Dunfermline 1-2 Heart of Midlothian

Two early second half goals helped Hearts to a 2-1 win against bottom side Dunfermline in Saturday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League encounter at East End Park.

Gary Glen put the Jambos ahead four minutes after the interval before Darren Barr's close range header doubled their advantage shortly after. The Pars were then handed a lifeline with five minutes remaining as Joe Cardle pulled one back after his shot deflected off Marius Zaliukas.

Having secured their top six spot thanks to last week's 3-0 victory against Aberdeen, the Jambos travelled to East End Park looking to keep up the pressure on their rivals in the battle for a Europa League spot.

Paulo Sergio made two changes to his side as Darren Barr dropped back into central defence in the absence of the injured Andy Webster. This paved the way for Scott Robinson to partner Ian Black in central midfield, whilst Glen formed the attacking line alongside Rudi Skacel.

The Jam Tarts were up against a Dunfermline side led by former Hearts boss Jim Jefferies. Having been tasked with saving the Pars from relegation, Jefferies' men promised to be tough opposition in what was essentially a must win game for them in their bid to reduce the six point gap up to fellow relegation battlers Hibs.

Both sides struggled to find their rhythm during the opening twenty minutes, the home side eventually finding some momentum as Andy Kirk flashed a header over the bar after Austin McCann broke free on the left.

Dunfermline were succeeding in pegging the Edinburgh side back; David Graham found space on the edge of the box halfway through the half but his volley narrowly missed Jamie MacDonald's crossbar.

Hearts were finding it difficult to build any momentum against a well organised Pars team. Ian Black struggled to find the space required to implement his passing game; the Jambos often retorting to the long ball as they were unable to penetrate the home defence.

Paulo Sergio refrained from making any changes at half time, but obviously had some stern words for his side as they came flying out the traps in the second half. Skacel forced a spectacular save from Chris Smith as he let fly from ten yards as the Jambos looked to turn up the tempo.

They maintained the pressure and were rewarded just sixty seconds later as a ball into the box found Glen on the far post; the striker calmly swept the ball into the bottom right corner from a tight angle.

Buoyed by the sizeable Maroon support behind Smith's goal, Hearts continued to push forward and soon grabbed their second of the afternoon. A long ball into the box was met by the head of McGowan, his diving header forcing a goal line clearance. The loose ball wasplayed back across goal by Zaliukas, enabling Barr to stick his head out and direct the ball over the line to clinch the crucial second goal.

Two strikes in quick succession appeared to take the wind out of Dunfermline's sails; the home side finding it hard to split the Maroon defence. The Gorgie side, meanwhile, looked assured in possession and were happy to exploit the increasing amount of space in the Pars backline.

Goal scorer Glen made way for Suso with twenty minutes remaining as the Jambos began to dominate proceedings. Time and time again they found holes in the home side's midfield, with Driver wasting a chance as he opted to try and find Skacel when a shot looked the better option from just inside the box.

With six minutes remaining, however, the Pars were handed a lifeline as substitute Joe Cardle pulled a goal back. He picked up a clearance from a corner on the right before cutting inside the box and, with no team mate within range, opted to hit a speculative shot which deflected off Zaliukas and spun into the net past a helpless MacDonald.

The goal sparked a late surge from the home side as they forced a series of corners; Garry Mason going close as he flicked on Cardle's delivery from the left. The Jambos weathered the storm, however, as the Pars struggled to maintain their momentum.

They were handed a chance to level in the final minute of added time as Novikovas conceded a foul on the edge of the box, but Cardle's effort failed to trouble MacDonald.

The win moved the Jam Tarts to within two points of fourth placed St Johnstone, keeping the European dream well and truly alive with just five games remaining.

A second successive win will also do their confidence no harm ahead of next Sunday's Scottish Cup Semi-Final against Celtic at Hampden.

Dunfermline: Smith; McMillan, Dowie, Keddie, McCann; Willis (Buchanan 74), Kerr (McDougall 62), Mason, Hutton; Graham, Kirk (Cardle 62). Subs not used: Fernandez, Thomson, Young.

Hearts: MacDonald; McGowan, Barr, Zaliukas, Grainger; Hamill, Robinson, Black (Prychynenko 88), Driver (Novikovas 82); Skacel, Glen (Suso 72). Subs not used: Ridgers, Morton, G.Smith, Holt.

Referee: Stephen Finnie

Top man: Gary Glen

Hearts World