Will the Kings of Fife beat the Queen of the South?

It is the final match of the opening quarter on Saturday in the SPFL Ladbrokes Championship, as Dunfermline Athletic prepare to take on Queen of the South at East End Park.

There`s only one position and one point separating the two clubs heading into match-day nine, in Scotland`s second-tier. However, the Doonhamers have a better goal difference of 10, despite sitting below the Pars in the standings.

This is mainly down to the goalscoring exploits of Stephen Dobbie, Europe`s Top Marksmen, with an incredible 24 goals in 16 matches so far this term.

The issue for Gary Naysmith`s side is that, bluntly, without the ex-Swansea City and Crystal Palace striker, they`d be struggling to score goals never mind pick up any points. Forward Josh Todd has 2 goals to his name in the league this season while defender Callum Semple has one.

The only other player to contribute with a successful strike in the Championship division so far is creative playmaker Gary Harkins. Many say without his influence and nous in the centre of the field, Dobbie wouldn`t be sitting on 12 league goals for the season, despite only being in mid-October.

How big a player is the former English Premier League striker? Is he the one-man band to carry the Dumfries club to the big time? You can hear the thoughts of Stephen Dunkerley and Jordan Burt [ on this month`s Official DAFC Podcast ].

85 matches into his reign at Palmerston Park, Naysmith will look to his sides performance last season, where they pummelled the Dunfermline goal in a 5-2 victory in West Fife to pile the pressure on Allan Johnston. A similar result and performance wouldn`t go awry once more for this weekend`s visitors.

But, Queen of the South are winless in 5 matches: having picked up 3 draws against Ross County, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Alloa, as well as losing to Ross County and East Fife (as QoS crashed out the Irn-Bru Cup with a 2-0 defeat in Methil) 7 days ago.

Their last victory came against Crusaders in the Challenge Cup, with their last league victory coming at the start of September; albeit, it was an impressive 5-0 mauling of league leaders Ayr United.

This shows the inconsistency of the away club and the Pars will hope to hone in on this fact. Unbeaten in 6 matches during the original 90 minutes - despite losing on penalties to Alloa Athletic last weekend - and conceding just 3 goals during that spell, the signs are there for a positive afternoon for DAFC.

A win would see the hosts remain in the top half of the league table as they look to claw back the gap between themselves and the sides in front of them. With players returning from injury - Lewis Martin, Kallum Higginbotham and Aidan Keena - plus the improvement in fitness for Tom Beadling gives Allan Johnston the headache of a good kind.

The only doubt is former Queens defender and ex-fans favourite Mark Durnan, while Sean Murdoch remains out long-term. The options are vast, the flexibility is available and the players at the disposal of the management team cannot be questioned. All the tools are there to continue on the momentum built up recently and remain consistently strong defensively while showing the attacking intents and clinical edge of a club on the rise.

A win could see the first quarter end with relative positive vibes and a buoyant East End Park... A statement of intent could be issued if a strong display and result can go the way of the hosts. It will not be an easy match, particularly if Dobbie is on-form, however, the Pars have shown they`re more than capable of defending strongly, building the play up in the middle and putting the opposition to the sword when everything clicks. Saturday could be another one of those afternoons.

It may not be a classic battle but the Queen of the South may just be edged out by the Kings of Fife...

Mon the DA! ⚽🏁🏆