Derek Young gave Dunfermline all three points against Motherwell with a scrambled ssecond half goal at East End Park.
Motherwell failed to clear a Gary Dempsey corner and when the ball broke kindly to the midfielder, he flicked the ball home.
Until then, Dunfermline had looked the more likely for victory but too often their finishing let them down.
Motherwell had an early chance to open the scoring when Alex Burns was through on Derek Stillie but shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Dunfermline dominated after that but could not trouble Motherwell's debutant goalkeeper Barry-John Corr, who was a late replacement for Gordon Marshall.
Craig Brewster shot narrowly over after Steve Crawford had set him up and Brewster was again denied shortly afterwards after Young had flicked the ball on but this time Martyn Corrigan made the block.
Stillie had to be alert at the other end to tip a lob from Burns over his crossbar in a rare Motherwell raid.
Dunfermline finished the first half strongly. Brewster set-up Andrius Skerla, but the defender's chip over the goalkeeper drifted wide of the far post.
Brewster then volleyed wide from good position but Motherwell survived until half-time.
Indeed, the dangerous Burns was just a foot too high with a shot on the turn in the final seconds of the half after a cutback from Phil O'Donnell.
O'Donnell himself should have broken the deadlock eight minutes into the second half when Young slipped but his finish was unconvincing as he dragged his shot tamely past the post.
Derek Adams came to Motherwell's rescue in the 59th minute when he hooked a Scott Wilson header off the line after the defender had been left unattended at Young's corner.
The goal finally came after 72 minutes when Motherwell made a mess of clearing a Dempsey corner and Young nudged the ball in from five yards.