East Fife 2-3 St Mirren

Chris Duggan leads the celebrations after his penalty restores parity. Picture by George McLuskie.

But there was absolutely no shame in the way East Fife's undefeated streak was halted by St Mirren at Bayview.

The two met in the final 16 of the Scottish Cup, and it was an afternoon when the Methil men proved to be more than a match for the Championship side.

Despite defeat, it was a level of performance which showed just how far the Fifers have come over the past couple of seasons.

St Mirren may be a side struggling at the basement of the Championship, but there's no doubt they possess some skilful players and a decent mix of experience.

It's been 30 years since the Buddies famously won the Scottish Cup and the club is enjoying a year of celebration.

Any ambition they have of repeating that feat rested on them being able to beat the nation's form side on their own patch.

It was a test they passed, but East Fife certainly refused to go down without a fight.

Chris Kane passed up an early chance to open the scoring before Cammy Smith did break the deadlock when he neatly hooked home a loose ball.

It was St Mirren's first real attempt at goal and cruel on East Fife.

But this is an East Fife side with a steely determination to win, and they came roaring back in the second half.

The Fifers were level when Ross Brown was bundled over inside the box.

Chris Duggan stepped up and rolled a neat penalty into the net.

The goal was the beginning of what was a period of domination for Barry Smith's side.

Jack Ross was forced to shuffle his pack and it was the introduction of sub Lewis Morgan which shifted the path of the match.

The 20-year-old put the Buddies back ahead when he finished off a Stevie Mallan pass.

The home side was forced to chase the game and were caught out when Morgan scored St Mirren's third with a sublime curling effort beyond Ryan Goodfellow.

With the last kick of the game Duggan scored his second from the spot after Jamie Insall had been fouled.

The Scottish Cup run, and the undefeated streak, had come to an end, but there's no doubt they didn't give it up lightly.