Falkirk

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

Russell Martin's dismissal as Rangers head coach has understandably dominated the headlines since Sunday, but that should not detract from what was a fantastic Falkirk performance.

We comprehensively outplayed Rangers for long spells, winning both the shot count and the expected goals (xG) battle, not to mention we restricted Martin's team to a mere two efforts on target.

As such, I think I speak for most Falkirk fans when I say it felt like a missed opportunity to claim maximum points.

What made Sunday's performance all the more impressive was the fact six of our starting XI were mainstays in a side that were plying their trade in League 1 only two years ago.

Yes, Rangers are arguably at their lowest ebb since their financial implosion in 2012, but they arrived with a squad stacked with international players following a net spend of £20m across the summer and were second best for long stretches of the game.

While we go into the latest international break still searching for our first home win of the campaign, it's important to note that each of the four teams to visit the Falkirk Stadium this term all finished in the top six last season.

Only one of those four teams have managed to turn us over and that should stand us in good stead moving forward.

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Goalkeeper Scott Bain retains ambitions of a Scotland recall as he relishes a return to regular action with Falkirk following his summer move from Celtic.

The 33-year-old won the last of his three caps in 2019 but is thriving with the newly-promoted Bairns, whose 1-1 draw with Rangers on Sunday led to the dismissal of Russell Martin.

Scotland boss Steve Clarke has said the goalkeeping position is a "concern", with the three choices for this week's 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Belarus - Liam Kelly, Craig Gordon and Angus Gunn - not playing regularly or at all for their clubs this season.

"It's not my decision or I'd already be in there," Bain said.

"It's the decision for the Scotland manager and all I can do is continue to do what I'm doing here.

"I know there's another camp in another month. So he'll have a decision to make in another month, so we'll see where we are at.

"It'd be great [to be recalled]. I'm on my own little sort of focused journey at the minute where I've been playing one, two games a season for the last sort of three, maybe even four years.

"So I've been taking it sort of day by day, game by game and credit to the manager, it took me a while in pre-season to start to get my eye in and get going.

"He stuck by me and he put me in and I'm just going into games and trying to sort of repay that faith that he had in me.

"He's seen something in me that he thought I could help the team and I feel like I'm doing that."

We asked for your views on Falkirk's 1-1 draw against Rangers after a stunning second-half equaliser from Henry Cartwright which ultimately ended Russell Martin's tenure as head coach.

Here's what some of you said:

Gordon: Rangers were the poorest of the four sides to visit us so far this season. We thoroughly deserved a point even though we were not at our best.

John: I felt Falkirk outplayed Rangers for most of the game. Unfortunately lost the first goal but rallied after. The equaliser was a cracker and a deserved draw in the end. Could have won it but failed to take the chances early on.

Donna: We could have and should have won against Rangers if we had substituted earlier in the game.

Ross: Feels like two points dropped for Falkirk. If we'd been more clinical, the game would've been won in the first half as Rangers were there for the taking.

A stunning second-half equaliser from Falkirk piled more pressure on under-fire Rangers boss Russell Martin, whose side had to settle for a fifth Scottish Premiership draw in their opening seven games.

Read the match report here.

Give us your thoughts on the game here.

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Falkirk manager John McGlynn: "There was a lot to like today.

"I thought we started the game with a great intensity, pressed really, really well, exactly what we wanted to do.

"We know Rangers played on Thursday night in Austria and we knew we had to try and make a mark on the game and I thought we did that, we dominated for 30 minutes or so before we just probably ran out a little bit of steam.

"We let Rangers into the game and they got a little bit of footing and the goal that they scored, from their point of view, is a very, very good goal - it's very difficult to defend.

"1-0 down at half-time, I was gutted for the players because they put so much into that but we had the spirit to come back and I'm delighted Henry goes on and scores with an amazing strike.

"I think it's no more than we deserved over the whole 96 minutes. Maybe on another day, I think we've done enough to win the game.

"We were knocking on the door all day while Scott Bain wasn't too troubled.

