The Bairns' News

The glorious Falkirk Bairns travelled north today to play Inverness Ladies in a vital SWFA 1st Division match. The game was switched to a synthetic pitch in Perth due to the Inverness home pitch been deemed unplayable.

In a change to the normal line-up, Coach Wilson decided to play with 4 strikers as the strength within the squad is in attack with pace, power and directness being the order of the day. Becky Robertson missed the game due to injury and Susan Renny replaced Fiona Melville in goal.

The opening chance of the game, 2min, fell to the home side as a neat shot inside the penalty area was well saved by stand-in keeper Renny. Playing with 4 strikers in attack the Bairns were always going to stretch the Inverness side and Alana Marshall drove down the right side of the pitch, cut inside and unleashed a powerful left footed shot which went wide of the post, 6min.

The link play between Alana/Kerry and Ashley was to prove instrumental in the opportunity that presented itself for Alana after 17 min but her shinny orange boots could only drag the ball wide off goal. The traffic was moving ever consistently towards the Inverness goal at this point and a fantastic ball played through the heart of the home defence from Kelly Fullerton on 25min saw her release Kerry Graham towards the goal however the keeper made a neat save of the resulting shot.

Despite the constant pressure and lack of ability to convert the chances into goals the Bairns were at the risk of the sucker punch and sure enough along it came, big style. Two goals to Inverness in the space of 4 minutes left Coach Wilson searching for answers. A rare attack from the Inverness side saw a powerful right footed shot from some 25 yards out sail past the helpless Renny and into the back of the net after 34min (1-0). The 2^nd goal, 38min, was a result of a simple ball through the middle of the back line and the young striker picked her spot past keeper Renny to increase the home sides lead (2-0).

Despite the fact the Bairns had enjoyed substantial possession in the first 40 minutes, finding themselves 2-0 down was a bitter pill to swallow and it was going to be interesting to see what the reaction would be. Straight from the re-start after the goal the Bairns had a glorious chance to claw back on 41min when Ashley McDonald found herself clean through on goal. Instead of firing the early shot, Ash took an extra touch which allowed the keeper to narrow the angle and deflect the ball wide for a corner. For all the hard work the opening Falkirk goal finally arrived on 43min. Emma ‘Kirky’ Lyons played the ball forward to Ashley McDonald and she found space and time to deliver the ball to the back post and who else but Kerry Graham was waiting to dispatch the ball to the back of the net (2-1).

Half-Time: Inverness Ladies (2) v (1) Falkirk Ladies.

Subs:- Roy Houston – replaced Laura Yuill & Shirley Martin – replaced Kelly Fullerton.

Despite chasing the game at the start of the 2^nd half, Coach Wilson was very confident in the ability of his players that they would create and score chances in the 2^nd 45 minutes. Despite his confidence it was Inverness who took the initiative and extended their lead on 47 min. A long ball over the top of the defence found the Inverness striker running through on goal and as Keeper Renny came out to cut the angle the ball was lofted over her head into the empty net

(3-1).

Falkirk continued to press and sure enough the player’s hard work was to pay off as a long ball over the Inverness defence on 53min found the pacey Ashley McDonald race clear and round the keeper to reduce the deficit (3-2). The ladies had the wind in their tails at this point and could see the opportunity to get something from the game. Fantastic link play, 58 min from Nicole Letford in the midfield area and Ashley McDonald/Alana Marshall in attack found leading scorer Kerry Graham with time in the box to pick her spot and draw the match level

(3-3).

The match was swinging from end to end with both sides looking like they could score with every attack. An Inverness free kick on 68 min resulted in shocking non marking from the Falkirk defence and a free header and the Bairms were chasing the game again (4-3). Falkirk pressed from the re-start and a neat strike, 72min, from prolific striker Kerry Graham fired a great shot that sailed high into the net to draw the side’s level again and seal her hat-trick (4-4).

Better was to come for the glorious Falkirk Ladies Football Club three minutes later as a wonder strike from Emma ‘Kirky’ Lyons on 75min sailed high into the roof of the net. Kirky picked the ball up some 25 yards out and unleashed a terrific strike past the Inverness keeper (4-5).

The Bairns had an opportunity to seal the win on 80min when Ashley McDonald found herself with only the keeper to beat after being played through but like before the chance went missing. Just when it looked like the ladies might hold out for a well earned win, you guessed it, Inverness scored. The ball was worked down the Falkirk right, 85min, and as the cross came in and the striker looking distinctly offside, she planted a firm header wide of Keeper Renny and into the net to draw the side’s level for the final time (5-5).

Full - Time: Inverness Ladies (5) v (5) Falkirk Ladies.

Coach Wilson commented:- After scoring 5 goals away from home and commanding so much possession of the ball and still not coming away with a victory it’s a sore one for the players. The attacking style of the squad was a treat to watch and we could have ended up with double figures today, given the level of effort and scoring opportunities that we had.

Kerry Graham proved how much she came on this season leading the line and bagging a hat-trick, Ashley and Alana worked the flanks very well, Kirky and Nicole put in a fantastic working shift in the midfield engine room and Shirley Martin gave glimpses of her passing game that she has during her 2^nd half appearance.

The players showed fantastic character to come back from 3-1 down to lead 5-4 in the closing stages and with a little more luck they would have held on and secured the 3 points.

Next up –

SWFA 1^st Division game:-

Falkirk Ladies V Bo ‘ness Ladies.

Sunday 20^th April – 2:00pm kick-off.

Dunipace Juniors Ground.

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