The long-awaited and much-anticipated Challenge Cup tie between Dunfermline and holders Raith Rovers finally took place at East End Park against the backdrop of a balmy west Fife evening which contrasted markedly with the monsoon-like conditions which had caused the original fixture to be postponed 10 days earlier.
The Kirkcaldy side’s defence of their trophy proved to be short-lived, with their Fife neighbours edging them out at the end of a highly entertaining 90 minutes and setting up a second round clash at home to Falkirk thanks to a magnificent late strike from young defender Ross Millen.
Dunfermline manager Jim Jefferies made three changes from the team which defeated Annan Athletic in the Scottish League Cup at the weekend, with the suspended Alex Whittle being replaced by Shaun Byrne while Millen and Ross Drummond came in for benched pair Ryan Williamson and Ross Forbes.
Also filling a place on the substitutes’ bench was Gozie Ugwu, Pars’ recent signing from Reading.
Suspension denied Raith boss Grant Murray the services of Calum Elliot, the two-goal hero in Saturday’s extra time victory over Forfar Athletic. The striker’s place was taken by young Lewis Vaughan with Rovers listing an otherwise unchanged line-up.
The Kirkcaldy side began the game in a 4-5-1 formation with summer signing Christian Nade leading the line and some careless defending by Dunfermline almost allowed the former Hearts and Dundee frontman to open the scoring after just 12 minutes, his run on goal being thwarted by a courageous diving block from Pars keeper Ryan Scully.
After withstanding some significant early pressure, the home side finally bared their teeth when Byrne’s superbly weighted pass gave Faissal El Bakhtaoui a clear sight of goal but the Frenchman’s effort ended up in the side-netting.
Inspired by the strong running and intelligent distribution of Drummond on the left wing, Dunfermline were the dominant side for the remainder of the first half and, after El Bakhtaoui had again found himself clean through on goal only to be denied by Jason Thomson’s powerful challenge, the Pars came close to taking the lead just before half-time when Andy Geggan shot over from six yards after Raith keeper Kevin Cuthbert had parried a venomous strike by Michael Moffat.
The second half began in dramatic fashion as, straight from the restart, Nade delighted the visiting fans in the 4,000-plus crowd by embarking on an exhilarating solo run which took him past three defenders and into the penalty area. Faced with only Scully to beat, the first goal of Nade’s Raith career appeared inevitable but the Pars keeper managed to block his shot.
At the other end Cuthbert was emulating Scully’s heroics, saving well from both Byrne and El Bakhtaoui as the home side tried to replicate their first half dominance.
Tempers flared midway through the second half when Josh Falkingham’s promising run was terminated by a cynical challenge from Rovers defender Ross Perry on the edge of the penalty area. The diminutive Falkingham squared up to Perry, who was booked by referee Alan Muir, but the resultant free- kick was cleared.
With eight minutes remaining, and extra time looming, the deadlock was finally broken when, after Falkingham’s low shot was only partially cleared, Millen sent the home fans into raptures with a curling effort high past Cuthbert and into the net.