Dunfermline threw themselves a lifeline in the battle for survival in the Bank of Scotland Premier League with a 1-0 win against Hibs. Phil McGuire netted to give manager Stephen Kenny a timely first home win. The centre-back, who had been struggling with a virus, bulleted a header high into the net seven minutes from time after Adam Hammill's free-kick. Substitute Mark Burchill should have added a second moments later after going through unchallenged by defenders, but Andy McNeil in the Hibs goal made a superb save. The Pars closed the gap at the basement to four points ahead of second-bottom St Mirren's clash with Rangers on Sunday.
Hibs got into their rhythm straight from kick-off and created their first chance of the game in the second minute. Striker Abdessalam Benjelloun raced onto a loose ball on the flank and cleverly made space for a shot on the edge of the box by skipping past Greg Shields. However, the marksman's low effort crashed into Dorus De Vries' side-netting. I wonder if Hibs manager John Collins regrets giving the Moroccan a pay rise. In a high-octane start to the match, the ball swung from end to end and the next chance also fell to the visitors. Benjelloun dispossessed Jim O'Brien on the halfway line and fed strike partner Steven Fletcher, but his shot inside the area was well blocked by Souleymane Bamba. Hibs looked far more threatening on the attack and in the 12th minute Benjelloun produced a sublime piece of skill to cross the ball into the six-yard box, but Guillaume Beuzelin could not make proper contact. Seconds later Pars striker Jim McIntyre went one-on-one with McNeil, who blocked his attempted chip, with Tam McManus missing the target with the rebound. Dunfermline harried their opponents at every opportunity in a bid not to allow them to get into their stride and it was a tactic that appeared to work. Former Hibs striker McManus was unlucky with a flick header in the 29th minute from Jim McIntyre's cross, his effort landing on top of the net. McManus was causing havoc for the Pars and McNeil had to look lively to tip his dipping free kick over the bar four minutes from the interval.
Collins brought on winger Ivan Sproule at half-time in place of Ross Chisholm and the Northern Ireland international saw a lot of the ball at the beginning of the second period. From a Dunfermline corner in the 60th minute, McNeil pulled off a fine stop to deny McIntyre with an overhead kick. As the match entered the final period, it was there for the taking, with both teams looking capable of inflicting damage. The introduction of on-loan Liverpool winger Hammill made a huge difference to the Dunfermline attack, with the Hibs defence not knowing how to cope with his direct running. The visitors' substitute Merouane Zemmama was also causing problems with his clever passing and he sent David Murphy clear inside the box in the 79th minute, but his shot was well blocked. In a dramatic climax to the match Dunfermline took the lead when McGuire made his intervention and although Burchill blundered, his miss did not prove costly.
Dunfermline: De Vries, Shields, McGuire, Bamba, Scott Morrison, McCunnie, Mason, Muirhead (Hammill 55), O'Brien, McIntyre (Burchill 77), McManus (Ross 85).
Subs Not Used: McKenzie, Thomson, Ryan, Daquin
Booked: O'Brien
Goal: McGuire 84
Hibs: McNeil, Whittaker, Hogg, Jones, Murphy, Scott Brown, Beuzelin, Chisholm (Sproule 46), Stevenson (Shiels 86), Benjelloun, Fletcher (Zemmama 70).
Subs Not Used: Simon Brown, Martis, McCann, Campbell
Booked: Whittaker, Murphy
Attendance: 6,001
Referee: C MacKay | Editor
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