IF FALKIRK do eventually attain that coveted top-six placing, no mean achievement in itself, then they will have done so the hard way.
A win here against a Kilmarnock side enduring a hitherto feeble season would have given them odds-on status to mix it with the big boys after the SPL split. As it is, it all goes down to the wire on Monday week when they travel to Pittodrie to fac
e an Aberdeen side they have not beaten for 14 years.
There was a suitably animated atmosphere in and around New Brockville prior to kick-off, with the club opening up half of the North Stand to accommodate the increased turnout. Indeed, Falkirk's self-styled "Dad's Army" – a loose collective of mature volunteers – had spent the week leafleting the town and its environs in the hope of boosting the attendance. Alas, the unfolding drama, such as it was, would hardly have enthused neutrals.
Falkirk were nervy and disjointed in the first half, their only clear-cut opportunity arriving in the 12th minute when Carl Finnigan – unmarked eight yards from goal – forced Alan Combe into a fine one-handed save.
Unsurprisingly, given his team's impotence up front, coach John Hughes introduced Pedro Moutinho at the beginning of the second half, the striker testing Combe with a low 20-yarder five minutes after the restart.
Even the most ardent Rugby Park regular would concede that the past nine months have been less than memorable, with Kilmarnock's performances more often than not somewhere between the desultory and the indifferent.
Despite a sprightly start inspired by their best player, Moroccan Mehdi Taouil, the visitors toiled to breach a defence boasting five clean sheets in their last six outings.
Killie continued to huff and puff after the restart, but Taouil aside, their ranks lacked creativity. It did not require oracular powers to surmise that the only way they were likely to win the match was if Falkirk, jittery in defence throughout, gifted them a goal or two. It didn't happen.
Moutinho's contribution continued to suggest he should have been on from the start, but the fact is that Hughes' team lacked both belief and composure on a day when they really ought to have been pummelling Kilmarnock from the outset.
The full article contains 391 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
