Pars gaffer recalls postponement pain

The postponement of Friday night’s Fife derby was a kick in the teeth for Dunfermline boss Peter Grant.

But at least it wasn’t a boot to the knee from Brian Irvine.

The Pars’ showdown against Raith Rovers was called off after 14 minutes due to health and safety concerns.

The decision was made after Rovers were unable to restore lighting to the concourses of the Penman and McDiarmid stands.

Issues also persisted with the electronic entry system, leaving hundreds of supporters locked out.

The abrupt halt to proceedings left Grant gutted – his Dunfermline side had been lively – and brought to mind an encounter between Celtic and Aberdeen in January 1994.

“I can only remember one other occasion like this, many years ago in a Celtic-Aberdeen game – and the fog came in,” recalled Grant.

“Big Brian Irvine smashed my knee and I ended up out for four or five months!

“Then, about five minutes after I went off, the game was called off.

“It brought back bad memories – that’s for sure.”

While Grant sought to see the funny side of an unfortunate situation, he could not hide his despondency on behalf of the supporters and players alike.

“We’re disappointed for everyone,” said Grant.

“It was a fantastic night for football – a brilliant atmosphere, our fans behind the goal were right up for it and, as a team, we’d started well.

“Everyone was looking forward to it, a Fife derby – my first, as well – but it just shows that there’s only so much you can prepare for in football.

“You can put us much work in as you like, but then something like this happens and it’s all for nothing.

“Fans are just getting back into games and this was a perfect chance to entertain them, so it’s a big blow.

“But you just have to accept that safety comes first. We’ve seen tragedies before at football grounds and we don’t want to see it again.”

Grant, meanwhile, revealed that Aaron Comrie – a seemingly shock omission from the Pars starting line-up – was absent due to becoming a father.

Grant added: “We’d lost young Aaron, who pulled out because he became a dad today (Friday), but now he hasn’t had to miss the game after all.”