Jefferies tinkered with his formation, bringing on McLaren and Paul Di Giacomo early in the half.

However, this left them open to the counter attack and although Canero passed up a great chance to equalise from 12-yards, Dunfermline always looked likely to exploit the space they left at the back.

Crawford should have put the result beyond any doubt with less than 10 minutes remaining when Brewster brilliantly picked him out with a long crossfield ball.

The Scotland man rounded Marshall, but was unable to get the ball fully under his control and was thwarted by a last-gasp tackle from a Killie defender.

Killie threw everything they had into attack in the closing stages and got their reward when Boyd popped up to sidefoot home a McLaren cross from the right into the net and keep their season alive.

Teams

Dunfermline: Stillie, Bullen, MacPherson (McGarty 70), Scott Wilson, McGroarty (Grondin 87), Mason, Nicholson, Dair, Kilgannon (Dempsey 45), Crawford, Brewster.

Subs Not Used: Ruitenbeek, McNicol.

Booked: Bullen.

Goals: Nicholson 5, Mason 11.

Kilmarnock: Marshall, Fowler (McLaren 60), Dindeleux, McLaughlin, Shields (Hay 33), McDonald (Di Giacomo 56), Mahood, Fulton, Canero, Boyd, McSwegan.

Subs Not Used: Stewart, Locke.

Booked: Canero, Dindeleux, Di Giacomo.

Goals: McDonald 26, Boyd 90.

Att: 6,896

Ref: M McCurry (Scotland).