Dunfermline 2 Raith Rovers 0

THIS was a Friday the 13th horror show for 10-man Raith as the Pars won their first league game of the season and climbed above their bitter rivals in the Championship table.

The Fife derby sparked to life in the 16th minute when Euan Murray saw red for a foul on Chris Kane but it took until the second half for the home team to capitalise through Ewan Otoo’s deflected strike.

David Wotherspoon wrapped up the win late on with his first goal for the club - with a brilliant finish - to give Dunfermline a deserved win, they're now up to 7th as the Kirkcaldy men prop up the league in bottom place.

Pars boss James McPake said: “Over the moon, it’s three points, that’s our work done for the weekend and it’s a pleasing one in particular for the fans.

“We lost five games to them last season – everyone probably expected this one to be the same – but that’s the way football goes.

"We’ve had a poor start to the season but the performance against Ayr United, that was really important to me, the way we got after them and scored a goal and even when Ayr came back into it, we didn’t go away from what we were doing.

“Then to go to East Fife and defend properly, which we hadn’t been doing if I’m honest, it’s taken a little while to get that right.

“It’s one for the fans, for the players and myself it’s three points."

He added: "I thought we started the game really well.

"What you need to do here when there’s a big crowd is get after teams. We had to give the fans something to get behind and I think the way we got after Raith from the very start, playing on the front foot, certainly helped.

“That’s two games in a row here we’ve done that and you see the difference.

"We stayed patient. That was the big thing for me and why we were so comfortable in the game.

"Just before half-time we got a bit edgy, the crowd were desperate for us to go and get that goal. We were all desperate to get it.

"I was keen to get them in at half time, just calm them down and to be patient. We were knocking the ball about well but at times it was too slow and side to side.

"Second half we moved it a lot sharper, a lot better, and we asked more questions of them which was pleasing."

Tempers frayed towards the end, with a lot of pushing and shoving in front of the Pars dugout, but McPake said: "It’s a derby, these things happen. It was two teams desperate to win the game and I’ve not seen it back. I thought the referee handled the game pretty well."

Athletic hadn’t won any of their first four league games – three straight defeats before a home draw with Ayr United – and scored just one goal in the process, but did get their season on track with a 2-0 win in the SPFL Trust Trophy against East Fife last time out.

This was a much bigger clash in the Kingdom, under the floodlights on a Friday night and live on TV, with the incentive of leapfrogging the Rovers if they could take three points.

A crowd of 6,693 packed into East End looking for their favourites to kick-start their season and claim the bragging rights – and Dunfermline did just that.

McPake’s side lost all four league games and a Scottish Cup tie to their rivals last season but Raith are also struggling and made the short trip from Kirkcaldy with a new manager, former Barnsley head coach Neill Collins.

Ahead of kick-off, and despite warnings of stadium bans and arrest, both sets of supporters let off pyrotechnics with a blue flare thrown onto the pitch from the Raith end and orange smoke coming from the north west stand.

There was also a poignant tribute paid to former Dunfermline centre back Sol Bamba, who tragically passed away recently at the age of 39, with a minute’s applause.

Skipper Kyle Benedictus was still out through injury for Athletic, although Tommy Fogarty was back from international duty with Northern Ireland under-21s to form a very youthful and solid partnership in the centre of defence alongside 18-year-old Sam Young.

From the team that started in Methil, Josh Cooper, Joe Chalmers and Sam Fisher dropped to the bench, with Fogarty, Kieran Ngwenya and Wotherspoon replacing them.

The last win over Rovers had been way back in April 2022, Kevin O’Hara grabbing a double in a 2-0 win in the Championship, and the early signs were good with Aaron Comrie having a shot blocked after a bright move.

There wasn’t anything fancy from the Pars, with goalie Tobi Oluwayemi booming long clearances up the pitch for McCann and Kane to contest in the air.

One did end up in a foul when McCann was tripped in the 12th minute but he couldn’t repeat his free kick heroics from last week, when he curled one in against East Fife.

This strike from 30 yards was well hit but cannoned off a Raith leg to safety.

They tried again and in the 15th minute Kane dropped to his knees after almost giving his side the lead.

Kane Ritchie-Hosler lifted the ball in from the right and the striker’s header across goal just drifted wide – he should really have put it on target.

The flashpoint occurred moments later when Young lifted the ball forward and as Kane raced after it he was shoved to the ground by Murray on the edge of the box - away fans will argue Paul Hanlon was in close proximity and that it wasn’t a ‘last man’ offence.

However ref Craig Napier deemed it a red card offence – sending the ex-Pars defender off to cheering from the home support - and from the free kick McCann lifted it over the wall but inches wide of the keeper’s right hand post.

With a man advantage Dunfermline tried to make it pay.

An excellent move down the right saw Ritchie-Hosler latch onto a clever ball down the line from Comrie, his low cross looked set to be met by Kane but Rovers defender Hanlon stopped him in his tracks with a challenge timed to perfection.

The Kirkcaldy side were forced to soak up pressure and look to hit on the counter.

McPake’s men struggled to create clear openings but Kane did test Kevin Dabrowski with a skidding effort from 25 yards.

Just before half-time McCann got in down the left, laid it back for Otoo and his first time shot swerved just the wrong side of the post for the team in black and white.

Lewis Vaughan came on for Callum Smith at half-time for Raith but it was Dunfermline who threatened first with McCann hammering a shot that flew past Dabrowski’s left hand post with the goalie looking mightily relieved.

Vaughan lifted a speculative effort high over the bar in a rare Raith foray into Athletic territory.

The breakthrough came in the 52nd minute with a short corner routine between Wotherspoon and Ritchie-Hosler and the ball pulled back to Otoo just outside the box.

His fierce strike took a deflection off the unfortunate Hanlon and flew into the far corner of the net, giving Dabrowski no chance.

Richie-Hosler limped out of the action just on the hour, with Cooper coming on, and the youngster almost made an instant impact, slaloming past challenges before losing his balance and spooning the ball over the bar.

Tempers spilled over when Shaun Byrne and Dylan Easton clashed with McCann, Chris Hamilton and Vaughan were involved too as both sets of players steamed in for a melee that spilled into the home dugout, with five yellow cards dished out and the Pars’ sports scientist Mike Zaleski sent off.

In the 80th minute Wotherspoon stole down the left, cut inside on his right foot and guided a glorious shot into the top corner to send the home fans into raptures and kill off any faint hopes Rovers may have had about sneaking a point.

It was a goal and an assist for the Pars man and McPake said: "He’s a key player. I tried to get him here last season, obviously it didn’t happen, I tried to get him for a while this summer too.

“That’s the quality he’s got. I’ve seen it for years, I’ve played beside him, as a player I’ve seen it in games and every day in training and it was a key goal as it took the sting out of the game.

"We were then able to fully relax, move the ball about under no pressure really. Raith were always going to throw everything at us but I think when the second goal goes in you’re pretty comfortable in the game.

"It’s a great finish but in terms of David, you see it a lot.”