Queen’s Park 0 Dunfermline Ath 1

Queen’s Park slid into the relegation play-off place after Dunfermline edged a win at Hampden.

Chris Kane’s goal midway through the second half sent Neil Lennon’s Pars above the home side in the William Hill Championship.

Results elsewhere also saw Airdrie close the gap at the bottom while Hamilton moved up the standings with a win over Partick Thistle.

The Spiders’ status remains in Queen’s Park’s hands though with a trip to Lanarkshire to come next week.

Queen’s were buoyed by the return of Josh Scott to the matchday squad and though the second half sub injected some pace and attacking threat it wasn’t enough to end the recent run of defeats as Dunfermline edged it.

Both sides were desperate for points for some relief in the bottom half of the table, and there was little to separate the sides in the first half.

Queen’s went on the attack early and a clever inside pass from Aiden McGinlay was enough to worry the Pars into conceding a couple of corners, but neither from Adam Montgomery could bring a save from Olu Oluwayemi.

Matthew Todd blazed over for the visitors on the quarter-hour and ten minutes later Ewan Otoo flashed a shot across goal and narrowly wide as Dunfermline upped the ante. They went even closer when Chris Kane struck the outside of the post from Todd’s cut- back on the half-hour mark.

The Pars were then handed a free-kick when Jeremiah Chilkoa-Mullen clattered into Montgomery on the edge of the area and Lewis McCann rippled the outside of the net with the low set-piece around the wall.

But rallying Queen’s did likewise at the other end and gave Hampden the response the crowd craved when Zak Rudden won a free-kick and Louis Longridge chipped into the box. Ben Jackson’s glancing header was well placed – just the wrong side of the post.

The Spiders tested the keeper properly two minutes before half-time as Kyle Hurst sprinted from right to left and laid on McGinlay for a shot held by the goalkeeper. It was the clearest chance the Spiders had come to opening the scoring – vital given results elsewhere.

By then Hamilton had leap-frogged Steven MacLean’s team into seventh and Airdrie closed the gap against Raith Rovers.

That’s how it settled at the interval too, leaving points at a premium for both teams at National Stadium.

They both re-emerged unchanged until Josh Scott made his long awaited return from injury nine minutes into the second half, replacing McGinlay on the wing after the teenager had been treated for a knock shortly after the restart.

Rocco Hickey-Fugaccia was next on for Kyle Hurst and immediately the Spiders went on the attack with both subs combining.

Scott burst down the wing and clipped a cross to the near post where Rocco was rushing – but Dunfermline scrambled clear for a corner.

A minute later the Pars went in front.

Adam Montgomery was appealing for offside as Lewis McCann ran down the wing, his low cross was pushed out by Calum Ferrie but Chris Kane tucked the loose ball into the net.

It had been a tight game, but the strike proved to be decisive.

The goal dropped the home side to ninth, on goal difference, and though they played out the remainder in Dunfermline’s half of the pitch, the equaliser wouldn’t fall for the team in black and white.

Seb Drozd and Adam Devine were pitched in as the Spiders sought a leveller that would lift them back above their visitors. Scott clipped another cross to the back post and Hickey-Fugaccia’s header went over.

In the 92^nd minute Ferrie was called into action with a brilliant fingertip save to push a drive onto the post, but the last chance fell to Queen’s Park and when Seb Drozd hit the by-line, his cutback was driven at goal by Adam Devine – but blocked.

Attention now turns to Hamilton next week with two points separating the sides and three games of the campaign to come.

Queen’s Park: Ferrie, Welsh, Longridge (Drozd 75), Hurst (Hickey-Fugaccia 66), Jackson, Tizzard, Rudden, Turner, Montgomery, King (Devine 75), McGinlay (J.Scott 54).

Subs not used: McGovern, MacGregor, Duncan, Evans, T.Scott.

Dunfermline: Oluwayemi, Comrie, Benedictus, Otoo, Todd (Cooper 77), McCann (Yeboah 77), Raymond (Wotherspoon 66), Fogarty, Kane (Wanyama 90), Clay (Hamilton 77), Chiloka-Mullen.

Subs not used: Mehmet, Ritchie-Hosler, Stevens, Tod.