It seems the immutable law of Scottish football – the one that states that the Old Firm shall not be moved – is to remain in place for a while yet. Many had lauded Kilmarnock, quite rightly, for their bright start to the season, but on two successive weekends now they have been sworded by Rangers and Celtic. Yesterday Jim Jefferies’ men showed little sign of being able to prise Celtic apart.

This game, marred by banal, repeated and tedious chants from Celtic’s fans aimed at the referee, Mike McCurry, witnessed two fine goals from Shaun Maloney and Georgios Samaras – the former after missing a penalty – but not too much in terms of a sustained threat from Kilmarnock. Jefferies and his assistant, Billy Brown, have just been awarded new, extended contracts, though they must surely have been depressed by the familiarity in this game’s message about Kilmarnock’s – and everyone else’s – place in Scottish football’s pecking order.

The Kilmarnock goalkeeper, Alan Combe, was seething afterwards about the way Shunsuke Nakamura went down under Craig Bryson’s challenge for a late Celtic penalty – converted by Samaras – though Combe’s very words told their own story. “It was never a penalty, and Nakamura got up wearing the biggest grin of his life, but Celtic could still have won by five or six goals,” he said.

It took a late penalty from Mehdi Taouil, following a veritable stramash in the Celtic six-yard box in which Gary Caldwell was sent off for handball, to secure Kilmarnock their consolation goal. Yet Kilmarnock were comfortably shackled by Celtic, with a player like David Fernandez simply unable to make any impression on the game and, yesterday at least, looking a shadow of his former self.

Samaras, meanwhile, remains a mystery. His first goal, in particular, was a magnificent feat, with the striker screaming in from the right flank and building up quite a head of pace beyond Frazer Wright before slamming his shot low past Combe.

All this only served to highlight how unusual this player is – an often unconvincing character who has now scored seven goals in his last four Premier League games. Perhaps Gordon Strachan is going to be proved right after all. Samaras, purchased for £1.5 million from Manchester City, where he was barracked, may prove to be the snip of the season.

McCurry came in for unusual stick from both sets of supporters. Given his commendable status as an ordained Baptist minister in Glasgow, the Celtic fans exhibit a natural denominational antipathy towards him – yet more antiBaptist nonsense, this must be stamped out. Moreover, McCurry’s errors at Ibrox in May, when he was seen to aid Rangers in the infamous game against Dundee United, only appear to have added to that abusive attitude towards him.

On top of this, a piece of baloney in a Sunday tabloid yesterday about a church service McCurry had conducted will only have fuelled some of the more gormless anger currently doing the rounds in Scottish football. Hence, poor Reverend McCurry was called everything under the sun yesterday. And to think that, amid it all, he had quite a decent game.

Celtic should have taken the lead after 18 minutes but Maloney made a strange botch of his penalty attempt. For all the stick that McCurry was taking, there seemed little doubt about the penalty being awarded in the first place. Garry Hay appeared to rashly challenge Maloney, who immediately went to ground. The Kilmarnock players simply walked away without even contesting the decision.

Yet Maloney proceeded to take tiny, paltry steps in approaching his spot-kick before licking his effort wide of Combe’s right post. He buried his head in his hands at the miss, but would soon make up for it.

Kilmarnock were rarely in the game in the first half, with Caldwell dominating his old adversary, Fernandez, and Nakamura, ever wonderfully poised, tormenting Killie down the right. From one such Nakamura waltz, Samaras shot straight at Combe after 20 minutes. And then Maloney, with a fine, instinctive shot, made amends with the opener after 25 minutes.

From Scott Brown’s pass, the ball broke off Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and suddenly presented itself to Maloney just inside Combe’s penalty box. Opening his right boot, he sliced his shot cleverly past the goalkeeper, high inside his left post.

Celtic should have made it 2-0 minutes before half-time, when Samaras, released down the right by Nakamura, homed in on Combe before seeming to overdeliberate with the ball and shoot wide.

Artur Boruc then saved Celtic, rushing from goal to block Fernandez’s effort, and having a set-to with Mark Wilson while he was at it. Kilmarnock, though, attempted to energise themselves, and in one lovely move they swept through Celtic via Taouil’s clever play, but could not find a way past Boruc. In the second half, substitute Connor Sammon also failed to find the net with an outstretched leg.

Samaras put Celtic two up after 58 minutes, surging in from the right for a marvellous solo effort, and then the striker made it 3-0 from the spot nine minutes from time after Bryson was alleged to have checked Nakamura just inside the area.

Following the kerfuffle in the closing minutes involving Caldwell and the handball, Kilmarnock clawed one back from the spot through Taouil, while Caldwell trudged from the field having been shown the red card.

Kilmarnock ratings (4-4-1-1)

A Combe 6 J Fowler 5 S Ford 5 F Wright 6 G Hay 4 D Invincibile 5 M Pascali 5 C Bryson 6 G Skelton 3 M Taouil 6 D Fernandez 4 Substitutes C Sammon 5 (for Skelton, 30min), D Simmonds (for Fernandez, 72), J Hamill (for Hay, 72) Not used D Rascle, D Lilley, I Flannigan, D Cox

Celtic ratings (4-4-2)

A Boruc 5 M Wilson 5 G Caldwell 6 S McManus 7 L Naylor 5 S Nakamura 7 M Crosas 7 S Brown 6 S Maloney 7 G Samaras 8 J Vennegoor 6 Substitutes A McGeady 6 (for Maloney, 62min), P Hartley (for Crosas, 75), G Loovens (for Vennegoor, 87) Not used M Brown, S McDonald, D O’Dea, P Caddis

Referee: M McCurry Attendance: 8,111