Arbroath came back from an extended break with a bang as they defeated Dunfermline in a six-goal thriller at Gayfield on Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Dow got the ball rolling inside two minutes before Andy Tod’s goal levelled matters, but own goals from Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen and Deniz Mehmet put the Lichties in control, and despite Josh Cooper’s strike setting up a nervy finish, Findlay Marshall rounded off the scoring at the death to secure a 4-2 win and tighten Arbroath’s grip on third place.
The Lichties raced into the lead when Dow kept his eyes on a long ball forward to nod into the net from the edge of the box, despite being clattered by the onrushing Billy Terrell.
Dunfermline were only behind for 12 minutes though after Callumn Morrison saw his effort turned behind by Aidan McAdams, with the following corner falling to Tod whose ball back into the box was diverted past the keeper by Harry Cochrane.
Chances were few and far between after the two goals as torrential rain began to cascade down at Gayfield, with both sides struggling to really get the ball into dangerous areas.
Arbroath did eventually go close seven minutes before the interval when Jacob MacIntyre’s shot was spilled by Terrell, but he was able to get back up quickly to smother the ball at the feet of Marshall.
The visitors were adamant they should have had a penalty when Oliver Thomas stumbled under a challenge from Tam O’Brien at the corner of the box, but all claims were waved away with referee Kevin Clancy seeing no foul.
Just as in the first half, Arbroath began with an early goal after the restart. Charlie Gilmour was adjudged to have fouled MacIntyre, much to the dismay of Neil Lennon whose protests saw him booked in the aftermath. Jack Wilkie then sent a terrific in-swinging delivery towards goal with Chilokoa-Mullen getting the final touch under pressure from Aaron Muirhead.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, the Lichties opened up a two-goal lead. A second Dunfermline own goal brought it, with half-time substitute Deniz managing to drop Wilkie’s corner into the net.
However, that lead was cut to one again when Cooper, fresh off the bench managed to find some space on the edge of the area to dig out a low shot that left McAdams with no chance and gave the Pars hope of grabbing a point.
It wasn’t to be for the away side though, with Arbroath securing the points in the final moments. A pocket of space opened up for Marshall to drive into before seeing his shot saved by Deniz, debutant Aidan Nesbitt was then also denied by the Pars keeper, before the ball fell to Marshall once again and this time the midfielder made no mistake from close range.
There was still time for a red card in stoppage time, with MacIntyre already on a yellow card shown a second for an altercation with an opponent, meaning he will miss next weekend’s trip to Partick Thistle, but it had no bearing on the match as the Lichties moved ten points clear of fifth place.
Arbroath: McAdams; Watson, Muirhead, O’Brien, Wilkie; Cochrane (Beadling, 53), Flynn; MacIntyre, Marshall, Dow (Stewart, 87); Reilly (Nesbitt, 71)
Dunfermline Athletic: Terrell (Deniz, 46); Kearney (Hamilton, 63), Abdulai (Amade, 75), Chilokoa-Mullen, Fraser; Turley, Gilmour; Morrison, Tod, Todd (Cooper, 75); Thomas (Kane, 63)
Attendance: 1,809
