Tipped by some at the start of the season for Premiership promotion, Dunfermline have crashed into League One after the first round of the play-offs.
A dismal campaign was brought to a shuddering halt by a late Queens Park strike in their second-leg at East End Park.
Despite The Pars dominating possession, particularly in the first half, the side were unable to convert chances into goals.
MCHUGH ➡️ MURRAY ➡️ BOOM 🎯 pic.twitter.com/rwS2QKSIyA
— Queen's Park FC (@queensparkfc) May 7, 2022
It was the same old story for the Fife side in failing to find the net – they were joint-lowest goalscorers in the Championship, alongside Morton and Queen of the South.
Courier Sport examines three talking points in the final game of a season to forget for Dunfermline.
Relegation months in the making
The Pars relegation wasn’t down to Saturday afternoon alone.
With just seven points on the board after 13 games with Peter Grant at the helm, the side never got the season off to the best of starts.
A couple of victories after John Hughes took the reins sparked some optimism, but the side soon lost their way again.
In total, they won just seven games in the Championship – one less than even the Doonhamers.
For all their troubles earlier in the season, Dunfermline had numerous chances against The Spiders to pull themselves out of the mess they created.
In total, 20 shots were attempted but only four of those required the Queens Park keeper to react.
Efe Ambrose’s red card did change the game, but the Pars will know they should have been out of sight by then.
Just like over the course of the season, John Hughes’ men will look back on the missed chances that have proven so costly.
The manner of the late defeat was devastating but the real damage was done in the weeks and months before the final minute on Saturday.
Fan reaction
Yogi refused to throw in the towel post-match.
He insists he wants to be the one to guide Dunfermline back to the Championship next season.
At full-time, though, Pars fans were quite vocal in their dissatisfaction with his work.
Out of a possible 69 points since taking charge in November, his team earned 28.
Despite his willingness to stay, the board will have tough choices to make, especially with season tickets to sell.
Was certainly suggested to me that, if Dunfermline went down, John Hughes would be charged with taking them back up.
Not silly enough to deal in definites right now – conversations will be had in the coming days – but clearly Hughes wants to stay. https://t.co/YSXvkKfr2g
— Alan Temple (@alanftemple) May 7, 2022
Hughes is still in contract until May 2023. Whatever choice is made, it could come at a cost.
Group of death
Relegation has just been confirmed and the prospect of kicking another ball may be too hard to think about for the Dunfermline players and fans right now.
But looking to next season, The Pars face stiff competition to get back into the Championship.
A regenerated Falkirk with John McGlynn at the helm could prove to be serious title contenders.
Montrose, who have consistently finished in the top four in the past few seasons, will fancy their chances once more.
Either Airdrie or Queens Park will look for promotion. Like the Pars, Queen of the South will target an immediate bounce back to the second-tier.
While Fife rivals Kelty Hearts could make it three titles in a row with their experienced squad.
A major rebuild of the side is required and the Dunfermline board may have to move quickly to put themselves in the best position to return to the Championship at the first time of asking.
