Dick Campbell has dedicated East Fife’s dramatic promotion to League One to his late brother Duncan.
Campbell and twin Ian, his assistant, lost their younger sibling a fortnight ago and have endured some difficult times as the Bayview side battled through the play-offs.
But the sadness turned to emotional celebrations as the Methil men squeezed past Annan Athletic with a deserved 4-3 aggregate victory.
Tommy Goss nodded Annan in front on the night and back level in the tie in just the seventh minute.
But fans’ favourite Adam Laaref pounced with the decisive strike for East Fife in the 37th minute.
After three years in the SPFL’s bottom division, the Fifers are finally back in the third-tier – and Campbell is determined not to stop there.
“I dedicate this to my brother, Duncan,” said Campbell after the game. “We lost him a fortnight ago and the funeral is this week.
“But he was on my shoulder right through the whole day and I dedicate the win to him.
“It’s been very difficult. He was my younger brother – the ‘bairn’ as he was called.
Campbell seals 11th promotion of career
“He was a big, big presence in our lives. He’ll be sitting up there with my other brother saying, ‘look at those two daft buggers, me and ‘Pink’ [Ian], trying to win another championship.
“But we did and I’m very happy.
“I’ve got a few of them through the years. I’ve got 11 promotions and let’s see if we can make it 12.”
East Fife could hardly have envisaged a worse opening to this decider in Dumfriesshire.
Annan roared out of the traps in front of a packed home support that made for a bear-pit atmosphere.
With just six minutes on the clock, full-back Ryan Muir floated in a deliciously-tempting cross from the right and Goss timed his leap perfectly to nod back across Liam McFarlane’s despairing dive to find the corner of the net.
The early breakthrough boosted the home side’s belief and they went in search of a second.
In the 15th minute, Josh Dixon hit the bar from close range before Mamadou Bah produced a brave block to deny Aidan Smith from the rebound.
The Fifers gradually settled after the whirlwind start and stunned their hosts by pulling level eight minutes from the break.
Michael McKenna speared in a free-kick from the left and Annan keeper Jamie Smith came to collect.
Campbell: ‘We set our targets’
But, under pressure from Brian Easton, the home number one dropped the ball and Laaref was on hand to guide his shot high into the roof of the net.
Back ahead in the tie, the Methil men upped the ante on the hunt for another towards half-time and in a largely dominant second-half.
As the full-time whistle got ever closer, the League One hosts piled the pressure on in search of parity in the tie.
However, East Fife defended resolutely and the full-time whistle brought wild celebrations from the large travelling support as they flooded onto the pitch.
“We set our targets at the start of the season,” added Campbell, whose side finished one point adrift of champions Peterhead in the regular season. “We were a wee bit unlucky not to win the championship.
“But we’ve proven we’re a good side and we’re up, no matter what.
“I thought we deserved to win the game, I thought we edged it. But I’m not really bothered what anybody thinks!
“I’m more interested in winning that game for everybody connected to East Fife. There were hundreds of fans down here, it’s fantastic.
“Whether that’s the rebirth of East Fife, I don’t know. This is a step forward for the club.”
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