Forfar gained a valuable point in their bid to escape automatic relegation as they held recently crowned champions Dunfermline to a draw at East End Park.
The match ended on a dramatic note with Pars striker Michael Moffat squandering the chance to record victory and his first ever hat-trick for the club when he missed a twice-taken injury time penalty.
“I didn’t expect Michael to miss, especially as he was given two chances at it,” said relieved Loons skipper Gavin Swankie afterwards.
“But we’re delighted to come away from here with a draw. It’s a vital point for us and it keeps us in amongst it as we battle to get away from the relegation zone.”
The draw takes Forfar a point clear of bottom side Brechin City and they now face three important games as they endeavour to consolidate their position, including a final-day showdown with their Angus neighbours.
Having secured the title two weeks ago, Dunfermline manager Allan Johnston chose to make a number of changes to his regular starting line-up, resting top scorer Faissal El Bakhtaoui and giving debuts to Scott Robinson and Conner Duthie.
The home crowd was stunned when Forfar took the lead in the 12th minute, Swankie lashing home a free-kick from 20 yards.
The champions responded when Moffat ran on to a superbly weighted through ball from Ryan Wallace before stroking the ball beyond Darren Hill in the Forfar goal.
The visitors restored their lead early in the second half when Andrew Ryan created space in the penalty area to fire his shot high into the net.
Moffat equalised for the second time on the hour mark, tapping in from close range after Hill had parried a venomously struck free-kick from Rhys McCabe.
The in-form Dunfermline striker looked certain to clinch victory when referee Craig Charleston pointed to the spot in stoppage time after a foul by Tom O’Brien on Brad McKay.
O’Brien received a red card for his protest at the decision, after which Moffat blasted the penalty over the bar.
However, a retake was ordered for encroachment.
The striker’s second attempt struck Hill’s left-hand post before Mr Charleston’s whistle drew proceedings to an end.
“I’ve only missed one penalty in my entire career,” reflected Moffat, “and even that time I scored from the rebound.
“I don’t know what went wrong today. I got right underneath the first one. But to get another chance and miss it again is really disappointing especially as it would have won the game, which I feel the team deserved, and would have given me a hat-trick, which is something I haven’t managed to do since I joined Dunfermline.
“We fell behind twice today but didn’t panic as we knew the chances would come, and we’re disappointed we didn’t get the victory.
“Even though we’ve won the title we want to keep on winning games and keep the momentum going.”