Dunfermline Athletic 0, Partick Thistle 1
Saturday 14th March 2009
Twenty six long years have passed since Thistle last won in Dunfermline. When
an East End Park success finally arrived it could hardly have come at a more opportune time.
With St Johnstone's long unbeaten run finally ending at the hands of Livingston the gap between Thistle and the top of the league has now been cut to just a single point belief is beginning to grow that Thistle could actually win this season's First Division title.
Thistle's latest success came courtesy of an 18th minute penalty converted by Gary Harkins who took his tally for the season to an impressive 11 goals.
The strong wind, which only got stronger as the afternoon wore on, made things difficult for both teams.
Although Harkins' penalty would be the only goal of the afternoon there were near things at both ends of the park.
Dunfermline twice struck the frame of the Thistle goal. A Nick Phinn shot hit the Thistle bar in the 24th minute. David Graham did likewise in the 67th minute with Phinn knocking home the rebound. A raised flag for offside though brought a halt to his celebrations.
For Thistle Gary Harkins hooked a half volley wide and a great run from Marc Twaddle down the left hand side nearly produced a second Thistle goal only for his cutback to fall behind Kris Doolan.
The full-time whistle was greeted with thunderous acclaim from the 627 Thistle fans that provided such excellent vocal backing.
