Falkirk

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

Many Falkirk fans, myself included, suspected our season might fizzle out following the disappointment of the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat at Hampden.

That was compounded before the trip to Celtic Park when John McGlynn confirmed we would be without three key players in Filip Lissah, Liam Henderson and Scott Bain - making an already daunting away day all the more difficult.

Having conceded six against Rangers in our last Premiership outing, plenty of Bairns fans were fearing the worst at Parkhead on Saturday.

Yes, we fell to defeat - but our performance proved we haven't got the flip-flops on just yet.

We were bold and brave on the ball, holding our own for large spells. The first two goals we conceded, and the timing of them, were largely self-inflicted, which has been a running theme this season.

Even so, we've sent a clear message to the sides we still have to face that a free pass won't be coming their way, particularly with three of our final four matches at home.

Reeling in Hibs might be a bridge too far, but we look ready to give it everything between now and the end of what has been a brilliant campaign.

ARE HEARTS DESTINED TO WIN THE TITLE? 🏆

It was a seismic weekend in the hunt for the Scottish Premiership crown. Are you rejoicing, are you quietly optimistic, or are you chucking it?

Join the debate with Ray Bradshaw at 18:00 BST TONIGHT on the BBC Sport Scottish Football YouTube channel, external to give us your views in the chat. The show is fully interactive, so have your say.

Remember to like and subscribe to not miss it!

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Dundee's Luke Graham, Arbroath's Findlay Marshall, Rangers' on-loan Tottenham winger Mikey Moore and Falkirk's Barney Stewart have been nominated for the SPFL young player of the year award.

Centre-back Graham has been a key figure for Dundee in their fight against relegation and has also chipped in with three goals in all competitions.

Moore has scored six goals and contributed two assists in an impressive campaign at Ibrox, while Stewart has been prolific all season - scoring six in 11 Championship matches on loan at Dunfermline before finding the back of the net eight times for Falkirk in the top flight.

Midfielder Marshall - who is on loan from Aberdeen - has 12 goals in 35 games in the Championship as Arbroath chase promotion.

Watch all the highlights as Celtic kept their Scottish Premiership title hopes alive with a 3-1 win over Falkirk. Available to UK users only

We asked for your views as Falkirk were beaten 3-1 by Celtic at Parkhead.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Barry: Usual from Falkirk away to Celtic. Played some nice stuff, but ultimately not clinical enough and undone at other end by conceding soft goals.

Don: Let's be grateful and celebrate where we've got to this season. Proud of everyone at the club.

David: Looked a lot better that last Saturday with more drive and go. Need to cut the silly errors out at the back but it's been a good season. We stayed up, top six finish so can't complain. Happy with the season we have had.

Celtic moved level on points with Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts as Daizen Maeda's double and a Kieran Tierney strike secured a vital - and at times nervy - win over Falkirk.

Read the match report here.

Have your say on the match here.

Falkirk manager John McGlynn tells BBC Scotland: "It was a big challenge today to see where the players were, it's been a hard week for us.

"I'm very proud, it was very, very gutsy and brave, the performance.

"We didn't sit back, we just tried to take it to Celtic as much as we could.

"I thought Celtic were bang at it in the first half, I haven't seen them press as well as that in a long time.

"Keelan (Adams) gets caught on it, dilly dallying, we go over these things in analysis, so we knew Maeda was going to press like that, and we shouldn't get caught on the ball.

"Similarly, Ben (Broggio) gets caught on the ball, and we lose two goals.

"I thought mentally in the second half, many teams would be two goals down and lose by five or six, but the second half is 1-1, and I'm so proud of the players for the goal they scored and the way that they played."

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Celtic centre-half Liam Scales returns from suspension, while right-back Alistair Johnston could be back in the squad after long-term injury.

Striker Callum Osmand is also back in training after also recovering from a hamstring problem.

But Jota, Colby Donovan, Julian Araujo, Kasper Schmeichel and Cameron Carter-Vickers remain out.

Falkirk have lost goalkeeper Scott Bain, on-loan Swansea City full-back Filip Lissah and centre-half Liam Henderson through injury.

