The Bairns' News

After the disappointment of last weeks result in Paisley, the Falkirk senior squad were keen to get back to winning ways against a Murieston side lingering near the bottom of the SWFA 1st Division. A few changes in the starting line-up saw skipper Harris return to the right back slot, Arlene Livingston moved up to the midfield and Laura Yuill starting up-front in a 4-player attack.

With a stiff breeze blowing across the pitch and playing up the hill in the first half, the bairns kicked off..............................

The match started at a frantic pace with both sides trying to take control of the ball. The first chance of note came after 2min when Becky Robertson swiped at a loose ball and only managed to play the ball past her own post for a corner. The resulting kick was cleared by the Bairns. The Bairns were trying to use the width on the flanks as much as possible and a surging run from Ashley McDonald on 7min saw her fire a shot towards the home goal, only for the keeper to pull off a fine save. The Bairns were enjoying the bulk of possession and should have taken the lead on 13min as Kerry Graham found space in the box to fire a shot low into the bottom right however her weak effort was saved and diverted wide for a corner.

The Bairns were pressing the home penalty area and only a fantastic save from the Murieston keeper denied Falkirk the opening goal. Emma 'Kirky' Lyons flighted a corner, 20min, from the left which Ashley McDonald met with the head and directed towards the top corner only to see the keeper pull of a finger tip save and play the ball over the bar. The best passing move of the half resulted in the opening goal for the Bairns. Young Sarah MacLennan picked the ball up in midfield on 23min and some fantastic link play between Sarah, Arlene Livingston and Kerry Graham resulted in a delightful pass into the path of the on-rushing Alana Marshall who picked her spot beyond the keeper to open the scoring (0-1). The ladies should have been two goals to the good on 26 min when Kerry 'Sebo' Graham found herself six yards out with only the keeper to beat but fired her shot high over the bar.

The wee pint size striker made up for this error two minutes later when on 28min Sarah MacLennan picked the ball up mid-way into the Murieston half and set Kerry Graham racing through on goal and this time there was no mistake (0-2). Playing with the wind at their back in the first half Murieston were expected to try and create some openings and threaten the Falkirk goal however this was not the case and Keeper Renny had a very quiet 1st half. The only opening for the home side arrived on 42min when they were awarded a free-kick some 30yards from the Falkirk goal. The resulting kick came to nothing and the ref brought a halt to the play.

Half-Time:- Murieston Ladies (0) V (2) Falkirk Ladies.

The half-time chat from the coaching team was really one of 'more of the same' as the ladies were in complete control of the game and not really looking under pressure from the hosts. With the stiff wind and slope in their favour the ladies were looking to score a third early on and kill the game as a contest.

Right from the off at the start of the 2nd half the Bairns were on the attack and a delightful ball over the static home defence from Arlene Livingston on 46min set Alana Marshall clear on goal, however the ref awarded an offside decision and the chance was gone. The 3rd goal was never far away and fell to the feet of yellow boots Alana Marshall. Alana raced through the rather static home defence and fired a shot towards goal, only for the keeper to save well but parry the ball back to Alana who made no mistake from 6 yards (0-3).

With the home side struggling to cope with the pace and attack of the Bairns and also having players falling like fly's with various knocks and injuries it was no surprise that the Falkirk Ladies extended the lead on 55min. Kerry 'Sebo' Graham beat the off-side trap and raced in on goal. Although she will say that it was all meant she managed to play the ball through the advancing keeper's legs, collect the ball at the other side and calmly slot the ball home for number 4 (0-4). I think it was more of a scuffed shot that bounced between the keepers legs and fell kindly for her was more the story of that one !!!!!! In fact wee Kerry almost grabbed a hat-trick on 60 min as she met a cross from the right with her head, yes head and crashed the ball off the post and into the keeper’s hands.

Sub: - 61min Ashley McDoanld (off) - Natalie Stewart (on).

Falkirk continued to dominate the midfield area with Arlene Livingston providing a "player of the match" performance in the engine room. With Kirky Lyons and Sarah MacLennan making up the 3-player midfield they were working hard and giving the Murieston players nothing.

Subs: - 68min Alana Marshall & Sarah MacLennan (off) - Shirley Martin & Nicole Letford (on)

The nearest that the home side came to scoring was on 71min when a high looping ball was played into the Falkirk penalty area and Keeper Renny saved well to keep the clean sheet in tact. A neat move on 78min between Laura Yuill and Natalie Stewart resulted in Laura firing a shot on goal which the keeper turned away for Falkirk's 8th corner of the game. A rare moment on 80min saw left back Jenny Dick run some 50 yards, yes, 50 yards with the ball towards the Murieston goal in search of number five. Had Jenny scored we could all have packed up and gone home such would have been the magnitude of this feat.

Despite being 4 goals to the good and only having a few minutes to play, Skipper Clare Harris managed to find her way in to the ref's book for a rather harsh challenge on the Murieston striker on 87min. To even up the card count, Murieston's number 5 also got a yellow card for a kick at Emma Lyons.

Full-Time:- Murieston Ladies (0) V (4) Falkirk Ladies.

Coach Wilson Commented:- This was a fine performance from the ladies today and a great way to bounce back after last weeks result in Paisley. From back to front we looked solid and the 4-player attack was a nightmare for the home side to deal with. A little more control with the final ball in certain areas of the pitch would have resulted in more goal scoring opportunities and a chance to increase the final result, however a 4-0 win away from home and a clean sheet was very pleasing. The home game next Sunday against Dalkeith is a massive match for the ladies and one that they will ALL have to be up for..........its gona be a battle !!!!!!

"Come on the Bairns"

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