"All in all, maybe we could've and maybe should've have got all three points."

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John McGlynn is urging his Falkirk side to take heart from the way fellow newly-promoted team Livingston approached their match against Rangers last weekend.

Livi ran Russell Martin's side close and were deemed unfortunate to lose 2-1 after Max Aarons scored the winner in added time.

And McGlynn believes the Bairns, who finished above David Martindale's side in the Scottish Championship last term, can cause problems for visitors Rangers on Sunday.

"Belief is huge, we have got to have belief that we can come out with a result," said the Falkirk boss.

"Livingston last week did really, really well and probably deserved something. They're in a similar position to ourselves - they've just come up and they caused Rangers problems.

"We've got to look at that and take inspiration from that and make life difficult for Rangers."

McGlynn is hoping his side bounce back after they were beaten 3-0 by Hearts at Tynecastle last weekend - their third Premiership loss of the season.

"We've been going along quite nicely," he said.

"Last week at Hearts was probably the first time we've let ourselves down so I'm looking for a response from the players, to go out and make it really difficult for Rangers and pick up some points."

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Falkirk welcome back on-loan Hearts defender Lewis Neilson after he had to sit out the defeat at Tynecastle while Kyrell Wilson is set to return. Aidan Nesbitt, Ethan Ross, Jamie Sneddon and Coll Donaldson remain sidelined.

Mohamed Diomande returns to the Rangers squad after being suspended against Sturm Graz while Kieran Dowall and Nedim Bajrami are not in the Europa League squad and are available again.

Long-term absentees Rabbi Matondo (knee) and Dujon Sterling (Achilles) are in back training but will not be involved any time soon.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Falkirk manager John McGlynn remains "wary" of struggling Rangers as he expressed sympathy for under-pressure counterpart Russell Martin.

The second-bottom Bairns trail Rangers - who have one league win in six games - by just two points before Sunday's meeting at the Falkirk Stadium.

"You can't hide from the fact that Rangers are not in a place that they want to be, but put them down at your peril," McGlynn said.

"There's no way we'll be taking it lightly at all. I'm looking for a response to the game last week.

"It wouldn't have mattered if it was Rangers or whoever we're going to be playing tomorrow. On Sunday, we'd be looking for a response from the players. That's my main theme here."

Falkirk have impressed at times in their return to the top flight, but they were well beaten 3-0 by Hearts last weekend at Tynecastle.

"It's probably the first time we've let ourselves down," the Bairns manager said. "However, I do understand that we wouldn't have been the only one that day [to get well beaten], Hearts were in a particularly good place, they were ready for whoever on that day.

"They'd just been to Ibrox and won for the first time in 14 years, sitting proudly on top of the league. They'd had a lot of time to prepare for the game, and we had a short time to prepare, and we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were good, we were a little off it."

Rangers were beaten 2-1 by Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday, a sixth defeat in 16 games for boss Martin, who continues to face abuse from his own supporters.

"Of course you [feel sympathy for him], because you're a human being," McGlynn said.

"You do feel for him. There's abuse and there's going too far. I've seen with another manager [Stuart Kettlewell at Motherwell] last season, he came away from it because of that.

"Sometimes you get guys saying to you, 'I don't know how you do it'. But we love the game. It's a huge part of it. I have a lot of sympathy because sometimes it's going too far. You can't be doing that type of thing. You shouldn't be [having to get] escorted to training and such."

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• This will be Falkirk's first competitive meeting with Rangers since a 4-0 League Cup defeat in November 2020, first in the league since a 3-2 Championship win in March 2016, and first in the top flight since a 3-0 defeat in January 2010.

• Rangers have lost both of their past two league visits to Falkirk, each in the Championship in 2015-16, while they have never lost three successive trips.

• In the top flight, though, Rangers have lost just one of their past 45 games against the Bairns home and away (W38 D6), winning their latest 10 in a row since a 1-0 defeat in December 2006 under Paul Le Guen.

