Dunfermline staged an incredible fightback to rescue a point just when all
looked lost, and relegation a certainty.
Scotland striker Billy Dodds had put on a one-man show for Dundee United to
run Dunfermline ragged in the first half.
But it was all change within a minute of the second half kicking off, when
Jason De Vos pushed Owen Coyle in the area and Marc Millar netted from the
spot-kick.
The complexion of the game then changed completely. Dunfermline looked
determined there would be no repeat of their six-goal hammering by Kilmarnock
last Saturday, and the home fans for the first time in many weeks saw
Dunfermline at their best.
Eight minutes after the penalty Andy Smith scored an electrifying equaliser.
He headed a Scott Thomson cross towards the corner of the net which keeper Sieb
Dijkstra was only able to palm out but Smith was there again to make no mistake
this time with a second header.
The game then became an exciting end-to-end affair with both goalkeepers
playing at their very best to avoid a winning goal by either side.
The story had been quite different for Dunfermline in the first half. Their
heads went down when Dodds grabbed the first of his two goals in the 13th minute
and another heavy defeat looked on the cards.
A Scott McCulloch pass split the Dunfermline defence wide open and was picked
up by an unmarked Dodds who rifled his shot to the far corner of the net just
out of reach of keeper Lee Butler's out-stretched fingers.
Then in the 18th minute the Tangerines were awarded a penalty when Dodds was
brought down by keeper Butler, and the striker picked himself up to net his
second from the spot.
Dunfermline were full of despair and their play deteriorated and though Dodds
had a glorious chance for a hat-trick goal to wrap up proceedings, he hit the
side-netting.
United still had a splendid opportunity to take three points in the closing
seconds of the game but were denied by a heroic clearance from defender Greg
Shields.
Keeper Butler saved a blockbuster of a shot from Kjell Olofsson. But he
couldn't hold the ball and it came out to Olofsson a second time his shot was
heading for an empty net with Butler still on the ground.
Then from nowhere Shields dived in to head the ball off the goal-line away for
a corner, and Dunfermline breathed again.
Teams:
Dunfermline: Butler, Millar, Shields, Tod, Martin (Ireland 45),
Dolan, Dair, Thomson (Shaw 80), Petrie (Graham 80), Smith,
Coyle.
Subs Not Used: Hay, Ferguson.
Booked: Millar, Dolan.
Goals: Millar 46 pen, Smith 54.
Dundee Utd: Dykstra, Malpas, Jonsson, De Vos,
McCulloch (Eustace 89), Hannah, Miller, Skoldmark,
Easton (Duffy 57), Dodds, Olofsson.
Subs Not Used: Combe, Thompson, McLaughlin.
Goals: Dodds 13, 18 pen.
Att: 6,190
Ref: D Mcdonald (Edinburgh).
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