The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pars fans admit summer signing is Myles better
Only last year, Myles Hippolyte was drawing anger, criticism and even worse from the Dunfermline support after helping Falkirk to a derby win.
On Saturday, he was thrilled to complete his incredible transformation from villain to hero as the delighted Pars fans belted out his name with gusto following his last-minute strike that clinched a richly-deserved victory.
Such has been their troubled form, neither side will have enjoyed the opening weeks of the Championship season but both had victories to cling to coming into this combustible fixture.
However, Dunfermline were so far ahead of their bitter rivals in every aspect of the game they should have been out of sight long before Hippolyte sprang off the bench to clinch the three points.
Andy Ryan made their superiority count in the 40th minute when he headed in Louis Longridge’s superb cross but it was the 90th minute before any slim hope of a Falkirk comeback was extinguished.
Substitute Hippolyte was only on the pitch for 10 minutes but could have had a hat-trick and was glad to lap up the acclaim at full-time.
“It was very different seeing the Falkirk fans and seeing them chanting against you,” said Hippolyte, who in April last year turned the derby in the Bairns’ favour with a dive to win a penalty that also earned him a retrospective two-match ban.
“That’s part and parcel of football and just something you have to deal with.
“The Dunfermline fans have been excellent since I arrived and it was nice to hear them singing my name.”
Dunfermline were well served by a complete team performance but, aside from the calming influence of on-loan Hearts midfielder Malaury Martin, the performances of the Pars’ other former Falkirk players was conspicuous.
Louis Longridge’s cross for Ryan’s first-half header was just one of a series of influential interventions from the midfielder, while James Craigen was robust in defence and menacing in attack from full-back.
Barring a brief glimpse of resistance from Falkirk after the interval, it really was one-way traffic and on another day the Fifers could have dealt out a real hammering.
The victory lifts them up to a more respectable fifth in the table and allowed Hippolyte some words of sympathy for his old team.
“It was a good result and I’m delighted for the squad,” he added. “We came for the victory, you could see that, and we head home and hope to stay on this roll we’re on.
“It looks a lot better for us, because our goal overall is to win the league. But the play-offs is definitely something that I think is achievable for us.
“But everyone who knows me personally will know I like Falkirk and I always have. I feel for them. It doesn’t look the best at the moment, and it’s unfortunate to see that.”