In fact it was the visitors who started the brighter with John Boyle failing to find any of his team-mates in the area when he screwed his attempted cross the wrong side of the post.
Greig McDonald then sent a header over the cross bar from a good position in front of the goal.
After that early flourish the home side took control and dominated the rest of the opening 45 minutes.
They took the lead in the 24th minute when Paul Ross released Scott Livingstone on the right side of the penalty area. His cross was gathered by Derek Ure who fired a low hard drive past the out stretched hands of the diving John McCafferty in the Fife's goal.
Towards the interval Chris McGroarty twice came close to increasing the home side's advantage.
First he sent a free kick over the goal mouth which just missed the head of the in rushing Graham McGhee by inches. He then took the ball on the run about 25 yards from goal only to shoot narrowly over the bar.
It took East Fife 70 minutes to get the shot on target but Johnny Walker' s efforts were easily saved by Derek Jackson.
McDonald missed an open goal for Fifers when he headed wide of the goal from three yards and, in the closing minutes, Jackson pulled off a fine saved to deny the visitors substitute Brian Fairbairn.
Although this was a close call it would have been a travesty of justice if Fife had failed to take all three points.