That was a much-needed win for Dunfermline on Friday.
For many reasons – moving in the right direction in a tight Scottish Championship chief among them.
It also showed how much the Pars have missed vital components of their squad throughout the season, starting on the eve of the league campaign and dogging them ever since.
There is still work to do to prove that James McPake’s side is moving in the right direction, but a run of no wins in nine has been followed by three wins from their last six – including two victories against teams in the top three.
Courier Sport looks at the talking points after Dunfermline’s 3-1 win over Dundee United.
A glimpse of a fully fit Dunfermline
Every team has injuries, but having as many key players out for as long as the Pars have this season is rare.
To name just a few: Kyle Benedictus has been missing for pretty much the entire season, Kane Ritchie-Hosler has had three operations this season and Matty Todd has been out with several different issues.
All three recently returned to the side and were vital to Dunfermline’s dominant win over the league leaders.
Captain Benedictus and his trademark screeching at team-mates have been sorely missed at the heart of the Dunfermline defence for much of this campaign.
Alongside him, Malachi Fagan-Walcott was again excellent, especially when the chips were down in the final stages. The on-loan Cardiff man has proved to be an excellent piece of business.
Ewan Otoo and Chris Hamilton
The Pars skipper’s return to action means the long-running bid to give Ewan Otoo a run in midfield has succeeded – and Chris Hamilton has been able to join him in there.
Dundee United selected the same battling midfield three that won plaudits for their performance away to Morton the week before and the Dunfermline duo stood up to the task.
On Friday, Hamilton won a second ball to send Alex Jakubiak on a run in the build-up to Matty Todd’s opener, setting the tone for the night.
The Pars vice-captain was only taken off at half-time because he was on a booking and, given Hamilton’s heart-on-sleeve nature, McPake did not want to risk going down to 10 men at any point.
Alex Jakubiak
Ritchie-Hosler was a worthy recipient of the live TV man-of-the-match award, and Courier Sport’s star man, but it could easily have gone to Jakubiak.
The pacey striker was a handful for the experienced United centre-back pairing all evening, playing a part in all three goals. “The player I know,” said manager James McPake post-match.
There have been glimpses of what he is capable of this season – Morton at home and Ayr United away – but those performances have not been as frequent as he would like.
The 28-year-old is another who has not had his injury issues to seek. But after a run in the team, and now with the likes of Friday’s goalscorers to link with, he will be looking to use this as a launching pad for the remainder of the season.
Looking up or down?
It depends which week it is, frankly. This can change – and has changed – on a week-to-week basis.
The priority at this stage is still to put enough distance between them and ninth so that there is not even a suspicion of relegation.
The Pars are four points ahead of Inverness, who occupy that slot, though it is tempting to look up the way as well.
Dunfermline are now in sixth, two points behind Morton in fifth and the same number of points away from the promotion play-offs as the relegation zone.
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