• Falkirk are conceding an average of 2.0 goals per game in the Premiership this season (12 in six games), the most of any side.

• Rangers are unbeaten in 29 league games against newly-promoted opponents, winning 26 (D3) since a 1-0 defeat at Livingston in September 2018.

• Rangers haven't lost any of their past 20 Scottish Premiership matches that have come the same weekend after a midweek European game (W15 D5) since going down 1-0 to Celtic in September 2023 under Michael Beale. Indeed, the Glasgow side are unbeaten in their past 49 Sunday league games immediately after a Europa League match (excluding qualifiers) on Thursday (W42 D7) since a 3-0 defeat to Celtic in February 2011 under Walter Smith.

Grant Heaney
Fan writer

Following last season's Scottish Championship triumph, I - like many other Bairns fans - probably thought that a new first-choice goalkeeper would not sit high on our summer shopping list.

However, John McGlynn had other ideas, and rightfully so.

Scott Bain was one of the few early signings we made ahead of our return to the top-flight and so far it has proved to be an inspired one.

Following a seven-year stint at Celtic - where he mainly served as third-choice goalkeeper in recent seasons - Bain has made a seamless transition back into first-team action in the top tier.

In fact, it could be argued the 33-year-old has been our standout performer this season - a view echoed by John McGlynn in the aftermath of our 3-0 defeat at Tynecastle on Saturday.

While Bain couldn't do anything about the three goals that Hearts did score, he did produce various saves to help keep the scoreline respectable, with the pick of the bunch denying Lawrence Shankland in the second half.

That was just the latest in a string of impressive stops that Bain has pulled off across our opening six league games of the season.

On top of all that, Bain has also shown he is comfortable using his feet and hands for distribution, almost acting as an outfield player for us in certain situations.

Having been capped three times for Scotland earlier in his career, Bain's revival has strengthened the case for him to earn further international recognition over the coming months, especially given the national team's lack of goalkeeping options.

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Falkirk left-back Sean Mackie has returned to the second tier to spend the season on loan with Ross County.

The 26-year-old helped the Bairns to League 1 and Championship title success in the past two seasons, making 82 appearances since joining the club in summer 2022.

County manager Tony Docherty said: "He adds experience and knowledge of the Scottish Championship, having featured heavily and successfully in Falkirk's title win last season, as well as being part of the Hibs team which won this division."

Watch Sportscene analysis of Falkirk's performance in a 3-0 loss away to Hearts.

Watch all the highlights as Hearts moved top of the Scottish Premiership with a 3-0 win over Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership.

Rampant Hearts moved to the top of the Scottish Premiership with a dominant win over a listless Falkirk at a raucous Tynecastle, as Lawrence Shankland became the SPFL's record goalscorer.

Read the full match report here.

Give us your thoughts on the game here.

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Falkirk manager John McGlynn tells BBC Sport Scotland: "Yeah, we had to try and stay in the game after that [opening goal] and we almost did.

"We had to get to half-time at 1-0 and re-address it, we looked a bit heavy-legged, and I think that comes from the game on Tuesday, but we're going to have to be able to do that.

"So maybe team selection has to be looking at that maybe guys that have done too much on Tuesday night come into that huge, big game today.

"Hearts had a break last week and obviously had a bit of time to rest and recover while we were playing a big game against the Hibs, and I think that was something to do with being heavy-legged.

"Thought Scott Bain had a great game today.

"So, 2-0 at half time, obviously, we need to get the next goal, unfortunately, we've lost that [second goal] very, very early in the second half, and it's a long way back from there.

"The boys kept on going, they kept working, we tried things to try and change things around a little bit.

"I've got to concede that Hearts were very dominant today, they look like a team that were at the top of the table, look like team that were playing with lot of confidence, they look like a team that had the bit between their teeth and they played at a very high tempo, which today we didn't do enough to stop the flow.

"We all understand that we have to learn, obviously, we will go over things as we do, but we can't continue to keep making the same mistakes, we know that."

