What a difference a year makes in football.
Twelve months ago, Raith Rovers were celebrating a 2-1 win over Dunfermline Athletic in a boisterous Fife derby, sitting top of division one, with dreams of top-flight football in the 2011/12 campaign.
Meanwhile, Dundee were still reeling from a 25-point deduction, desperately looking to raise funds to emerge from administration and staring at the precipice of extinction.
Now the roles have been well and truly reversed. Dundee are the side challenging for promotion – just six points behind Ross County after this result – while Rovers are toiling, on the cusp of the relegation zone, just two points above Ayr United in ninth place.
Jake Hyde's header in the opening period was enough to give Dundee the win, although Barry Smith will wonder how his men failed to leave Fife with a more handsome win.
Dundee threatened within three minutes in Kirkcaldy. Indecisive defending from the home side allowed Steven Milne the chance to angle a powerful drive towards goal from inside the area which David McGurn saved.
A turgid first half was enlivened as the interval loomed when the Dundee striker Jake Hyde flashed a header just wide after some powerful running on the flank from Gary Irvine.
The Englishman would not be denied moments later. The waspish Nicky Riley scampered infield from the right and lofted a fine floated cross for Hyde, who headed home his fifth of the season.
Raith's Allan Walker looked to have a decent claim for a penalty at the other end dismissed by referee David Somers, however, the hosts would do well to claim any degree of injustice from a lacklustre first period.
In the second period, things failed to improve for the Stark's Park side, with McGurn pulling off a host of saves to deny the visitors adding to their tally. The former Morton goalkeeper did well to deny Ryan Conroy on several occasions.
"Overall, it was a great team performance," said Smith, whose side remains within three points of second-placed Falkirk. "We were resilient but also got the ball down.
"Kirkcaldy is never an easy place to come but we did well."
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