DUNFERMLINE’S hopes of recording a second successive victory were dashed by table-toppers West of Scotland at McKane Park on Saturday.

Derek O’Riordan’s side had claimed only their second win of this season’s BT National League Three with a thrilling 25-24 success at Irvine in their previous encounter but, despite a spirited show, could not repeat the feat against a talented West outfit who also took home a winning bonus point.

The visitors enjoyed the better of the early exchanges and opened the scoring with an early penalty from Blair Smith, but Dunfermline were playing some expansive rugby and thought they had been awarded a kickable penalty to level the scores. However, following a player scuffle, the decision was reversed and tight-head prop Martin Punter was sin-binned.

That allowed West to enjoy greater control in the scrum and after being awarded a penalty near the home line, they elected to take the scrum. The gamble paid dividends when Andy Richie scored an unconverted pushover try to extend the visitors’ lead.

West were providing much of the pressure by now, running the ball back out of defence, and although several moves ended in knock-ons, their pressure eventually told. Dunfermline tried to clear their lines only to face a charge down and Fraser Smeaton was on hand to touch down under the posts, with Smith converting to give West a 15-0 lead.

Another penalty – this time for a collapsing scrum – came Dunfermline’s way and was missed while the Glasgow club had several chances to score before the interval. A series of pick and drives was held up by the determined Dunfermline defence but after winning a penalty, West took the tap and after some quick passing looked set to score but the last pass went forward.

O’Riordan’s men however opened the second half brightly and were rewarded when forward Scott Gracie crossed for an unconverted score after he was found with an excellent chip forward.

Their play was becoming more fluent and were making inroads into the visitors’ half but a resolute West defence kept them at bay before the action switched to the other end, with Dunfermline’s backs repelling a series of West attacks.

But they were eventually breached for the league leaders’ third try of the afternoon when after several phases, Darren Allen broke through and found Andy Love who drove over to score, with Smith booting over the extras.

Dunfermline exerted repeated pressure trying to penetrate the West defence to no avail and as the clock ticked down, West added another score for their bonus point. Having knocked on from a break, they won the resulting scrum and after several passes, Tom Gray broke powerfully through to score in the corner. Blair Smith then converted off the post for the final action of the game and although the McKane men could take pride from their performance, the final scoreline was a poor reflection of their efforts.

Their next match will see them travel east on Saturday for a daunting clash with second-top Preston Lodge, who hammered Dunfermline 58-10 at McKane in September. Kick-off is at 2pm.