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Hearts right-back Christian Borchgrevink is back in contention but Ageu (hamstring), Frankie Kent (knee), Craig Gordon (hamstring), Ryan Fulton (groin) and Finlay Pollock (hamstring) are still out.

Falkirk are unable to field on-loan Hearts defender Lewis Neilson against his parent club, while Kyrell Wilson, Aidan Nesbitt, Ethan Ross, Jamie Sneddon and Coll Donaldson remain sidelined.

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John McGlynn says Falkirk are still adjusting to life in the top flight and will only "get better".

The newly-promoted side have taken five points from their first five fixtures and fought back from two down for a draw with Hibs in midweek.

Manager McGlynn is aiming to continue that momentum in Saturday's visit to high-flying Hearts.

"We're only going to get better by experience and learning from each game," he said.

"I think we've been in all the games. We're not going to have the amount of ball we had in League One or the Championship.

"We're going to have to be able to play without the ball, and I thought we did that better on Tuesday than in other games.

"We're definitely finding our feet."

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Falkirk striker Barney Stewart has joined Dunfermline on loan until January.

The 21-year-old played 17 games and scored twice for the Championship-winning Bairns last term after joining from Heriot Watt University, but has yet to make an appearance this season.

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John McGlynn says he is "quite content" with the way his career has panned out, as the Falkirk manager prepares for his first Premiership match in charge at Tynecastle since losing his job at Hearts in February 2013.

The 63-year-old served on the backroom staff from 1995 to 2006 and returned to the Jambos as manager in 2012, but only spent eight months in charge of the Edinburgh club under erratic owner Vladimir Romanov.

McGlynn has been back to Hearts with Championship clubs Livingston and Raith Rovers, but Saturday will be his first time in the dugout as a Premiership manager.

"For me, after five-and-a-half years at Raith Rovers, it was probably the right time, but it was probably the wrong time to be at Hearts," said McGlynn.

"There was so much change going on, but I probably lasted longer than some. I felt there was pros and cons to it. I can look back at the two [Europa League play-off] games against Liverpool fondly.

"I also look back fondly at getting the team to the League Cup final, which Hearts have got a horrendous record in.

"Our league form wasn't great, we were trying to play good football but getting hit with sucker punches and losing games.

"On the back of winning the Scottish Cup with a 5-1 win against Hibs, there were high expectation but with only half of the Scottish Cup team left, it was always going to be difficult with the brief to bring in younger players because there was obviously no money.

"We did a reasonable job under the circumstances. It's not done me any harm because I'm quite content with what I've done in football and where I am right now.

"I had a lot to thank Hearts for, for the opportunity I was given in the first place. Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown opened the door for me [in 1995] and I got in and had some great times there.

"I don't have any ill feeling or resentment. You just deal with the cards you're dealt."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

It may seem like an eternity since Hearts returned home with a welcome victory at Ibrox but those three points could prove to be extremely valuable come the end of the season.

In addition the win maintains the positive vibes emanating from Tynecastle, which also increases the expectations from the stands.

This week when Falkirk come calling and a chance-laden affair should ensue.

Few managers will know more about Tynecastle than John McGlynn. Having joined Hearts in the late 1990s and brought through stalwarts like Scott Severin and Craig Gordon, McGlynn has shown tactical nous when it comes to setting up a team at whichever club he has worked at.

And don't forget the 63-year-old was a vital cog in Celtic's coaching staff under Brendan Rodgers in his first spell at Parkhead before taking the leap back into management with Raith Rovers in 2018.

McGlynn also had a couple of spells in charge of Hearts in the Romanov era so is well versed in the club.

But Derek McInnes and his players look as if they have the belief they can win any game and it will be a major upset if Hearts don't secure victory in front of another sell-out crowd at Tynecastle.

Falkirk chief executive Jamie Swinney targets consistency in the Scottish Premiership and hopes the Bairns can establish themselves as the seventh best in the league. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

Watch highlights as Falkirk hit back from two down to draw with Hibs in the Scottish Premiership. (Available to UK users only)