Play was scrappy for the opening quarter of an hour with neither side being able to hang onto the ball for very long.

Ashley Langford had the first decent chance when he was put through on goal but the keeper made the target as small as possible and the Gala number nine’s shot glanced off the goalie allowing the Threave defence to hook the ball clear.

The home side took the lead from a quickly taken corner that reached the far post where Parker was on hand the squeeze his shot home between John Dodds and the post.

Davie Bonnar came close to equalising midway through the half when his header towards the far post beat the keeper but was cleared off the line.

This was rectified a couple of minutes later when Sean Paliczka slid the ball through to Bonnar and this time his shot towards the far post beat the keeper’s dive and found the far corner of the net for the equaliser.

Gala’s hap-hazard defending cost them dear before the interval when they failed to clear the ball and it was crossed towards the penalty spot for an unmarked Donnelly to shoot Threave back into the lead.

Darran Thomson replaced Craig McBride at the beginning of the second half and brought more organisation to the back four as Gala used the advantage of the wind and penned Threave back into their own half for the majority of the second period.

Ten minutes into the second half Langford and Paliczka had three efforts on goal in succession but the Threave keeper and his defence managed to keep the ball out and you began to wonder if it was going to be one of those days.

Dean McColm replaced Langford midway through the half as Gala continued to press for an equaliser and just when you began to think that a goal wouldn’t come, two came along in quick succession.

With five minutes remaining McColm took over the corners as Keith Lough had been wayward with many of his attempts, but on this occasion the corner was delivered into the six yard box where a header followed by a goal line scramble wound up with Lough stabbing home the equaliser from a couple of yards out.

There was a noticeable air of relief from the Gala team and supporters but they did not rest on their laurels and in the final minute a great cross-field pass was collected by Paliczka as Lough ran beyond him and the ball was played into his path. The out-rushing keeper spread himself at the edge of his area to make the Gala striker’s job as awkward as possible but he just reached the ball first and steered it wide of the keeper, and then there were an agonising few seconds as the ball trundled just inside the far post for what proved to be a dramatic winner.

Gala Fairydean Rovers: Dodds, Cosgrove, Miller, Hossack, McBride (Thomson 45), Bonnar, Aitchison, Devlin, Langford (McColm 68), Paliczka, Lough. Subs not used: Robinson, S. Noble, Common.