East Fife 4-2 Dumbarton

For the second time this season the two sides shared six goals, the Methil men repeating their 4-2 November win in the previous fixture.

And just like they did a couple of months ago, the Fifers raced into a two goal lead only for the Sons to hit twice themselves and square things up.

But East Fife showed terrific mental strength to shrug off the disappointment of letting their advantage slip, refused to feel sorry for themselves and went on to score another twice.

At the heart of pretty much everything East Fife created was Scott Agnew, the midfielder having his best game in some time for the hosts.

The former Dumbarton man simply destroyed his old side.

Agnew played a part in every East Fife goal, the first coming after Ryan McGeever deflected his strike past his own 'keeper.

Number two saw Chris Higgins take full advantage after Agnew's corner wasn't cleared by the Dumbarton defence.

East Fife looked to be cruising and Danny Denholm should have put them 3-0 up when put clear on Connor Brennan's goal.

Denholm's shot, though, was tame.

And East Fife were punished when Dumbarton gave themselves a lifeline deep into stoppage time, Morgyn Neill heading home from close range.

The goal gave Jim Duffy's side a boost and they were level when Robert Jones netted shortly before the hour mark.

The equaliser could have knocked the stuffing out of East Fife but they responded brilliantly.

Again, they looked to Agnew, and he duly delivered, his free-kick met by Stewart Murdoch to make it 3-2.

This time East Fife refused to let their visitors back into the game and closed out the win.

Agnew showed his quality with 79 minutes played when he added East Fife's fourth goal in sublime style, sending his direct free-kick beyond Brennan.

Boss Darren Young said: “We’re heading in the right direction and there’s a feel good factor in the dressing room.

“We lost a goal just before half time and were all annoyed at each other and it’s good to see that.

“That’s the sign of a good team that, even though we’re losing these goals, we’re still putting in good performances and know we have another level to go to."