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Ryan (40) Hippolyte (90)

One of Scottish Football’s fiercest rivalries turned out to be a damp squib yesterday as Dunfermline came to Falkirk Stadium and won with plenty to spare.

Eighteen goal attempts rained down on the beleaguered home team’s keeper Leo Fasan, and although only two went in, the gulf between the two old enemies was considerably wider than the scoreline suggested.

Andy Ryan’s 40th-minute header deservedly broke the deadlock before ex-bairns striker Myles Hippolyte rubbed salt into his old club’s wounds by coming off the bench to make it 2-0 in stoppage time.

Bottom of the table Falkirk have yet to win a home league game or even score a home league all season, while the Pars are thriving on the road after also beating Inverness and both Dundee clubs.

A large travelling support has played a big part, and manager Allan Johnston added: “You can see how important this derby is to our fans. We had more than 1,000 here today and we were looking for a big performance from the players to send the fans home happy.

“This is usually a hard place to come, but I thought we dominated the game from start to finish and we could have scored more than two goals.

“It was a really good team performance and it’s difficult to single out individual players.

“You can never really relax at 1-0, but it was great to keep another clean sheet and then get a second goal.”

Last week’s victory at Alloa gave Bairns boss Ray Mckinnon his first win in charge, but he admitted: “Dunfermline were the better team today. I don’t like saying it, but I’m always honest.

“I felt we should have been a little more aggressive. Anything can happen in football when you keep it at 1-0, but it wasn’t to be.

“It’s a tough one to swallow, but we just have to take it on the chin and move on.”