MYLES HIPPOLYTE, the Falkirk winger, has invited Dunfermline supporters to continue barracking him on derby day after insisting their abuse only acts as inspiration.
The 22-year-old was in fine fettle for the Bairns on Saturday, teeing up the opening goal for Conrad Balatoni before adding his own name to the scoresheet with a sumptuous solo strike in the second period.
Hippolyte’s man of the match performance was delivered to a soundtrack of jeers from the travelling fans, who are in no hurry to forgive the player for his act of simulation which won a penalty at East End Park last term, inspiring Falkirk to a 2-1 victory. Nor does he want them to.
Now with three goals in five outings against Dunfermline since joining Falkirk, Hippolyte has always had a knack of starring in this fixture. Being public enemy number one has made that even more satisfying.
“I did enjoy it,” he smiled. “You could hear their fans screaming and shouting and saying whatever they wanted to say but it didn’t faze me.
“If anything it added to my game, I like it when they’re against me, it makes me more up for it, especially with the history between the two teams as well. I use it as motivation, I thrive on it and enjoy it.
“They’re one team I enjoy playing against, if I could play against them every week it would be good for me. I seem to score against them as well so that’s a benefit.
“More importantly, the team played them off the park, just like we did last season. Trying to recreate that was our main aim, and I think we did that.”
It took just 18 minutes for Hippolyte to unlock the Dunfermline defence, whipping in a superb corner for the unmarked Balatoni to volley home his first goal since joining the club in August.
There was scant improvement from Allan Johnston's side after the break and it was no surprise when the Bairns - under the stewardship of Alex Smith for the final time prior to Paul Hartley formally taking charge this morning - put the game to bed.
Hippolyte produced a delightful flick to scamper beyond Wedderburn and hare through on goal before lashing a low shot past Murdoch.
A miserable afternoon for Dunfermline got even worse when Dean Shiels was dismissed in stoppage time for a wild lunge on Joe McKee. It was a cast-iron red card, and had been coming since he was involved in an ugly spat with Falkirk youngster Kevin O'Hara.
Johnston, who confirmed he would speak to Shiels regarding his conduct, took responsibility for the reverse after making three changes to his starting line-up and eschewing the opportunity to postpone the fixture in light of four international call-ups.
“Throughout the competition we made the decision to play a few of the boys who haven’t had a lot of game time and we continued that, so I’ve got to take a bit of responsibility for that,” he added.
FALKIRK (4-4-1-1): Mitchell (Thomson 70), McGhee, Muirhead, Grant, Balatoni, Harris, McKee, Taiwo, Kerr, Hippolyte (Craigen 75), O’Hara (Austin 84).
Subs not used: Blues, Shepherd, Gasparotto, Gallacher
DUNFERMLINE (4-3-3): Murdoch, Martin, Ashcroft, Wedderburn (M’Voto 79), Talbot, Higginbotham, Splaine (Ryan 74), Shiels, McManus, Smith, Clark.
Subs not used: Duthie, Lochhead, Gill
Ref: Steven McLean
Att: 4082
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