Louie Marsh and Ethan Williams were already both out for the season.

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Midfielder Finn Yeats insists Falkirk have got their Scottish Cup exit to Dunfermline out of their system as they eye Celtic's scalp this weekend.

The 22-year-old says that even though the Bairns are still "hurting," they want to "have a say" in where the Premiership title ends up.

John McGlynn's side have five games left following the split and can still qualify for Europe if they move up the table.

"You just have to move on. We've got important games coming up and we can have a say in the title race and that's what we want to do," said Yeats.

"We went over it on Monday. Got it out of the system and then just went again as usual, back to training as normal, prepare for Celtic. That's what we've done.

"You don't have time really to dwell on lost games. Yeah, it hurts. It still hurts. It's a derby game that we lost and it's not a good feeling – the boys are hurting.

"But we have moved on and we know that we can have a say in this title race and we want to be involved in it. We don't want to let our season peter out. We want to be right in it.

"We're five points off Hibs so you never know what can happen. If we get a good result this weekend then hopefully that would put us in a good position."

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Falkirk will be without a trio of key players as the club look to bounce back from their Scottish Cup heartache in Saturday's trip to face Celtic.

Goalkeeper Scott Bain and defenders Liam Henderson and Filip Lissah will miss the game at Parkhead after picking up injuries in the semi-final defeat by Dunfermline last Saturday.

Bain's return date is unknown, but manager John McGlynn does not expect him to be in danger of missing out on potential inclusion in Scotland's World Cup squad.

"Scott could be an issue," McGlynn said. "He hurt his ankle and got a scan on it. There's nothing broken, but there's a little bit of bone bruising and it's a bit tender. It's not straightforward.

"I don't think it's going to go into the summer. If anything, it might be a two or three-week thing. He might still be able to get a game in before the end of the season. Fingers crossed.

"Liam Henderson has got a little bit of a hamstring injury. Not too serious but it's not cleared up enough in time for Saturday.

"Filip has been nursing something on his ankle which showed up a little bit in the MRI scan. We'll need to manage him between now and the end of the season. He's not going to be able to play this week.

"He might be able to give us something between now and the end of the season."

McGlynn has challenged his team to get over their shootout loss at Hampden and push for fifth spot in the league and a potential European place.

"I'm not going to lie, it's been difficult," he said. "It was a sore one for us. Each and every one of us.

"Monday was quite sombre, going over the analysis on it. However, you need to kick yourself up the backside and get on with it, and that's basically what we've done.

"Hibs are the closest to us, there's five points. We want to try and narrow that down as best as we can and try to give it a go because Europe is still a possibility. It's a tall order but that's exactly what we've got to do."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Bain is likely to be out for three weeks after injuring his ankle in last weekend's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat.

The Scotland international played the full 120 minutes against Dunfermline, but left Hampden Park with his right foot in a protective boot after suffering bone bruising and slight tendon damage.

Bain could be back for Falkirk's final game of the season against Rangers on 16 May.

We asked for your views on which Falkirk player has failed to live up to expectations this season.

Here are some of your views:

Greig: Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi has to be the biggest disappointment. Came up on loan from Sunderland, where their fans wanted to him to be in their Premier League squad. We all thought he was going to be the next Anthony Stokes, but played football like Ben Stokes. Didn't look interested and punted back early at Christmas.

Nathan: The big failed signing for me is Sam Hart, a defender we brought on loan from Port Vale and he's not had a lot of minutes. His debut was a disaster against Motherwell when he was shredded by Tawanda Maswanhise, got a yellow card and was hooked at half-time and has only played in our home 2-0 defeat to Hearts since where he still didn't really impress.

Ellis: This is the easiest pick of the lot and one most fans will probably have forgotten about - Samuel-Ogunsuyi. Came with high praise from Sunderland, lad never looked interested, didn't run, couldn't score and the stadium let out an audible groan when he came on. Easy pick and one we were glad to see the back of.

Dave: Lewis Neilson, and I think Connor Allan has been underused. I rate him a better player than Neilson, but on the whole I think very few don't get pass marks. Brian Graham I think as well is underused.

