Dunfermline Athletic 2 Kelty Hearts 1

Pars stay top of the league after beating their near neighbours in a thrilling new Fife derby.

Nikolay Todorov gave Dunfermline the lead before a stunning strike from Kelty's Darren Lyon levelled the match.

A change of shape at half-time paid off for the Pars with Craig Wighton finishing off a fine move to net the winner.

Kelty gave it their all though with Kallum Higginbotham firing over from close range and Deniz Mehmet pulling off an amazing save to deny Alfredo Agyeman in the last 10 minutes.

The first meeting between the sides, at New Central Park in August, was a dull and drab goalless draw but this was anything but.

Chris Hamilton dropped to the bench for Dunfermline, replaced by Todorov, while Kelty picked the same team that triumphed at the Falkirk Stadium last week.

John Potter would be keen to show the Pars fans he’s a far better manager than the one that took charge of the East Enders in late 2014, when he was really thrown in at the deep end.

He stood down at the end of that season, with Dunfermline failing to get out of League One and took on a number of assistant roles before taking the top job at New Central Park in the summer.

After a shaky start to League One his Hearts team have certainly found their feet, they headed into this match full of confidence on the back of a run of five wins from their last six matches, including their first away win of the season against the Bairns.

They took that self-belief into the game and almost stunned the Pars support in the 11th minute when Cameron Logan crossed from the right and Agyeman’s header looped over Mehmet and struck the underside of the bar.

Unfortunately for Kelty it didn’t bounce down over the line and Higginbotham couldn’t force the loose ball home from a tight angle.

That woke Dunfermline up and they won a corner which Chris Mochrie swung in but Rhys Breen couldn’t direct his header on target.

The home side huffed and puffed, Josh Edwards hurled long throws into the box and the defenders launched the ball into the air, but Hearts coped easily enough as Pars attack looked blunt.

Out of nothing Athletic took the lead in the 22nd minute.

Breen lifted a hopeful ball forward and Logan looked favourite to get there first and clear but the bounce of the ball off the wet turf completely eluded him.

It fell perfectly for Wighton who set up Todorov for an easy finish, passing the ball past a helpless Darren Jamieson.

Having been the better side, how would Kelty react to going a goal behind?

Very well in fact. They still had to weather a brief storm as Pars, with their tails up, chased a second goal in the 27th minute.

Mochrie won a tackle, played a clever give and go with Wighton and dinked a lovely cross to the back post where Todorov was lurking.

The big Bulgarian thumped a header at goal but Jamieson kept it out and Kelty scrambled the ball away for a corner.

On the half hour Hearts hit back with a stunning goal.

Nicky Low, Michael Tidser and Higginbotham all passed up the chance to pull the trigger and it looked like Pars had snuffed out the danger as the ball drifted outside the box, right of centre.

But Lyon had other ideas, letting fly with an unstoppable drive that flew across goal and into the far top corner of Mehmet’s net.

Agyeman tested the home goalie with a low drive but the teams went in level with Dunfermline’s boss having a lot more to think about.

James McPake shuffled his pack at half-time, bringing Hamilton on for Breen and switching to a back four.

They immediately looked more of a threat, forcing corners and showing more urgency in attack.

Kelty started to look a little rattled, coughing up cheap possession, and a superbly worked goal put Athletic back in the lead in the 55th minute.

Mochrie ran right and then delivered an inch perfect cross inside the full back for Aaron Comrie to run onto, with his first time cross emphatically despatched into the net by Wighton.

The game descended into an angry flurry of cards and fouls, with Tidser carded for a very late tackle on Edwards while Todorov followed him into the book for a bust up with Jordan Forster.

Another probing pass from Mochrie released a full back, Edwards this time, but Kelty learned their lesson and kept the back door shut.

Todorov, who was one bad challenge away from a red card, made way for Kyle MacDonald.

Mochrie was at the heart of all Dunfermline’s best moves and he set up the sub in the 73rd minute, MacDonald spinning away from a challenge but Jamieson pushed his low shot away.

Potter rang the changes too, bringing on ex-Par Joe Cardle who was chasing his 100th career goal – could he get it here of all places?

He tried his best with a typically twisting run, playing a give and go before having a try at goal that was blocked.

Wighton, looking back to his best after his injury problems cleared up, almost made the game safe in the 78th minute when he skipped away from two men and edged into the box to be faced by Jamieson.

He couldn’t conjure up the finish his run deserved though as the Kelty keeper stuck out a leg to deny him.

Jason Thomson came off the bench for Hearts and hit a devilish low ball that was just begging for a touch.

Higginbotham, at full stretch, just got there but the ball somehow popped up and over the bar.

Athletic had another huge escape in the 82nd minute, Higginbotham tried to control a ball into the box, it ran free and Agyeman smashed it at goal from five yards only for Mehmet to push the ball away for a corner.

Thomson almost snatched a leveller in time added on, he caught his half volley well enough but Mehmet got down to save.