Raith Rovers boss Grant Murray admitted the final few minutes of his side’s 4-2 win at Dumbarton were more nervy than they should have been.
Murray’s side were coasting to a 3-0 victory only for a very late Bryan Prunty brace to give really give Raith a fright.
Murray said: “My nerves have been shattered. We were 3-0 up and looked comfortable but in the end it was very, very close.
“But I thought we were terrific to get ourselves 3-0 up. The first goal is always vital and we got that despite Dumbarton hitting the bar and the post.
“But then we just switched off at the end.”
The game got off to a fairly scrappy start as both sides took a while to settle. The first real chance of the game fell the way of Dumbarton when Mitch Megginson’s 25-yard drive flew inches over the cross bar.
Rovers began to ride their luck a bit and Mark Gilhaney was the next to pester David McGurn’s goal but his strike was cleared.
But the Rovers gradually began to force their way into the game and took the lead mid-way through the first half.
The ball broke kindly for Calum Elliot inside the Dumbarton box and he weaved his way past a couple of defenders before beating Jamie Ewings.
Raith continued to look dangerous going forward and Liam Fox was unlucky not to double his side’s lead when his shot from 25 yards came crashing back off the post.
The woodwork then came to Raith’s rescue when Prunty found room for himself on the edge of the box before firing in a shot which caught the post.
The second half was barely minutes old when Raith came close to grabbing their second goal. Only a stunning stop from Ewings from Paul Watson’s header kept his side in the game.
But Raith didn’t have to wait long to get their second goal. Dougie Hill was scythed down inside the Dumbarton penalty box and Brian Colvin pointed straight to the spot.
Greg Spence stepped up and sent Ewings the wrong way to give the visitors a two-goal advantage. Hill was the next to get on the scoresheet as Raith really stepped up a gear.
Cardle’s pin-point cross landed straight on the head of the defender and he nodded past Ewings. Dumbarton were guilty of being their own worst enemy with Gilhaney twice wasting good chances while one-on-one with McGurn.
A rare moment of slackness by Raith saw Gordon Smith’s poor passback collected by Prunty who made no mistake from six yards. Raith almost shot themselves in the foot when Reece Donaldson was sent off for a last-man challenge inside the box.
From the resultant penalty, Prunty stepped up to close the advantage to one.
With the hosts pressing forward for the equaliser that would have capped a stunning comeback, Lewis Vaughan settled the game in Rovers’ favour when he tapped home a Smith cross.