Iain: Coll Donaldson and Keelan Adams.

Doiggy: Scott Bain has unfortunately failed us at the critical moments. No doubt there have been some good saves this season, but not when it's mattered most. Regrettably I fail understand the hubbub around his Scotland squad inclusion.

• Celtic have won their first game after the Scottish Premiership split in each of the past five seasons, doing so by an aggregate score of 17-1. They last failed to win on matchday 34 in 2018-19 (0-0 v Hibs), and last lost in 2017-18 (2-1 v Hibs).

• No side has had more high turnovers (256), shot-ending high turnovers (49), pressed sequences (442), or a lower PPDA (opposition passes allowed per defensive action – 9.6) in the Premiership this season than Celtic.

• Celtic have won their past eight meetings with Falkirk in all competitions; only once before have they enjoyed a longer winning run over the Bairns, winning 10 in a row from March 1950 to August 1954.

• Falkirk have lost 16 of their past 18 visits to Celtic in all competitions (D2) since a 2-0 league win in October 1994 under Jim Jefferies.

• Falkirk are yet to play out the same result twice in a row away from home in the Premiership in 2025-26. They won last time out on the road 3-2 at Motherwell, but on the six previous occasions they have won away they followed it up by losing their next away league match five times (D1 – v Rangers in November).

Last week we asked for your Falkirk player of the year - and you couldn't decide between Leon McCann, Filip Lissah or Calvin Miller.

Now we want to know the Bairns player who has been the biggest disappointment this season.

It could be a new signing who has underwhelmed or an existing squad member who has failed to kick on.

Share your thoughts here.

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

Defeat to Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden was a sore one for everyone connected with the club to take.

Over the past three seasons, we've had far more highs than lows, and this has probably been one of the most bitter pills we've had to swallow in quite some time.

I don't think we can have too many complaints, though. We simply didn't turn up and, as much as it pains me to say it, the Pars deserved to take their place in the final.

We were too passive, lacked intensity and urgency, and failed to create much of note. On top of that, we were extremely wasteful from corners on several occasions.

Part of that, of course, is down to how well Dunfermline managed to nullify us. In fact, it had a similar feel to the games we often struggled with against Livingston in the Championship last season.

We tend to be at our best when teams afford us space, but we have to find ways to adapt and break down a low block when it's presented to us.

As deflating as the defeat is, the manager, players, and fans alike need to remember how far we've come in such a short time.

And let's hope Saturday's bruising setback doesn't result in our season fizzling out. I don't think it will, given the high standards that John McGlynn sets.

I think he'll encourage the players to relish being involved in the top six and potentially having an influence on where the title ends up.

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Falkirk insist they are enjoying their "best season in decades" despite the "hurt and disappointment" of Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat.

The Bairns were denied a place in next month's final by bitter rivals Dunfermline Athletic, who progressed on penalties after a goalless draw at Hampden.

John McGlynn's side have been one of the stories of a remarkable Scottish Premiership campaign, securing a top-six finish on their return to the top flight.

That follows back-to-back promotions from the third tier, but the Falkirk board still acknowledge the "bitter disappointment" of Saturday's result.

In a statement, the Premiership club said: "Everyone at the club wants to acknowledge the hurt and disappointment we all feel after the semi-final.

"The fans put so much into the occasion. Financially and emotionally, the tifo and subsequent tidy-up, and impeccable behaviour at the stadium.

"We weren't at our best and the result is a bitter disappointment. We have to own that as a whole club. We stand together and fall together, from the boardroom to the dressing room.

"Fair play to Dunfermline who fought for everything. The rivalry and occasion makes a defeat like that tougher to take, but we have to process it, learn, and emerge stronger.

"We've learned the hard way that success isn't a straight line but a series of peaks and troughs, so we will remember this feeling and use it to spur us on.

"The focus now is doing our utmost in the final five league games to finish as high as we can and have a say in the title.

"It might not feel like it after Saturday, but this will still be Falkirk's best season in decades, one upon which we intend to build."

