Neil Lennon was adamant that, not only should his side have had a spot kick, but they were the only team "trying to win" the Fife derby.

The Pars boss felt that Raith Rovers gave them a "backhanded compliment" with their approach to the second Kingdom confrontation of the campaign, which ended scoreless.

Although Athletic were denied a fifth successive win in the fixture, they're still without defeat in five against the Kirkcaldy club, and unbeaten in their last 12 fixtures in all competitions.

The stalemate leaves both clubs locked on 25 points in the Championship table - Rovers sit second on goal difference, with Partick Thistle three points clear at the top - after an encounter with a controversial ending.

Referee, Calum Scott, faced the fury of the visiting bench inside the final five minutes for failing to award what Lennon felt was a definite penalty to Dunfermline.

In front of an all-but sold-out away end of over 2,700 fans, Andrew Tod sent substitute, Olly Thomas, haring towards the home goal.

Josh Rae, Raith's keeper, surged from his line to meet the forward, appearing to take him out just inside the box.

Neil Lennon felt the lack of a spot-kick for Josh Rae's challenge on Olly Thomas was an "awful decision". (Image: Craig Brown.)

Appeals for a foul were ignored by the man in the middle, before Olamilekan Adams missed what looked a great chance to net the winner, as play raged on.

Lennon was furious that a penalty wasn't given for the challenge on Thomas that would've secured all three points, but also said he was proud of his team's play, suggesting that seeking victory was far more on their mind than that of the opposition.

"It's a penalty and it's an awful decision," he said.

"I've got to be careful what I say. I don't know how you can not deem that a penalty.

"I know he hasn't got the benefit of TV cameras, but we knew at the time it was a penalty.

"The linesman's right there. The goalkeeper's made contact with Olly on the 18-yard line, and gets nowhere near the ball, so I don't know what other decision he can give.

"I just thought he was poor all night.

"I think we got paid a backhanded compliment tonight, I think, because there was only one team trying to win the game.

"There was no real ambition from the opposition.

"They dropped off and made life difficult for us, which is fine, and that's something we maybe have to learn from as we go along.

Neil Lennon said he was proud of his team as they extended their unbeaten run at Raith Rovers. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"But I'm really proud of the team again. Their will to win and keep going, on a difficult pitch, and against a difficult opponent, was really good.

"Another clean sheet, a point away from home. We'll take that and move on."

Whilst there was plenty of energy from the 6,000 plus crowd, the only fireworks the day after bonfire night early on in the contest could be heard coming from outside Stark's Park ahead of kick off.

The Pars looked to get the ball down and play but Dougie Imrie's side were quick and eager to press, trying to deny them time and space on the ball.

Dylan Lobban, from a free-kick, and Keith Bray, with a curler just wide from the edge of the box, came closest in the opening period for Athletic, whilst Paul McMullan put the ball from a good move wide for Rovers, with Anton Dowds also sending a decent chance off target.

The unfortunate Lewis Stevenson blocked a powerful Oli Shaw drive full in the face, whilst McMullan fired over at the other end, as the opener continued to prove elusive.

Thomas drew a decent stop from Rae before the late penalty controversy, after which the away side were incensed when, breaking forward with numbers in their favour in stoppage time, whistler Scott blew for time up.

"I think it's a clear-cut penalty," Lennon said.

"There's nothing in the game and, sometimes in the Championship, it can be like that.

"It takes two teams to make a game of football, and there's one team really trying to win the game.

"So, maybe as a viewing spectacle it wasn't great, but that's not on Dunfermline's shoes.

The Pars are now 12 games unbeaten in all competitions. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"You see what's wrong with Scottish football. Whether it be poor officiating or teams trying to... I don't know how many yellow cards there were in the game, and this, that, and the other.

"It's part of the game.

"But, overall, I'm really happy.

"We've kept our unbeaten run intact and we've got a break now, which is welcome because we've been hard at it for the last three or four weeks, with six or seven games, and the players have been fantastic.

"But they have to take on board that teams are going to be really wary of us now, and that was obviously the case tonight.

"I'm delighted with them. I'm so happy with them and the way they're evolving.

"They're going to come up against tough opposition, experienced opposition, like we played tonight, but I thought they handled the occasion pretty well.

"Listen, there's no criticism of the players tonight. We could have played a little bit better in the first half. The game was meandering a little bit in the second half and we made the changes.

"That gave us real impetus for the last 10-15 minutes, where we were really on top late on and probably could have done better with a few finishes.

"But, our will to win was fantastic, and it has been for a long time now."