Dunfermline squandered a golden chance to get off the bottom of the SPL as they lost to 10-man Motherwell at Fir Park.
The Steelmen played for four-fifths of the match without captain Stephen Craigan, who was sent off for moving his head towards Pars frontman Andy Barrowman.
However, it didn’t seem to bother them. Instead, depleted Well produced a polished performance that moved them above Hearts into third spot in the table.
They were a goal up at the break thanks to Henrik Ojamaa then Nicky Law made it two on 52 minutes. The visitors hit back on 63 minutes through sub Andy Kirk but Chris Humphrey sealed the three points with 10 minutes left.
Frustrated Pars boss Jim McIntyre, who revealed Barrowman could be out for three to six weeks after suffering a calf injury, said: ”With Motherwell going down to 10 men there was an ideal opportunity for us to go and grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
”We didn’t pass the ball quickly enough or with any sort of tempo to try and make the extra man count. I also thought we didn’t work hard enough off the ball to force Motherwell into making mistakes. For me, that was the story of the game.”
Well boss Stuart McCall accepted that Craigan deserved to go, saying: ”I just bumped into the referee and he said there wasn’t contact but he (Craigan) made the motion of a headbutt. He’s the one on the spot.”
The Pars went with an unchanged starting line-up after that fantastic victory at Kilmarnock on Saturday. The Steelmen drafted in Estonian frontman Ojamaa for his first start.
There was little excitement in the early stages, with a long-range effort from Pars new boy Mark Kerr the only attempt on goal worthy of note.
However, the match burst into life on 18 minutes, when Well were dramatically reduced to 10 men by referee Alan Muir. Craigan had contested a high ball with Dunfermline frontman Andy Barrowman in the middle of the Motherwell half.
The pair then squared up to each other and the Northern Ireland international moved his head towards Barrowman. He was swiftly given his marching orders, while his opponent received a yellow card for his part in proceedings.
Well immediately made a change with sub Tim Clancy coming on for the more forward-thinking Jamie Murphy, while on 27 minutes Barrowman left the field, too, although it was that calf injury that caused him to make way for Kirk.
When the dust settled it should have been advantage Pars but instead it was the home team that took the lead on 29 minutes.
Ojamaa was the scorer, bobbing and weaving at the edge of the box before sending in a shot that bounced in front of keeper Iain Turner and hitting the back of the net.
Joe Cardle had a net-bound strike from close range brilliantly saved by keeper Darren Randolph.
Having sent off their skipper, referee Muir continued to rile the Well fans with his decisions, thus ensuring he was greeted by a chorus of boos.
Things got worse for the Pars just seven minutes into the second period when they fell two behind.
Great work by Ojamaa saw him hold the ball up before slipping in Law, who ran forward before lashing an unstoppable shot past Turner.
Dunfermline hit back, though, and scored a fine goal themselves after 63 minutes.
Paddy Boyle raced down the left before sending over a low cross that was met by the boot of Kirk and blasted into the net from 15 yards.
Ojamaa’s night’s work was done on 71 minutes when he was replaced by Bob McHugh, while Martin Hardie joined Paul Willis on the park for Dunfermline.
Well brought on their third man on 76 minutes, with Humphrey replacing Law on 76 minutes and it was to prove a decisive move by boss McCall.
After Kirk had stabbed the ball just wide of goal at the other end, Humphrey put the tin hat on Dunfermline’s night on 80 minutes with a low shot that beat Turner to make it 3-1.
The Pars are set to sign former Dundee United, Inverness and Aberdeen midfielder Stuart Duff.
Duff (30) has been playing most recently in Malta but has returned to Scotland and it is understood a deal will be done to take him to East End Park.
Photo by Lynne Cameron/PA Wire