Ray Bradshaw will be joined by fans up and down the country on Monday for This Is Fans Only to discuss the weekend's biggest points.

Supporters will come on live and viewers will get the chance to join in on the debate, as well.

The show will be broadcast live on the BBC Sport Scottish Football YouTube channel at 18:00 BST.

To make sure you don't miss any bespoke video content, make sure to subscribe to the channel HERE, external.

Fans of Motherwell and Hibernian would have been watching the weekend's Scottish Cup action with a keen eye, given how the eventual winner of the competition could have a decisive impact on their European hopes.

Essentially, whether fifth place in the Scottish Premiership this season rewards you with European football or not depends on Celtic winning the trophy.

The chances of that are now greater after Martin O'Neill's side progressed to the final thanks to a bonkers extra-time victory over St Mirren.

And although Falkirk suffered heartbreak in their own semi-final a day prior, losing on penalties to bitter rivals Dunfermline Athletic, Celtic's win on Sunday gives a boost to the Bairns' hopes of European football next season.

However, a shock win for Neil Lennon's Dunfermline next month would mean European qualifiers for a club that could be playing in the second tier next term.

Given Celtic's continued underwhelming displays, that isn't too far-fetched a possibility.

Regardless of what happens in May's final, fourth place in the top flight will secure a spot in the second round of next campaign's Conference League qualifiers.

As it stands, that is also the prize for finishing third, but a Celtic Scottish Cup triumph would mean the team finishing fifth nudges in.

Motherwell are currently in the driving seat to finish fourth, three points clear of Hibs and eight ahead of Falkirk, with a superior goal difference over both clubs.

Falkirk are five points behind Hibs in fifth, with five rounds of post-split fixtures remaining. Still all to play for in the top half.

Falkirk fans, we asked for your opinions following the penalty shoot-out loss to Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Hugh: Disappointing display on the day but we have had such an entertaining time from these lads up till now. I thank them all for their efforts and look forward to next season. Filip Lissah and Connor Allan were the only players who performed yesterday in my opinion.

Ronnie: Has been a long time since I've cried over a football match. Well done Dunfermline reaching the finals and good luck to Falkirk in the Premiership. Hopefully Dunfermline will be there soon.

Kev: We were unrecognisable as the cohesive unit we have been for most of the season. Yes, nerves played a part but we couldn't get into the game at all. The attempts at goal stats tell their own story. Neither team played well and the difference at the end of the day was penalties.

The way we played was particularly hard to take considering the occasion. In the end both teams delivered a pretty flat performance. Hugely disappointing.

Gordon: Our worst performance of the season. Ditched our normal style to punt the ball aimlessly. Players heads were down in centre circle even before the first kick. We got the outcome we deserved.

Falkirk manager John McGlynn suggested his team "were unrecognisable" from the side that is sitting sixth in the Scottish Premiership as they lost to second-tier Dunfermline Athletic after a penalty shoot-out in Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final.

Neither side were able to score until the spot kicks that followed the 120 minutes at Hampden.

"I think the game started very scrappy," he told BBC Scotland. "It took a wee while to settle down and I think we then controlled a lot of the game.

"But the final bit of it, in the final third, it just broke down and, for a team that scored three against Rangers last week and scored three against Motherwell the week before, and score five against Kilmarnock and four against Hibs, today in 120 minutes, we couldn't produce any bit of quality that would get us a goal and win the game.

"I think both teams could have been playing until next Saturday and don't think anyone was going to score. Quality is missing today that has cost us.

"We managed to get through against Hearts on penalties and, if you keep going to that situation, you might end up not getting through and that's what's happened.

"We must have been going towards their end much more, but the quality was not there.

"The nerves were there early doors, but you have to overcome that. I don't think you can go through the whole game like that. We just didn't make enough of the ball."

Falkirk are left concentrating on the outside possibility of catching fifth-top Hibernian in the Premiership.

"It would have been nice to have something to look forward to at the end [of the season]," McGlynn added. "Five points behind Hibs is not impossible, but it is a bit ask.

"We have a big part to play professionally for the other teams who are fighting for the title."