When Dylan Easton left the Stark’s Park pitch to wild applause last Friday night, it was in recognition of another hugely impressive performance from the attacking midfielder.
A stunning long-range goal and an assist for Callum Smith’s late equaliser told only one small part of the story of Easton’s involvement in Raith Rovers’ 4-3 victory over Partick Thistle.
His meandering runs, lightning-quick twists and turns, and a sharp eye for the killer pass were all in evidence until he was substituted as a hero with two minutes remaining.
It was a man-of-the-match display that was further proof of why he is a firm fans’ favourite.
But it has not always been this way for Easton, 29.
A youth signing for Livingston from the renowned Hutchison Vale, Easton made his first-team debut aged just 17 in February 2012.
Just a year later, he was signing a pre-contract to join St Johnstone in the top-flight.
But, by his own admission, he was to blame for things not going according to plan at McDiarmid Park, where he failed to play a single top-team match.
“There was a lot of hype about me when I was young, in terms of how good I was,” he has admitted. “I was tipped for big things.
Easton was released by St Johnstone
“But that got to my head and I came across as ‘big time’.
“[Manager] Tommy Wright sat me down loads of times and gave me chances. But I was a big-time boy away from the club. I thought they’d never release me – but I was wrong.”
That news came in August 2015 when, after using up all his excuses and opportunities, Easton left by mutual consent.
A loan at Dumbarton in the last days of his Saints spell would prove crucial further down the line, as it was the first time the mercurial talent worked under Ian Murray.
But it was another former Rangers player – Barry Ferguson – who Easton credits with sparking something in him at Kelty Hearts.
By that time, he had experienced seasons with Elgin City and Clyde, both in League Two, suffering a cruciate knee injury at the latter, and two more successful campaigns with Forfar Athletic in League One.
The gamble came next, when he hooked up with Ferguson at Kelty Hearts, and it paid off when he helped the Fife club win the Lowland League title in 2020 and promotion to the SPFL.
“He was the best for me and I loved it,” added Easton in an interview with the Sunday Mail earlier this year. “He urged me to get back up the leagues and be at the level I should be.”
‘Not just in football, but in life’
First stop on that journey was Airdrie, where he reconnected with Murray and played his way to the PFA Scotland players’ player of the year in 2021-22.
It was enough to convince Murray to take Easton with him to Raith Rovers, where finally, at the age of 28, he made a return to full-time football.
“He needed to go away for a little while and find his feet, not just in football, but in life,” Murray has said.
Last month his Rovers boss said: “There’s not a player in the league who can handle him when he’s at it.”
A decade on, could the next step be the top-flight?
If Raith Rovers go on to clinch promotion this season, you can bet that Easton will be central to their success.
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