Tommy Wright has heaped praise on Kilmarnock's fans and has thanked them for sticking by the side.
The Rugby Park side took until the 56th minute to break bitter rivals down, but Liam Polworth's goal was followed up by an Innes Cameron penalty to give the blue side of Ayrshire the bragging rights.
And Wright was full of praise: "It was so important we got the first win.
"It is everything that I know we can do but it is only one game and we need to go and build on that.
"That should be the minimal for any player. You have to work hard and work to get possession back. We did that and we were patient too. The fans deserve a lot of credit because they stayed with us.
"We dominated the game. The point about the fans is that when you dominate the game there can be frustration in the crowd but there wasn't. It is difficult as times because they feel you should be ahead when you're not but there is a real connection between us."
Wright added: "I would have liked to have more fans in and some of their fans in. The atmosphere was brilliant. Hopefully we can start getting more in."
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
