Goal hero Nicky Clark is certain the Pars’ 1-0 win over St Mirren can kick-start a bid to climb the Championship table.
The Pars had gone six games without a league win, with their last success coming two months ago against the Buddies.
But Clark reckons the Fifers can start to make their mark on the league after grinding out victory on a cold evening in Paisley.
He said: “It was an important win. The three points were massive for us and I’m glad we got them.
“We know that we’ve got great ability in the dressing room. But we know we’ve not been good enough in previous games, and this result was big for us.
“We’ve got the three points and I’m sure we will kick on from now and push up the league.
“We’ve got to start looking at the teams above us. That’s our aim now, and hopefully we can drag them towards us in the next few weeks.”
With his experience there is a lot of onus on Clark to perform in big games, but the former Rangers forward has no doubts about any players coming into crucial matches.
He added: “We’ve got a lot of big players in the dressing room, a lot of players who have played at a high level and at big clubs, and it’s important that they step up in games like tonight.
“I think every one of us did that. We knew it was a massive night for us and that we had to get the three points, and we fought well and got them.”
The Pars threatened after 17 minutes when a Kallum Higginbotham cross found Clark, but his header was well held by Buddies keeper Scott Gallacher.
But the visitors were not to be denied for long and they got what proved to be the winner on 27 minutes. Farid El Alagui knocked the ball down for Lee Ashcroft whose shot was well saved by Gallacher.
However, Clark followed up to slot the ball home. The home side had their best chance in the 70th minute when Lewis Morgan forced a good save from Sean Murdoch before John Sutton threatened with the rebound but couldn’t poke the ball home.
The Pars should have sealed victory in the 95th minute when sub Michael Moffat burst into the box and hit the post before Clark had two efforts blocked.
Dunfermline boss Allan Johnston was delighted to finally record another victory in the league.
He said: “It’s been a long time coming and we’ve been so close so many times.
“The players deserve a lot of credit for how they handled the match, especially after the recent run of results.
“But it’s only one game. We’ve got a long way to go, but I’m sure this will give the boys a lot of confidence for the upcoming games.”
