Gaffer praises unsung hero
Falkirk duo Craig Sibbald and Myles Hippolyte grabbed the glory but it was John Baird who was the derby destroyer.
Bairns Boss Peter Houston showered praise on his unsung hero as his side floored the Pars in a pulsating contest.
Yet the home team somehow ended up clinging on after Dunfermline striker Farid El Alagui netted 14 minutes from time in front of a bumper crowd of 6,377.
Houston, looking relieved following the nerve-shredding finale, said: “Bairdy terrorised their two centre-backs and gave up on nothing. He forced errors, created the opener and was superb. The only thing missing was a goal.
“I’m just thrilled we won. This game is a huge thing for Falkirk fans and we started our preparation early to get that into the players’ heads.
“Our centre-halves were magnificent and the strikers mirrored that up top.”
Pars started brightest, Kal lum Higginbotham’s free-kick saw Nicky Clark cleverly peel away far post to head across goal and spark havoc with Andy Geggan piling in and Bairns keeper Danny Rogers making a vital block.
Then Michael Paton’s cross found Higginbotham ghosting in to smash across goal but Luke Leahy desperately hacked clear.
Dunfermline appeared to have a stranglehold on the game, only for Falkirk to deliver a wounding bodyblow just before the half-hour.
Baird was the artful architect of the opener, deftly dinking a superb ball over the top to check on the artificial pitch for Sibbald to loft a brilliant effort over the outrushing Sean Murdoch.
The strike was Sibbald’s third of the
season and seemed to suck the belief out of Allan Johnston’s side.
Eight minutes after the break the Pars had failed to lay a glove on Falkirk when the home side engineered a stunning second goal.
Lewis Kidd’s raking diagonal ball found opposite full-back Leahy for a shrewd first- time pass into Bob McHugh and he laid off for Hippolyte to scorch onto it, sidestep a tackle and smash home a low drive. Quality.
Houston later revealed he been encouraging Hippolyte to use his right foot more, adding: “I’d rather see him miss with it than try to swing with the outside of his left.”
Bairns were battering the Pars into submission with away keeper Murdoch stopping McHugh’s shot from a Tom Taiwo cross to deny the best of a string of chances before the Fifers somehow managed to drag themselves back into the match.
Sub David Hopkirk’s shot was deflected into the path of El Alagui and the former Bairns favourite – pilloried all afternoon by the home faithful – coolly glided around Rogers to score.
Pars boss Johnston was frustrated though as his side ended the first quarter of the season lying third bottom with just seven points.
He said: “We’re miles better than that. We were on top but lost a poor goal. The second was the same.
“We’re losing soft goals and chasing games and that has to stop”