Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes watched his side win 3-1 against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park and said he was relieved to see Stevie May get his name on the scoresheet.

The Dons got off to a perfect start in Ayrshire when Kenny McLean scored after just 54 seconds before May's header was turned into his own goal by Killie's Kirk Broadfoot.

Jordan Jones pulled one back for the hosts before May ensured three points with a powerful strike.

It was the forward's first goal since mid-September and McInnes said that while May's performances hadn't been poor it was important for him to be scoring.

"He needs it," McInnes said. "I can dress it up and say he's still contributing, but a centre-forward needs his goals.

"He got the last touch for the second goal, his six-yard goal should have stood and he got his individual goal so he's (not) far away from a hat-trick.

"He's somebody that you always feel there are goals in him and he will be happy with his contribution."

Aberdeen has suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Motherwell last week and the manager was satisfied with their reaction.

"By and large I'm pleased with the players," he said. "It was a good response; we were all hurting after last week's defeat and it was important to get back to winning ways.

"I think that's 12 away games in the league, with 10 wins and two draws. Last week was a sore one and we were awful, but we have done a lot of work and got the reward for it."

Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke was mystified by his side's lacklustre performance.

"We had a really slow start, didn't get out of the traps and the game was over after 10 minutes," he said. "You can't give good teams two-goal head starts.

"You guys have seen us play over the past few weeks; it's a mystery."