PARS 1-1 Airdrieonians

MICHAEL MOFFAT came to Dunfermline's rescue as they earned a hard-earned point against Airdrieonians this afternoon.

The second half substitute headed home Andy Geggan's cross to earn a deserved point after George Hunter had fired the Diamonds in front in the opening period.

The draw, coupled with Ayr's draw with Peterhead, means Athletic remain a point behind the Somerset Park men in second place.

Home boss Allan Johnston made two changes from the starting line up that lost out to Dundee United in the League Cup on Tuesday.

Goalscorer Michael Paton was missing while Jason Talbot was named on the bench, meaning starts for Rhys McCabe and new signing Marc McAusland, who partnered Ben Richards-Everton at the heart of the Pars defence.

There was also a return to the bench for last season's young player of the year Lewis Spence following a prolonged absence with a shoulder injury.

Dunfermline bossed the early possession and leading goalscorer Faissal El Bakhtaoui had a sight at goal after five minutes when he pounced on Sean Crighton's failure to clear Shaun Byrne's pass towards Ryan Wallace, only to shoot over from 18 yards.

Airdrie however soon gave the Pars a nervy moment of their own when Liam Watt's excellent cross to the far post found the head of George Hunter, but fortunately Sean  Murdoch was able to block.

Athletic were showing some good movement off the ball and Byrne had a half chance  in the 11th minute when McCabe sent a lovely ball into his path, but Scott Smith made an important block just as the Pars midfielder pulled the trigger.

But Gary Bollan's side caught their opponents out in the 18th minute by taking the lead.

A break forward on the right hand side saw David Cox slip the ball through for Hunter, who fired a shot across Murdoch from inside the area and into the far corner of the net.

Dunfermline tried to respond; Lewis Martin shot straight at Neil Parry while McCabe sent a free-kick well over the bar as they struggled to make inroads to the Diamonds' goal.

Airdrie's midfield quartet were content to sit deep and protect their back four, limiting the space in which Pars' attacking threats could operate.

But the linesman's flag denied the hosts an equaliser in the 37th minute after a swift counter attack.

McCabe started the move, sending Wallace clear on the left, and the former Sheffield Wednesday player raced to the edge of the area to receive a pull back. His shot was deflected by Alan Lithgow towards goal where Joe Cardle was on hand to head home from a yard out, but he was deemed to have been offside when McCabe's struck his shot.

Johnston shuffled his pack at the interval, replacing Byrne with Mickael Antoine-Curier in a move that saw McCabe move into central midfield beside Josh Falkingham, with Wallace deployed on the right.

A second substitution quickly followed as Falkingham went off in 51 minutes holding his back to be replaced by Michael Moffat, and almost immediately he came close to finding an equaliser.

Geggan's ball in to the box was headed down by Antoine-Curier and as Airdrie failed To clear, the ball fell to Moffat whose volley was tipped over well by Parry.

Dunfermline were looking more threatening and a Cardle cross deflected off the head of Jamie Bain and just the wrong side of the post as pressure began to mount on the visitors.

The introduction of Moffat and Antoine-Curier had made a difference to the Pars and they combined well for another chance just after the hour mark.

Moffat did the leg work, holding off and swivelling away from two Airdrie defenders inside the area before picking out his strike partner at the far post, only for Parry to make a good block.

The Pars were camped deep inside the Diamonds half but they struggled to create anything clear cut, although El Bakhtaoui's drive towards the bottom corner was deflected wide by Antoine-Curier.

But with 17 minutes left, Dunfermline finally hauled themselves level to the relief of the East End Park crowd.

A terrific Geggan cross to the far post was perfect for super sub Moffat to plant a header firmly beyond Parry from inside the six yard area.

Dunfermline continued to press and Antoine-Curier was not too far away with a speculative half volley that ended off target before McCabe tried his luck from range with a similar result.

An even better opportunity fell to the Pars in the 83rd minute when McCabe's centre found Moffat in yards of space but he could only head wide from around 10 yards out.

El Bakhtaoui then picked up possession and raced towards goal but his shot also failed to trouble Parry as Johnston's men continued to press for a dramatic winner.

Geegan thought he'd found it in the final minute as he met Martin's cross on the volley, but in keeping with much of the afternoon, the ball ended up on the wrong side of the post before Martin picked out Antoine-Curier and, with his back to goal, he turned and shot straight at Parry.

But Dunfermline couldn't find a winner as they were forced to share the spoils for the first time in this season's League One campaign.

Pars: Murdoch, Geggan, Martin, McAusland, Richards-Everton, Falkingham, McCabe, Byrne, Wallace, El Bakhtaoui, Cardle.

Subs: Potter, Talbot, Spence, Moffat, Thomas, Antoine-Curier, Hutton.

Airdrieonians: Parry, Bain, O'Neil, Smith, Crighton, Lithgow, Cox, Fitzpatrick, Hunter, Morgan, Watt.

Subs: Sumsky, McAleer, Prunty, Morton, Stewart, Brown, Ferguson.

Referee: John McKendrick.

Attendance: 3391.