Dylan Easton revealed his delight after capping off a fine display with a trademark goal from distance.
The flashy playmaker volleyed a dipping effort from range, past the Dunbar United goalkeeper in Saturday’s testimonial for Rovers supporter Grant Thomson at New Countess Park.
That was just one of seven goals from the away side on the day, but was the pick of their strikes.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS | 🎥 @RaithTV captured the goals from the Grant Thomson testimonial match against @DunbarUtd https://t.co/VbJLLCnyyU pic.twitter.com/Fk0m4ubx10
— Raith Rovers Football Club (@RaithRovers) June 25, 2022
Easton followed manager Ian Murray from Airdrie after a rollercoaster campaign which saw them narrowly miss out on promotion before losing out in the play-offs.
He is fully aware of the demands the former Rangers and Hibernian defender puts on his squad.
“I’m loving it. I’m loving every minute of it. I know what the gaffer expects from the boys.
“So it was just a case of getting in and getting used to new faces.
“We showed our quality [on Saturday] – there’s a lot more to come.
“It was all about getting minutes and building up that sharpness in games. We’ve got another two next week.”
Scoring the difficult ones, spurning the easy ones
Easton already has a stunning array of strikes to his name and the latest one will have heightened the excitement of the Rovers support, eager as he is to get the new season under way.
Before that new signings are required, specifically in defence, where Christophe Berra lined up alongside Liam Dick, usually a left-back, at centre-half.
Seventeen-year-old Greig Young started at left-back and was replaced at half-time by trialist Brody Paterson.
The defence was rarely tested, however, while at the other end the attacking players were given the opportunity to get a feel for matches once more.
Easton didn’t disappoint, setting up Aidan Connolly for the fourth goal of the day shortly after his own.
“I seemed to pick up a lot of [those types of goals] last season – the six-yard ones and the easy ones, the open goals, I seem to miss.
The linchpin of an @AirdrieoniansFC side, which went on a remarkable 15-game unbeaten run in the second half of the season!
Dylan Easton is in the #cinchL1 #TOTS! pic.twitter.com/ZotTp1iK3O
— SPFL (@spfl) June 10, 2022
“Looking over last season I scored a lot of good ones.
“As long as they find the back of the net, I can help the team and that’s the most important thing.”
Taking time to make his decision to move to Stark’s Park
The 28-year-old made Rovers his 10th club this summer, but not until after much deliberation now that he has a young family to consider.
“I did have a lot of offers,” said Easton. “I took my time deciding with my family, that’s the most important thing. I sat down with my partner because she’s studying at uni.
“We made the decision together, but as soon as the manager got the job, I knew what it was like to play under him – and Raith Rovers is a massive club.
“Being a local lad I know how much it means to the fans.
“Once I spoke to [the manager] it was pretty much done in days.”
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