Championship leaders Dunfermline carried their league momentum into the Betfred Cup as they reached the quarter-finals.
The conditions at Gayfield were perfect for football on a beautiful, clear day and they definitely suited the Pars as they marched past Arbroath, winning 3-1.
The Lichties almost took the lead on 18 minutes when it needed a brilliant one-handed save from keeper Owain Fon Williams to push away James Craigen’s netbound strike.
However, the visitors went one up on 28 minutes when Ryan Dow fired in a left-foot shot from 22 yards that gave home goalie Derek Gaston no chance.
The Championship leaders then made it 2-0 on 37 minutes with a scrappy goal that was finished off by Euan Murray’s boot from close-range after a goalmouth scramble.
The Pars should have been three up on 58 minutes when Dow had time and space on his hands inside the box but slid his low drive wide of the far post.
Just a couple of minutes later, Gaston dived full length to save a strike from the impressive Kyle Turner as Dunfermline looked for more goals.
However, it was the hosts who hit back on 65 minutes when Dale Hilson, who had come on as a substitute at half-time, drilled the ball into the Pars’ net, with Craigen claiming the assist.
Dom Thomas was a whisker away from restoring the two-goal advantage for the Pars on 75 minutes when he blasted the ball across the face of goal and just an inch or two beyond the far post.
The Angus men kept fighting for very ball but the Fifers extended their lead with seven minutes to go.
Sub Kevin O’Hara, who had had a “goal” chalked off for offside just a minute earlier after he tapped in a Thomas cross, stepped up to score from the penalty spot after Ricky Little had handled inside the box.
That sent Stevie Crawford’s men safely into the last-eight draw.
