And so the Pars bandwagon moved on to Paisley on Monday for a crunch relegation battle with St Mirren. Victory for the Paisley club would mean almost certain relegation for the Pars, while a draw would leave them an uphill struggle. Victory would cut the defecit to one point with three games left.
From the victorious cup side, out went the banned Phil McGuire for Scott Wilson, while Tam McManus and Stephen Glass were recalled; Darren Young and Jamie McCunnie the players sacrificed.
A crowd of over 10,000, including 3,000 Pars fans, packed into Love Street creating a tremendous atmosphere as a sea of beach balls were hurled from the travelling support in celebration of the team reaching Europe. After the inital fun and games, it was down to the serious stuff as the game got underway and the Pars looked menacing enough early on, with McManus and Jim O'Brien buzzing around trying to make things happen. O'Brien sent the Fifers' first attempt over the bar with a fourth minute free-kick.
The home side were as nervous as the Pars and while John Sutton sent a header narrowly wide, not too many chances were created in a first half littered with mistakes and tackles. St Mirren full back David Van Zanten earned the wrath of the away support following a late, reckless lunge on Adam Hammill which produced a yellow card.
Amazingly, moments later, he got away with another appalling challenge on Hammill on the touchline, with referee McCurry deeming he had played the ball. The referee himself wasn't immune to criticism, as Saints defenders were constantly getting away with climbing on McManus and Jim McIntyre and preventing them from making a challenge for high balls.
The Pars though did carve out a glorious chance on the half hour and it came from the unlikliest of sources. Sol Bamba charged forward from halfway and, after playing a neat one two with McIntyre, fired a shot wide from 16 yards as the ball seemed to get caught beneath his feet.
Five minutes before the break, Hammill sent a shot just wide of the post but the Pars went into the break desperately seeking a goal and despite having the better of the half, had not hit the form they had shown in previous games.
Whatever Stephen Kenny said to his side at half time clearly worked as the team poured forward at the start of the second half and began to pass the ball a lot better. They forced a corner on 49 minutes and a header from McManus at the near post forced Chris Smith into a wonderful reaction save and he then dealt with a Hammill shot from the rebound for good measure.
The keeper was beaten though on 52 minutes but the linesman's flag saved his side. A Hammill free-kick was played to McIntyre, who laid the ball off for Scott Wilson and the defender's shot was diverted in by McManus. TV replays suggested the Pars striker was unfortunate not to see the goal given.
Smith again saved Saints when he saved with his feet after Hammill had burst through and you sensed a goal was coming for the Athletic, and it duly did moments later.
A Glass pass to McIntyre saw the striker find the impressive Scott Muirhead on the left. The full back strode forward, played a one two with Hammill and hit a shot which was blocked by Kirk Broadfoot. The ball however fell kindly for McManus eight yards out and this time he made no mistake as he sent the huge visiting support wild.
This seemed to wake the home side up and they responded by launching high balls for Sutton and Stewart Kean at every opportunity, which was easy meat for Shields, Bamba and Wilson. With Gary Mason excelling in defensive duties, the Buddies failed to create a clear cut chance and the Pars should have wrapped the game up with nine minutes to go.
As St Mirren attacked, Dunfermline broke forward through O'Brien down the right and his cross found McManus again at the back post, but the goal hero could only head wide with the goal gaping.
Saints continued to pile high balls into the box but the closest they came to a goal was a goalmouth scramble where Shields hacked the ball away. The Pars held out to record a valuable victory and players,management and supporters celebrated together. A great win for the magnificent support to enjoy, the battle has only just begun, starting with Motherwell on Monday.
Match Stats
St Mirren: Smith, van Zanten, Potter, Broadfoot, Maxwell, Brittain (Corcoran 64), Murray, Brady (McKenna 85), Reid (Mehmet 77), Kean, Sutton.Subs Not Used: Hinchcliffe, Malone, Mackay, Lawson.
Dunfermline Athletic: De Vries, Shields, Wilson, Bamba, Glass, O'Brien (Young 90), Hammill (McCunnie 78), Mason, Muirhead, McIntyre (Hamilton 89), McManus.Subs Not Used: McKenzie, Burchill, O.Morrison, Woods.
Goal: McManus (58)
Walking Down the Halbeath Road MoM: Gary Mason
Attendance: 10,251
Referee: Mike McCurry
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