No easy time for Pars, but they still edge it to go top
DUNFERMLINE 3
Murray (21), Mcmanus (pen 43), Watson (60)
QOS 2
Mckee (51), Dobbie (pen. 74)
Dunfermline made life difficult for themselves despite running out winners in a hotly contested game at East End Park.
The Pars have maintained their perfect start to the league campaign with Stevie Crawford saying afterwards: “I am delighted with the win.
“We finished the first half very strongly and we scored at a good time in the second half as well to go 3-1 up.
“Queens probably grew into the game and had their best spell towards the end.
“It got a bit edgy at 3-2 but we have shown enough to come away with the three points.
“You see how much the wind is swirling and it is another side to us, we dug in when we had to.”
The game started at a lacklustre pace and it was the visitors who would have the first chance 17 minutes in.
Gregor Buchanan got on the end of a Joseph Mckee freekick but saw his header tipped well over by Fon Williams in the home goal.
The game then sparked to life though and four minutes later Buchanan’s men were behind, Euan Murray continuing his remarkable early season goal-scoring form, ghosting in unmarked at the back post to head a Dom Thomas corner home.
The Pars’ second would be as a result of another Thomas set-piece delivery – this time the ball finding its way out to Kyle Turner who charged into the box before being bundled over by Daniel Pybus.
Declan Mcmanus made no mistake from the spot, rifling home into the top right corner.
The home side would have been looking to control the game at the start of the second half but the Dumfriesshire men were back in the game five minutes in when Joe Mckee tried a speculative effort from outside the box.
It looked all the way like Fon Williams should save comfortably but he could only get a soft hand to it, palming the ball into the net.
Queens had their tails up now but another set-piece was to be their undoing on the hour mark, which, following a stramash at the front post, saw the ball falling to Paul Watson who hammered home.
Allan Johnston could not fault his men for effort, though, as they clawed their way back into the game once more, this time from the spot. Aidan Fitzpatrick was felled by Iain Wilson. Stephen Dobbie found the bottom corner.
Queens went in search of the equaliser with Dobbie spurning a couple of chances most notably in injury time but it was not to be as the home men held on well in near gale force conditions to go top of the league.