Raith Rovers midfielder Brad Spencer produced a dramatic moment of magic to secure a 1-1 Fife derby draw and condemn Dunfermline to an 11th Championship game without a win.
The classy playmaker converted a wonderful daisy-cutting drive from the edge of the box with 87 minutes on the clock to seal a point for Rovers.
Raith are now unbeaten in their last five fixtures against the Pars, who are still rooted to the foot of the table.
Spencer’s strike cancelled out a stunning opener from the mercurial Dom Thomas.
Life is certainly never dull with Thomas.
He started the campaign as Dunfermline captain. He was repeatedly hauled off and then, ultimately, dropped from the team.
Public praise, albeit couched in rather blunt criticism of his work ethic, then followed from manager Peter Grant.
And he appeared destined to be the match-winner — until Spencer’s intervention.
Honouring Walter Smith
A cloud hung heavy over Scottish football following the passing of Walter Smith, a true giant of our game.
The legendary manager touched the lives of so many coaches and players during an astonishing career, as evidenced — in particular — by the Dunfermline dugout.
Assistant manager Greg Shields and first-team coach Steven Whittaker both played under Smith, the latter reaching the Uefa Cup final of 2008 under his charge.
Pars boss Peter Grant joined Smith in carrying the coffin of the late, great Tommy Burns from St Mary’s Church after the requiem mass in 2008. Burns and Smith; two men who will forever transcend the Glasgow divide.
An impeccably observed minute’s silence preceded kick-off, after which the hosts began brightly.
Terrific Thomas
Raith Rovers, playing in front of a sold-out away allocation, brought in Matej Poplatnik, Ethan Ross and Tom Lang to replace Ethon Varian (shoulder), Ross Matthews (suspended) and Kyle Benedictus (hamstring).
And Poplatnik sought to make his mark in spectacular fashion with an audacious volley from 30 yards. However, it cleared the cross-bar by some distance.
Ross then saw a shot from the edge of the box squirm narrowly wide.
Last-ditch blocks were the order of the day for both sides when Rovers left-back Liam Dick and Pars centre-half Mark Connolly superbly denied Thomas and Dario Zanatta, respectively, within a matter of minutes.
But the Pars broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion five minutes after the break when Thomas cut infield from the right and unleashed a sumptuous dipping, curling drive into the top-corner from 25 yards.
Frantic finale
Dunfermline came close to doubling their advantage through another fire-cracker of a drive by Thomas. But this time Jamie MacDonald’s stunning finger-tip save denied the wide-man.
And what a massive moment moment that proved to be when Spencer slammed home the leveller, taking advantage of a slick surface to lash beyond Owain Fon Williams.
The goal sparked a mini-pitch invasion among the delirious travelling fans, while the full-time whistle brought scattered jeers from the home fans.
