Dunfermline 1 Queen’s Park 0 – Penalty proves decisive

QUEEN’S PARK fell to a first half penalty in a tight encounter at KDM Group East End Park as the pack at the bottom of the William Hill Championship compressed again.

Wins for Airdrie and Ross County cut the gap to two points – though with a game in hand on the Diamonds.

Calumn Morrison’s spot-kick – awarded against Seb Drozd – proved decisive. 

After a seven minute delay to the start of the game, for Dunfermline’s goalkeeper to change his kit colour, Euan Murray chose his Spiders switcheroo and both sides changed ends.

The home side faced their own fans for the first half then, and gave them a goal to cheer at that end.

From early in the game Dunfermline were bright with Queen’s Park scrambling on the soft and flattened surface.

Just two minutes in Cal Ferrie produced a brilliant stop to deny Andrew Tod after a Josh Cooper miscue.

The keeper then had to smother at the feet of Oliver Thomas a few minutes later after miscommunication between Murray and Carlo Pignatiello.

It took beyond the tenth minute for Nikolay Todorov to take a pot-shot from distance – a half-volley that wasn’t far away from Aston Oxborough’s goal.

That sparked the best spell from the Spiders and skipper Murray was twice denied close in – the second a caron copy of his equaliser in midweek but Oxborough kicked clear. Todorov was mere millimetres away from gathering the rebound too.

But the home side took the lead on 23 minutes when Seb Drozd was penalised for kicking Charlie Gilmour as both raised boots for a loose ball. The forward’s was under the Dunfermline man’s and made contact leading to  David Dickinson’s award.

Callumn Morrison sent Ferrie the wrong way from the spot with the ex-Falkirk man kissing the badge of his old club’s rivals.

Drozd almost immediately atoned for his kick – heading a deep Pignatiello cross off the crossbar on the Spiders’ first return up the park after falling behind.

It was a tough opening 45 for Sean Crighton’s side, one where possession was loose and chances not taken.

Andrew Tod could have doubled Dunfermline’s lead just before the interval with a curling shot that clipped the outside of Ferrie’s post – though the keeper seemed content to see it fly across his goal.

After the interval, where a heavy downpour created surface water on the main stand side of the park, but it seemed to suit the Spiders with a raise in the tempo and performance.

After Scott Martin and Michael Ruth replaced Nikolay Todorov and Callum Smith moved Seb Drozd wide, the visitors had a glorious chance in the 63rd minute.

Louis Longridge’s lofted cross was punched by Oxborough, but kept alive by Matty Shiels. Drozd had a shot blocked, the same happened to Euan Murray’s acrobatic effort and Ruth, controlling the ball on his chest and turning well in the box fired wide on the turn.

The Pars spurned a great chance of their own when Tod smashed Chris Kane’s knockdown over from 10 yards out.

Sean Crighton pitched Liam McLeish and Magnus Mackenzie in late on but the equaliser wouldn’t fall for the Spiders as Airdrie and Ross County both registered wins.