Dunfermline’s hopes of a play-off place look desperate after they failed to overcome bottom side Stirling Albion at home on Saturday.
There was a real sense of dismay around East End Park following a rather inept performance from the Pars by virtue of their failure to defeat a team which had lost its last seven games and who appear now to have accepted the inevitability of relegation.
The significance of the result, which has seen the Fifers drop to seventh place in League One, six points away from the play-off zone, was acknowledged by captain Andy Geggan.
Despite saving a point for his team with a late equaliser, he was unable to conceal his disappointment at both the outcome of the game and the position in which the club finds itself.
“We weren’t ourselves today,” he said. “And we certainly weren’t up to scratch.
“We were disappointing in the first half and, to be honest, not much better after the break.
“We lost a cheap goal and although we got back into things after that, it just wasn’t our day.”
Geggan acknowledged it had taken the loss of a goal to spark his team into life but accepted that such motivation should be unnecessary.
“It did lift us a bit but it shouldn’t take something like that to get us going.”
Although Michael Moffat did strike the crossbar in the 35th minute, the bulk of the first-half chances fell to the visitors who came close to opening the scoring on a number of occasions, most notably when Adam Cummins somehow sent his shot wide from three yards out after Dunfermline keeper Ryan Scully had parried Craig Comrie’s fiercely struck shot.
Albion forged ahead with 19 minutes remaining when a corner from Comrie was headed against the crossbar by Lewis Coult only for the loose ball to be headed into the net by the lurking Gordon Smith.
The Binos’ lead lasted a mere four minutes, however, Geggan rescuing a point for the home side when he headed home from Alex Whittle’s cross.
Despite a late flurry of pressure from the Pars, Stirling held on for a deserved draw, offering the club some welcome respite from their run of disappointing results.
“It was disappointing,” said Pars boss John Potter.
“Draws are no good to us at this stage and we have to start winning games soon.”