IF St Mirren are to escape relegation to League One this season, they may cite this battling point as one of the main reasons for survival.

Having conceded a penalty to allow Dunfermline to take the lead, Gary MacKenzie headed an equaliser a minute into the second half.

It may be a small beginning, but it is something to cling to for Jack Ross, who lost no ground on Ayr United and moved a point closer to Dumbarton.

He said: “We carried a little bit of fortune at times today, but I would argue over the last couple of months since I have been here we haven’t always had that.

“Coming away from home to the team in the best form in the division and going a goal behind as well, there’s a lot more positives today than negatives.

“There is always that little bit of personal redemption for a player when he has given away a penalty then gets his goal.

“Gary’s a huge threat at set-pieces for us and I thought his overall performance was very good.”

MacKenzie had been fortunate in 32 minutes when he looked to have fouled Michel Moffat in the box, but he pushed his luck and was punished four minutes later for fouling the same player.

Kallum Higginbotham had missed two penalties in the 1-1 draw with Ayr United in December but had no hesitation in grabbing the ball to slam a perfect kick into the left corner. It was everything Dunfermline deserved having dominated the opening third of the game.

Moffat should have given them the lead in eight minutes when Nicky Clark slipped him in on the left side of the box but he aimed his shot too close to Jamie Langfield who blocked with a foot.

Then in 30 minutes Paul McMullan’s shot was cleared off the line by Jason Naismith when it seemed easier to score.

St Mirren, however, resiliently fought back and, perhaps with some amends to be made, it was MacKenzie who drew them level a minute into the second half. He had served notice of his aerial threat three minutes before the break when he reached Stevie Mallan’s corner and his header thumped off the post.

And the same combination was successful in 46 minutes when MacKenzie powered a header into the right corner. It was an unexpected blow for Dunfermline who worked so hard to retrieve the situation.

Moffat astonishingly shot wide from six yards on 53 minutes when he was seemingly teed up perfectly by Clark but the ball took a bobble as he connected.

Langfield made a wonderful save from Clark’s header in 60 minutes after Higginbotham had crossed from the left.

Then with eight minutes remaining, Higginbotham blasted a free kick inches wide and St Mirren held on for a point.

Pars manager Allan Johnston said: “We need to win these kinds of games. St Mirren didn’t really cause us problems from open play.

“We are disappointed but we keep our unbeaten run going. There’s no easy games in this league. St Mirren are scrapping for their lives.

“They’ve brought in some good players and we knew it would be difficult but we should have won the game.”