After selecting a three-pronged attack in which Ross Caldwell and Stefan McCluskey flanked central striker Peter MacDonald, Duffy made an alteration to his system at the break.

The Ton manager moved Caldwell through the middle beside MacDonald, and saw his gamble pay off as the pair both scored and laid on the other’s goal in the process.

And Duffy felt the finishing was the difference between the sides on the night after the Pars failed to convert some glaring opportunities of their own.

He said: “It was a terrific win from a very, very difficult match. In the first half in particular, Dunfermline denied us space.

“Obviously they had a game plan. They allowed our two centre-backs possession but as soon as the ball went into midfield they really pressed and squeezed the game.

“We couldn’t really find any space to play and they obviously could have scored in the dying seconds of the first half when the boy [Andy Geggan] had a free header from a corner.

“He probably should have scored but we got away with that one and in the second half I felt the game was a wee bit more open. The last time we played Dunfermline they really switched the play quickly and exposed us on the flanks at times. We didn’t want that to happen this time, so that was part of the reason we started with a 4-3-3 and had Ross and Stefan [McCluskey] on the flanks.

“They were a straight three but I didn’t think we were enough of a threat so we had to take a wee gamble, a bit of a risk to try and capitalise going forward.

“In the second half, we brought Ross in the pitch a little bit more towards Peaso and that worked better.

“I think that gave us a little bit more of a threat in possession of the ball in the final third of the pitch. We were maybe a wee bit isolated with Peaso in the first half.

“But they started linking up better in the second half and we scored two great goals, in terms of picking the right pass at the right time and then good finishing from Ross and Peaso.

“And obviously we made another wee adaption when we put Joe [McKee] into more of a central position and put Conor [Pepper] on. It gave us a wee bit more energy on that side of the pitch.

“Fortunately we managed to pick the right pass and capitalise on the chances that came our way and that was the difference. Overall, we’re delighted to come away from a very tight match with a win.” Ton moved to within two points of league leaders Stranraer, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Airdrie, as well as moving eight points clear of their opponents.

Duffy was aware of the results elsewhere before his side’s 5.30pm kick-off and felt it was crucial to take advantage by beating the Pars.

He added: “Obviously the guys tell you the other scores – Andy Bryan in particular. Andy’s our version of Google.

“You are delighted with any three points you get, and if it helps you in terms of narrowing the gap to the teams above you, then great.

“But we know Forfar won again and we keep saying that Stranraer and Forfar have been the two most consistent sides, Brechin are also on a great run.

“So there are far too many teams competing at this moment in time to say one way or the other, but from our point of view we’ve played a lot better in the last three or four weeks. This was an important result for us at home. We’re away to Forfar next and that’s another difficult match.”