Dunfermline have now gone nine games without a victory after being held to a draw by Arbroath on Saturday.
Malachi Fagan-Walcott capped a strong performance with an 18th-minute header to give the Pars an early lead.
Michael O’Halloran then somehow contrived to pass up the opportunity to double that advantage just a minute later.
In the end, both sides had to settle for a point apiece at the bottom of the Championship when Gayfield skipper Tam O’Brien nodded in his side’s leveller six minutes after the interval.
Must not lose
Sinking to second bottom in the Championship table after succumbing to costly back-to-back home defeats was bad enough for the Pars.
But they at least went into Saturday’s game against Arbroath with the relative consolation of a six-point cushion over the division’s bottom side.
Before kick-off, a victory could have lifted them into sixth place in the table.
The consequences of defeat, though, were stark.
Allowing the Red Lichties to haul themselves to within three points in the basement battle would have brought that automatic relegation spot far too close for comfort.
Of course, the Fifers still occupy the dreaded play-off place that proved so treacherous two seasons ago when they dropped into League One.
They do, however, enjoy a game in hand over the two teams immediately above them in the league.
Only goal difference separates them from Inverness Caley Thistle, whilst Queen’s Park are just two points ahead. Airdrie are another point further above, but have played a game less.
Keeping Arbroath at arm’s length remains a key goal in the relegation battle that boss James McPake has acknowledged he and his team now find themselves embroiled in.
That made their head-to-head a must not lose encounter for Dunfermline – and Arbroath.
Togetherness on display
In the build-up to the match, Ewan Otoo delivered a forthright assessment of the Pars’ travails in recent times.
A lack of belief was highlighted, perhaps understandable given recent results.
At that point on a run of eight games without victory, since lengthened to nine matches, there are bound to be doubts.
Confidence is such a crucial part of sport and Dunfermline’s has, collectively, been close to bottoming out after 5-0 and 3-0 home losses.
The other question mark Otoo raised was over a lack, at times, of ‘togetherness’.
Again, poor results can test the camaraderie of even the closest-knit squad.
However, despite the concession of a frustratingly avoidable equaliser early in the second-half, the Fifers displayed team spirit to ensure things did not get worse.
To finish the match the way they did, pushing hard for a winner, displayed a solidarity and unity that will be vital in the coming weeks.
A debut of promise
There were only four minutes on the clock and Chris Kane had already highlighted what he will bring to Dunfermline.
The loan signing from St Johnstone was immediately into his stride, putting pressure on the Arbroath defence with his energetic running.
It was an effort that later led to cramp setting in as the 90 minutes ticked down.
His ability to hold the ball and ease the stress on his team’s defence was also clear.
And in the fifth minute the 29-year-old displayed the kind of deft touch that the Pars’ blunt attack has missed for much of the campaign.
They are currently the third lowest scorers in the division.
But Kane’s intelligent flick sent Michael O’Halloran on his way for an early foray forward.
Having been team-mates at McDiarmid Park, there was clearly an understanding between the pair.
And it was no coincidence that the Fifers looked more threatening with Kane as an attacking focal point.
He almost found the net with an ambitious effort following a misplaced clearance from Arbroath goalkeeper Max Boruc.
In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Kane then struck the upright with a header from point-blank range.
It would have been a dramatic way to conclude a performance of promise that Dunfermline will be optimistic will bring more concrete rewards once the striker’s understanding and fitness increase.
Formation alteration
McPake confessed after the 3-0 defeat to Queen’s Park that changes were need to spark an upturn in fortunes.
With personnel choices limited due to injuries, it was a tactical revamp that took place for the visit of Arbroath.
Dunfermline have stuck with a three-man rearguard this season, even when central defensive options were thin on the ground.
That has meant the likes of Chris Hamilton and Ewan Otoo being deployed at the back rather than in their preferred midfield berths.
However, the three became a four on Saturday.
For the most part, with the Cardiff City pairing of goal-scorer Malachi Fagan-Walcott and Xavier Benjamin at its heart in the first-half, the move worked.
There were moments of anxiety, sometimes caused by a hazardous surface.
And Arbroath certainly had their chances to make it an even more uncomfortable afternoon for the Pars.
But it will be deeply frustrating for McPake and his side that they were pegged back by a goal from a set-piece.
An inability to cope with balls into the box has proved costly in recent weeks.
There was enough to suggest, however, that a return to the four-man defence that served the Fifers so well last term in League One could be a positive change for the Pars.
