AN HISTORIC day ended in victory for Dunfermline Carnegie Hockey Club as they marked their Scottish Premiership debut in style.

The men’s first XI played a top-flight match for the first time in their 112-year history and they came out on top by the odd-goal-in-seven against Inverleith.

Despite the expected nerves that accompanied such an occasion, Carnegie settled quicker on home turf at Woodmill High School, following an opening quarter that saw mistakes on both sides.

Led by the cool heads of senior players such as captain Mikey Ross, Aiden McQuade – back with his hometown club for a short spell before embarking on a move to the Netherlands – and coach Steven Glass, they began to enjoy the upper hand.

After hitting the outside of the post from a short corner, Carnegie’s first Premiership goal arrived moments later in the 11th minute.

Inverleith, who were promoted alongside their opponents last summer, had been pressing in Carnegie’s D when they were hit on the counter-attack.

Thanks to three fast, incisive passes on the right, the home team managed to cross the ball into the D for Iain Bruce, who slotted home the opening goal.

Matt Jones in goal was called into action to help preserve Carnegie’s lead at half-time, which they extended in the third quarter of the match when Andrew Doyle scored a penalty flick which came after a home break upfield.

Inverleith continued to press and, following a fine save from Jones at a short corner, they pulled a goal back from the loose ball.

The final quarter proved to be the game’s most eventful, which began with Inverleith pulling level from a penalty flick after a Carnegie defender fielded a shot with his body from a short corner.

Five minutes later, however, Doyle was on hand once more to net from another penalty flick, this time for a foul on Ryan McCurry, to restore Carnegie’s advantage, only for the dynamic to change once more.

With tiredness and further errors beginning to creep in, a short corner saw the visitors awarded a short corner and, after a Carnegie defender did not retreat five metres from a free hit in the 23-metre zone, they scored a third goal to equalise for a second time.

The final word, however, went to Carnegie and it arrived two minutes later.

Martin Daw, using his experience, invited a foul inside Inverleith’s 23-metre zone and, from the resultant short corner, McQuade sent a powerful, unstoppable shot into the back of the net for what proved to be the winner.

The drama, however, was not yet over as, in a frenzied finish, Inverleith inadvertently fielded 12 players, resulting in their captain being booked and their goalkeeper being subbed off to bring them up to 10 men outfield, but Carnegie held on.