Hubby's toil and double

"The keeper was standing in the middle of his goals and the wall formed to one side so I saw a gap and went for it.

Stephen Husband doubled his season's goal tally with two goals in the derby match against Raith and by his own admission it was quite a game.

"It had a bit of everything, red cards and goals. It was a tough game" Stephen said after the game. He revealed that there had been a shudder through the team when they went behind to a Pat Clarke goal in the 24th minute:-

"We lost a goal at a setpiece and after the Partick game we knew that we had to kick on. The goal gave the boys a boost, started believing in themselves again and we managed to win the game."

The Pars got it back to 1-1 when Stephen struck a 25 yard free kick past the Raith Rovers goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw. He continued:-

"The keeper was standing in the middle of his goals and the wall formed to one side so I saw a gap and went for it. Fortunately enough it has gone in."

The next incident proved to be crucial to the outcome of the game. Allan Walker was red carded after a challenge on Ryan Wallace right in front of the dugouts. That was just a minute before the half time whistle and the fired up feelings spilled over as the teams left the field:-

"I thought he went in two footed, he won the ball but it was a two footed tackle and in this game nowadays you can't do that. He should know better." Stephen continued with his version of what happened next.

"We came in and heard a big raucous. Then the referee came in and took Thommo out and told him he was getting a yellow card but when Thommo came in he said their centre half had been sent off. I don't know what happened in the tunnel but fortunately they went down to nine men. They sat in after that but the early goal from Joe settled the match. Then we had to keep our concentration and not slip up, that was so important."

It was a strange experience having only nine opponents for the entire second half:-

"Numerical advantage was in our favour but I have seen teams go down to ten men and still win. It is about scoring goals and setting up properly. It was important to be professional in the second half, forget that they were down to nine men and make sure that we got some chances.

"They sat in and did the right thing. There was nothing else that they could do. If they had gone for the game it would have given us so much more room to get in behind. I am just glad that we managed to get the early goal in the second half and didn't make it too hard for us."

Joe Cardle's goal 85 seconds into the second half eased the Pars fears but with only one goal separating the teams the home side continued to fancy their chances of rescuing a draw from the situation. When Stephen converted the 88th minute third goal for Dunfermline, the game was as good as over.

"I was glad to seal the game because they got a bit of confidence from the two free kicks that they whipped in. It was nice to put that to bed.

"Derbies are really important to the fans and obviously they are important to us. We got the three points to give the fans bragging rights and put us joint top of the league again. You can't ask for much more."

MID SEASON OFFERS ON RENNIE AND JOCK STEIN SUITE MEMBERSHIPS

Jock Stein Suite pricing for the remaining 13 SFL home games

Adults now only £500 inc VAT. (Childrens pricing is also available)
Includes Main Stand seating and great hospitality

Rennie Suite pricing for the remaining 13 SFL home games is now:

Adults only £350 (inc VAT),

Children Under 12 now only £200 (inc VAT)
Includes Main Stand seating and half time buffet

For more details simply call Katie on 01383 745901/72495 e:sales@dafc.co.uk