Falkirk Match Preview

We are on the road again this weekend for our latest Championship match when we head to Falkirk. It's two wins from two for us over the Bairns so far this season having scored four goals in both games.

 

Manager Gary Naysmith has been sharing his thoughts ahead of the game.

 

"First of all, I hope you all enjoyed a good Christmas.

 

I certainly didn’t feel festive after we surrendered a two-goal lead against St Mirren. We had the perfect start but it becomes about game management when you’re 2-0 ahead. It can be a dangerous lead in some ways and the next goal is vital whenever a team has a two-goal advantage because it can be game-on or game-over and it was down to our defensive error that it became the latter and really gave St Mirren something to chase. Our defending in general for the whole game wasn’t good enough and we spoke about that as a group after the match. I’ve praised the team many times for their solidity and the clean sheets we have gained this season but against St Mirren we simply didn’t defend well enough. My frustration was heightened because of how well as a group we had been doing. The only positive to come out the match was that we matched the league leaders for large parts of the game. In fact, on the balance of play, I thought a draw would have been a fair outcome.

 

I must congratulate Stephen Dobbie on his 100th goal for the football club against St Mirren. His finish for the landmark goal was typical of him and it’s a terrific achievement to reach that total for one team.

This weekend we head back to Falkirk where we enjoyed one of our best performances of the season and came away with a four - one win. Paul Hartley has taken over since then, he has made a few changes, and although they have had a mixed season so far we know it won't be easy.

We are going to be without Kyle Jacobs who picked up a nasty knee injury and Jordan Marshall who hurt his ankle against St Mirren. Both players have been consistent for us and will be a big loss to the team; we wish them a speedy recovery. We are also still missing Callum Fordyce and Dan Carmichael."

The match at the Falkirk Stadium kicks off at 3pm and will be used as an official awareness day for the Chris Mitchell Foundation.

In honour of Chris, the Chris Mitchell Foundation was established to raise awareness around mental health and wellbeing for players, ex-players and staff connected to professional Scottish football clubs; including those clubs within the Scottish Professional Football League, the Scottish Highland League, the Scottish Lowland League, the Scottish Women’s Premier League and associated youth academies.

With Chris having played for both clubs we were honoured that Chris’ family accepted Falkirk's invitation to host an awareness day at Saturday’s match.