Dunfermline 1 Ayr United 1

IN demand Ewan Otoo showed his worth to the Pars by thumping in their first goal of the Championship campaign in a batting draw with the league leaders.

Dunfermline knocked back bids for the midfielder before the transfer window slammed shut and the fans were glad they did when he gave them an early lead with a stunning strike.

But they couldn’t hold onto it and a deflected shot from Ayr full back Dylan Watret found the net and levelled the match before half-time.

Neither side could find a winner in the second half with Dunfermline finally getting off the mark with their first point of the campaign.

Athletic boss James McPake rang the changes and pitched in all three of his new signings from the start.

On-loan Celtic goalie Tobi Oluwayemi replaced Deniz Mehmet, who dropped to the bench, while midfielder Josh Cooper made his home debut after an impressive cameo as a sub against Hamilton last week.

Tommy Fogarty, on loan from Birmingham, wasn’t signed in time for that game but was picked to partner skipper Kyle Benedictus in the heart of the defence.

Heading into this match you got the impression that, for the Pars to win, the form book had to be thrown out of the window, stamped on and burned.

They had played three in the league and lost all three without scoring a goal to sit bottom of the table.

Taking in the league cup as well, they’d lost six on the spin.

Ayr, by contrast, had won all four of their Championship matches to sit top of the pile.

Led by Fifer and former Celtic and Scotland captain Scott Brown, the Honest Men must have fancied their chances for this one and they were backed by a good few hundred travelling fans.

Pars may have been short on confidence after a poor run but they didn’t lack effort and they hounded the league leaders from kick-off, shutting down space and thumping into tackles as they put in a real shift.

Chris Hamilton led the way, pinching possession and charging down the wing before picking up a foul. His quick free kick down the flank was perfectly weighted for Lewis McCann but his cross had too much pace for Chris Kane to get a meaningful touch.

Ayr lost experienced centre back Mikey Devlin to injury early on and that seemed to disrupt the visitors as they immediately conceded from the resulting free kick.

It had been more than four and a half hours of football since Dunfermline fans had last seen their team score – going all the way back to Taylor Sutherland’s consolation against Cove – and what a way to get back on the goal trail.

Benedictus dinked in a free kick, Cooper’s effort was blocked and the ball ran loose for Otoo to smash the ball in off the bar from 25 yards for a stunning opener in the 15th minute.

For all their possession, Ayr weren’t causing too many problems for Oluwayemi and the leveller in the 22nd minute had more than a touch of fortune.

Jamie Murphy’s cross was nodded away and Watret’s speculative shot from out on the right took a deflection and the ball rolled into the bottom corner.

Ben Dempsey then came close to putting United in front, he lined one up from 30 yards and hammered the ball inches over the bar.

Athletic were forced to defend, and they did it well, but they struggled to do much with the ball when they got it.

There was controversy on the stroke of half-time when Nick McAllister, who came on for Devlin and quickly picked up a booking, then hauled down Kane just outside the box.

It looked like the ref was reaching for a card until he realised who it was and that he’d have to send the Ayr defender off, with the second yellow staying in his pocket.

The fans howled their frustration and their mood didn’t improve when McCann took the free kick, bending it round the wall with venom but not enough to beat goalie Harry Stone.

There was a blow for Athletic at the start of the second half with skipper Benedictus staying inside to be replaced by Sam Young.

That left them with a centre back pairing of an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old, with the latter, Fogarty, making his debut.

Dunfermline went forward with purpose, Cooper pulling the strings and Kane Ritchie-Hosler testing Stone with a firm strike.

Kane was in the wars, winning numerous free kicks but picking up bumps and bruises in the process.

And he was inches away from getting his head to McCann’s cross-cum-shot from wide on the left angle of the box.

Chances were at a premium in this match and you got the impression the next goal, if there was to be one, would be the winner.

Sub Andy Tod came close to getting it, with a front post header that Stone was right behind. 

But they could have lost it too as Ethan Walker and George Oakley were both denied at the death by two fine saves from Oluwayemi.