Hibs' striker Steve Crawford ended his club's agonising run of 15 games
without a win with a goal nine minutes from the interval at Easter Road.
It was a vital victory for under-pressure Hibernian manager Jim Duffy as the
win moved his troops to within a point of second-bottom Aberdeen in the
relegation dogfight.
Hibs started with an unchanged line-up from the one which drew with Hearts in
their previous outing while new signing Paul McDonald made his Dunfermline
debut.
The Pars, without a win themselves in eight games, started nervously and
defender Andy Tod almost looped a back-header over keeper Ian Westwater for a
bizarre own goal inside 90 seconds.
That early scare set the tone for a period of sustained Hibs pressure and
Westwater made an excellent close-range block from Crawford before the striker
unleashed a 20-yard cracker which fizzed inches wide of the target.
Dunfermline were struggling to cope with the pace of Crawford and Kevin Harper
as Hibs pinned them inside their own half.
On-loan Andy Walker brought another sharp save from Westwater and Pat McGinlay
headed a driven Crawford cross narrowly over, but still it would not break for
Hibs.
But, as the pressure became almost relentless, Dunfermline issued a sharp
warning to their opponents with a lightning 26th-minute counter-attack which
almost yielded the game's first goal.
David Bingham and McDonald combined on the half-way line to send Allan Moore
racing through on goal, but the winger blasted his effort a couple of feet over
the crossbar.
Having broken free from the shackles Dunfermline became a touch more
adventurous and Andy Smith's glancing header was smartly turned round a post by
Hibs keeper Chris Reid.
And from the resultant corner Bingham saw his spectacular right-foot volley
bravely headed off the line by Willie Miller with Reid beaten.
However, it would have been rough justice on Hibs had they fallen behind and
they responded perfectly by taking a 36th-minute lead thanks to the alert
finishing of Crawford.
Andy Dow's in-swinging corner was glanced on by defender Darren Dods and the
little striker was on hand at the far post to touch home from almost on the
goal-line.
It was a deserved goal for Hibs but they required another desperate Miller
clearance from the goal-line to preserve their lead until the interval after
Smith's header beat Reid.
The game burst to life five minutes after the interval when referee George
Clyde waved aside Dunfermline's penalty claims when Reid appeared to fell Hamish
French inside the box.
Pars fans' anger turned to fury just moments later when the whistlers ignored
a touchline incident involving Harper and Scott McCulloch.
The Dunfermline full-back departed on a stretcher as his team-mates gestured
angrily that Harper had elbowed him.
Clyde saw nothing and took no action.
Walker and Shaun Dennis hit the woodwork inside 90 seconds as Hibs tried to
kill the game but their fans were forced to survive a nervy last 15 minutes
before leaving Easter Road happy.
Teams:
Hibernian: Reid, W. Miller, Boco, Dods, Dennis, Dow, Harper,
Jackson, Crawford, Walker (Rougier 87), McGinlay.
Subs Not Used: Charnley, K. Miller.
Booked: Crawford.
Goals: Crawford 36.
Dunfermline: Westwater, Shields, McCulloch (Miller 54), Tod, Barnett, Bingham (Den Bieman 45), Moore (Duarte 77), Robertson,
Smith, French, McDonald.
Booked: McCulloch, Barnett.
Att: 10,616
Ref: G Clyde (Bearsden).
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