WHILE despondency has been the overriding emotion at Dunfermline Athletic of late, it was with a sense of dignity that they finally bowed out of the Irn-Bru First Division.
As their players scurried about in a vain attempt to retain second-tier status, 5000 fans rose to their feet, applauding, united in facing the reality of life in the second division, despite the 1-0 win over Alloa Athletic. At last they have all been put out of their misery.
It was five weeks since the Fife club's 15-point deduction, and the resultant fall into a contest to avoid relegation. The colts under the stewardship of manager Jim Jefferies have been a credit to him since they were thrust into the first team. However, as Alloa sprinted over the finishing line last night, it was clear that the Fifers' race had been run on Wednesday.
"To even think about coming here today is way beyond the task they were asked to do after the players that we lost and all the things that've happened," said Jefferies, whose side went down 3-0 in the first leg. "Every one of the Dunfermline people should be glad with what those laddies have done. We rescued it against Forfar but we didn't here because Alloa were simply a better side. They had the cushion, time on their side. But the effort today was fantastic."
Somehow managing to seek hope amid the bleakest of situations has become a trait that has attracted much praise to the East End Park club – they managed to come from a 3-1 defeat in the play-off semi-final first leg with Forfar Athletic to rout the part-timers a 6-1 return fixture. However, the importance of an away goal in that tie was not without significance, and the lack of one yesterday following Wednesday's body blow at Recreation Park proved pivotal and, ultimately, fatal.
While a late rally did eventually arrive for Jefferies' men, courtesy of youngster Allan Smith's composed finish after 72 minutes, all it seemed to stir was false hope among the majority of the 5510 inside East End Park, with midfielder Stephen Husband being sent off in the dying minutes as frustration – and Darren Young – got the better of him.
For much of the afternoon those huddled within the ground witnessed a lot of huffing and puffing, without much of a sign that a blow was to be landed to Alloa's promotion chances. Dunfermline had a few sights of goal in the second half, notably Andy Geggan, Josh Falkingham and latterly Kerr Young, yet Scott Bain dealt with most threats that came his way as a matter of course.
Jefferies appeared riled at the suggestion that the damage had been done in the first leg – the manager claiming the 15-point deduction had a more prominent role in his side's demise – yet it is hard to deny the professional job performed by Paul Hartley's men as they showed little sign of relinquishing their tight grip on the tie.
While the Recreation Park manager witnessed Jonathan Tiffoney, Calum Elliot and Kevin Moon do the damage on Wednesday evening, he also saw an accomplished display from his charges yesterday, with Kevin Cawley at the heart of things. The former Celtic youth player could, and quite probably should, have put the game out of Dunfermline's reach sooner with a raft of first-half chances, the most glaring coming when he blasted straight at Michal Hrivnak when played through one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
In the end, however, it mattered not a jot, with Alloa, runners-up in the Irn-Bru Second Division this term, destined for life in the first division for the first time in 10 years, a second successive promotion under Hartley. It is understandable, then, that the manager was in a celebratory mood.
"Some of the boys are away to Magaluf tomorrow; I'm sure they'll have a good time," said the former Scotland internationalist, who emerged from the away dressing room with a half-empty bottle of champagne under his arm. "What a rollercoaster we've been on over the last two years. It's not just over the two legs we have won this, it's over the whole season. We were fantastic today."
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