The Fifers were already without five players and it got worse when keeper Iain Ross got injured in the warm-up and had to be replaced by John Dodds.
Despite the setbacks they troubled Arbroath and Craig Smart was inches away from converting Kevin Gordon's defence splitting pass.
Brian Scott then embarked on a 50-yard sprint into Fife's territory and John Smart locked his cross-shot with a corner.
From the set piece Ian Dobbins thumped in a header but Dodds just managed to claw out of the top corner.
Smart engineered a goal on eighteen minutes when his pace got him to the ball before Mark Peat and his pass was met by Gordon who fired in off the underside of the bar.
Willie Martin levelled on thirty two minutes when he leaped in front of Dobbs to head in Paul Watson's corner.
Arbroath rang the changes and sub Kevin McMullan teed up Steven Cook but his half volley was well held by the keeper.
But it was the Fifers who netted on sixty eight minutes when Peat misjudged a free kick and John Smart headed over him and into an empty net.
In the very last seconds Robbie Raeside almost rescued a point but Dodds held his header just under the bar.