Falkirk Hold On For Vital Three Points
A first half wonder strike from Jack Compton and mistake from Rovers keeper' David McGurn allowing striker Mark Stewart to fire home, was enough to give Falkirk a huge 3 points at Starks Park this afternoon, after a Laurie Ellis header had put the hosts ahead.
In truth, the match was fairly evenly contested with the Starks Park side having a few better chances.
Despite the defeat, Raith stay top of the 1st Division but Falkirk are very much back in the race for promotion as they are now just 7 points behind Raith with a game in hand.
Falkirk's star player in the SPL, Pedro Moutinho, re-signed for the Bairns yesterday and it would be fair to say he struggled to find his feet today. His performance was summed up in a weakly struck effort eight minutes into the first half which McGurn comfortably gathered. Moments before this, Raith had almost taken the lead when a Falkirk clearance fell to Allan Walker who half-volleyed the ball just wide of Robert Olejnik's post.
However, the 2,829 fans inside Starks Park would not have to wait long for the opening goal. 10 minutes in, a Walker corner was cleared as far as Iain Davidson whose back post cross was met by the head of the unchallenged Ellis and the ball looped over the helpless Olejnik into the back of the net.
Falkirk tried to strike back through Ryan Flynn as he strode down the Rovers half and if it was not for the close attention of Stephen Simmons his strike may have beaten McGurn.
The play began to slow down as referee Bobby Madden appeared to become a little whistle-happy until the 38th minute Falkirk hauled themselves back into the match with an absolute peach of a strike. Compton received the ball on the right wing with not a Rovers player in sight and the 22-year-old drove forward towards the box dodging a Davidson tackle, cutting inside past Willie Dyer and then belted the ball from 25 yards out, clipping the bar on the way into goal. Compton's effort was applauded by both sets of fans.
4 minutes later Raith had lost another goal. Compton scraped a weak effort at goal which McGurn looked to have covered, but the ball bounced off his hands and onto the foot of Stewart who had the easiest of jobs to pass the ball into the back of the net.
Iain Williamson, who had replaced Scott McBride after a head knock, had a chance to bring Raith level at half time but his injury time strike was cleared off the line by Falkirk.
Williamson had another dig at goal shortly after the break but failed to connect with the ball properly before Falkirk's Stewart should have added another goal to his tally. Compton was causing more problems down the right wing, skipping past Dyer and crossing into the box where he found Stewart just yards out, but he somehow hit the ball straight at McGurn, who gathered comfortably.
Compton was proving to be Falkirk's creative spark and on the 66th minute he used his pace to ease past Mark Campbell and despite being at a very tight angle, fired a good effort just wide of the goal. Two minutes later Campbell proved his worth as he cleared a Stewart header off the line.
Raith were provided a welcome boost on the 71st minute as Brian McLean took Walker clean out 40 yards out and picked up his second yellow card of the match. McLean appeared to injure himself in the process of the tackle but had no choice but to walk down the tunnel for another mistimed tackle.
Despite having the man advantage, Raith's luck looked to have run out as a Campbell cross was gathered by the clean through John Baird but his effort crashed off the bar and clear.
Raith piled men forward and unsurprisingly looked uncomfortable when Falkirk counter-attacked, but it was Raith's Williamson who went closest to grabbing the next goal with two stoppage time attempts. Firstly a Gregory Tade cross was flicked at goal by Williamson, but Olejnik held the ball comfortably and 1 minute later Olejnik was called into action for the final time as he tipped Williamson's pile-driver wide of the post.
The resultant corner came to nothing and Falkirk held on for a crucial three points. It was undoubtedly a thoroughly successful day for the Bairns as second placed Dunfermline Athletic also lost today at Firhill.
After picking up just 1 point from a possible 6 in these last two home fixtures, Raith will be hoping to extend their position at the top of the table next week at Stirling. Falkirk meanwhile will be keeping their fingers crossed that they can go on a Inverness-esq run till the end of the season now, but have it all to do, with a potentially tricky tie against Greenock Morton next weekend.
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