Mens 1st XI Vs Carnegie II

Following a long preseason, player-coach Murray Paton was delighted to finally give his players some much needed pitch time against a challenging Carnegie 2nd XI.

FLHC welcomed four new players into the club, with Kinnear, Bloomer and Barnes making their debuts across the defensive line. Falkirk youth academy graduate Stuart McNeill made his outdoor return to the club in midfield after a 15 year spell away.

Falkirk started strongly with the new players having an immediate impact at the back. Bloomer and Kinnear seemed to gel almost immediately with Falkirk defensive stalwart Neil Durno and the trio held long spells of possession and delivered excellent build-up play which would see Falkirk dominate the first half.

The opening goal came within the first ten minutes with an impressive Kinnear switch eventually finding Paton at the edge of the D. Paton was able to pick Hartel out at the back post, who had managed to lose his man, and kept good composure to slot the ball home on his first touch with his reverse stick.

The second goal was to follow soon after with a fast break through midfield finding its way to Paton at the edge of the D again, and he rifled the ball into the back of the net to double the lead.

Falkirk continued a relentless onslaught throughout the first half which resulted in them winning five penalty corners. Both Nicol and Holt managed to work themselves into dangerous positions around the penalty spot however good Carnegie goalkeeping prevented their high flicks from finding the back of the net.

A final chance of the half came when Falkirk’s high press allowed McNeill to steal the ball from the Carnegie centre-back and his sweep on goal was deflected over the bar by the Carnegie keeper.

The second half was a much tougher affair, with Carnegie stepping their pressing lines higher and making life tough for the FLHC midfield. Jeffries and Dickson both rolled up their sleeves and supported their defensive counterparts, absorbing the onslaught of Carnegie pressure and creating several good opportunities on the break which Falkirk were unable to capitalise from.

Carnegie did eventually score from a penalty corner with an impressive drag-flick into the top right-hand corner. It looked like they were set to score from another set-piece, however Barnes and Cummings made an impressive array of goal-line saves. Most spectacularly an aerial stop on the line from Barnes to keep Carnegie from levelling.

The third home goal came following a series of one-two’s by McNeill and Nicol down the right-wing and baseline, which resulted in Nicol being unmarked in the circle infront of the keeper. Nicol kept good composure and squared the ball round the goalkeeper for Frazer to slot the ball home.

The final goal arrived in the dying minutes of the game when Daryl Holt played an impressive reverse stick pass into the D, which bounced up infront of Paton to the left of the penalty spot, who scored with a half volley on his reverse stick to seal the win

Final score: Falkirk 4- 1 Carnegie. MoTM - Durno