Dunfermline’s rollercoaster climax to the season continued with Saturday’s 1-0 win over Queen’s Park as the relegation battle took another twist.
The richly-deserved victory at Hampden leapfrogged them over their hosts and into the safety of eighth spot.
Chris Kane was again the hero for the Pars with his clinical strike 20 minutes from the end.
Courier Sport was at the national stadium to assess the performance and its consequences.
Pars are three wins from safety
With just three games remaining, Championship safety is in Dunfermline’s hands.
They know that if they can win their next three games – at home to Partick Thistle and Airdrie and away to Morton – they should avoid the drop.
They were in a similar position just a matter of days ago after victory over Livingston lifted them into eighth.
Only for defeat to Hamilton to plunge them back into danger.
However, this time there are just those three matches remaining to negotiate.
They have been described as ‘cup finals’ and the Fifers certainly treated their trip to Hampden that way.
Before the 90 minutes were up they were attempting to keep the ball by the corner flag.
It was the kind of savvy game management that will be required again in the coming weeks.
Solving a problem like Chris Kane
It goes without saying that to get the wins they need, Dunfermline will have to score goals.
Again, that proved a struggle.
And, once more, they ended up relying on Kane.
Boss Neil Lennon described the former St Johnstone striker as ‘talismanic’ after his match-winning display and promised to ‘wrap him in cotton wool’.
Given his importance to the attack, the 30-year-old’s lingering calf problems have hampered not only him but the team.
Kane hit the post in the first-half with an opening he might have done better with.
But he was in the right place at the right time when needed in the 70th minute.
The Pars could do with others stepping up in the coming weeks, but Kane is showing signs he might just be able to do it on his own if needed.
Experience shows
It was a line-up with pockets of experience that got the job done at the national stadium.
Craig Clay was excellent at the heart of the midfield and played a key role in sparking Kane’s goal with tenacity and a smart ball wide to Lewis McCann.
And Kane showed that striker’s instinct to get on the end of Calum Ferrie’s parry.
In the second-half, David Wotherspoon came off the bench to calm the midfield and Victor Wanyama made a late cameo in injury-time.
But at the heart of Dunfermline’s defensive display was skipper Kyle Benedictus.
The centre-half has been magnificent in recent games, with resolute performances and a calming influence on Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen and Tommy Fogarty either side of him.
He has had an almost magnetic-looking quality for any ball into the box and has barely lost an aerial duel – if at all.
Dunfermline are going to need all that experience if they are to get themselves over the line in this relegation scrap.
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