FINE margins are often cited by managers as the difference between winning and losing, and so it was at East End Park when a late winner from Blair Alston proved to be the difference.

A distance of just six inches is what Jim Jefferies, the Dunfermline manager, believes led to him having to watch most of his side's loss to his former employers from the stand. He was sent from the touchline, having first edged out of his technical area to relay information to his players, and then for a more obvious and ill-judged act of sarcasm in applauding a decision by an assistant referee in his side's favour.

"I accept that I encroached out of my area; it's not the biggest," he admitted. "But I don't accept [being] warned for dissent when I was maybe six inches outside my area; I've done it hundreds of times. I've been sent to the stand and I'm baffled by the referee's explanation. We sarcastically applauded us getting a throw-in and, when it's getting to that stage, it's a bit petty."

Jefferies' dismissal ignited an already charged derby atmosphere midway through the first half, with a busy, fervent and boisterous away support contributing to the noise levels. They rose when Jefferies walked, and again when Jordan McMillan followed his manager after raising his hands to the throat of Stewart Murdoch. Parity would be restored, five minutes from time, by Kieran Duffie's second yellow card.

The noise levels in the away end grew after Alston side-footed Lyle Taylor's pass into the net as the game ran into injury time. Alston, who grew up only a short distance from East End Park, had been an energetic presence in midfield, which augmented the Falkirk attack when numerical advantage permitted.

Falkirk could, though, have been picked off, too. A shot by Andy Barrowman was parried by Michael McGovern, while the Falkirk goalkeeper also pushed over a drive by Andy Geggan and watched a deflected shot from Ryan Wallace sail over him and on to the crossbar in the first half. He was rarely troubled by the 10 men in the second half, paving the way for the dramatic, and deserved, finish from the 20-year-old from Dalgety Bay.

"I sometimes went to East End Park with my dad when I was younger to watch Stevie Crawford; now he's my coach," said the scorer. "A few mates were in the crowd; they might not be speaking to me now but it makes the goal a bit sweeter. A goal like that in a game of this magnitude is special. I'm very happy."

FINE margins are often cited by managers as the difference between winning and losing, and so it was at East End Park when a late winner from Blair Alston proved to be the difference.

A distance of just six inches is what Jim Jefferies, the Dunfermline manager, believes led to him having to watch most of his side's loss to his former employers from the stand. He was sent from the touchline, having first edged out of his technical area to relay information to his players, and then for a more obvious and ill-judged act of sarcasm in applauding a decision by an assistant referee in his side's favour.

"I accept that I encroached out of my area; it's not the biggest," he admitted. "But I don't accept [being] warned for dissent when I was maybe six inches outside my area; I've done it hundreds of times. I've been sent to the stand and I'm baffled by the referee's explanation. We sarcastically applauded us getting a throw-in and, when it's getting to that stage, it's a bit petty."

Jefferies' dismissal ignited an already charged derby atmosphere midway through the first half, with a busy, fervent and boisterous away support contributing to the noise levels. They rose when Jefferies walked, and again when Jordan McMillan followed his manager after raising his hands to the throat of Stewart Murdoch. Parity would be restored, five minutes from time, by Kieran Duffie's second yellow card.

The noise levels in the away end grew after Alston side-footed Lyle Taylor's pass into the net as the game ran into injury time. Alston, who grew up only a short distance from East End Park, had been an energetic presence in midfield, which augmented the Falkirk attack when numerical advantage permitted.

Falkirk could, though, have been picked off, too. A shot by Andy Barrowman was parried by Michael McGovern, while the Falkirk goalkeeper also pushed over a drive by Andy Geggan and watched a deflected shot from Ryan Wallace sail over him and on to the crossbar in the first half. He was rarely troubled by the 10 men in the second half, paving the way for the dramatic, and deserved, finish from the 20-year-old from Dalgety Bay.

"I sometimes went to East End Park with my dad when I was younger to watch Stevie Crawford; now he's my coach," said the scorer. "A few mates were in the crowd; they might not be speaking to me now but it makes the goal a bit sweeter. A goal like that in a game of this magnitude is special. I'm very happy."