By Lois Smillie.
Falkirk hosted promotion rivals Stenhousemuir on Sunday at The Falkirk Stadium Community Pitch, in what was an exhilarating derby day for both teams.
While the first half ended goalless, there was no shortage of conflict or chances. Falkirk saw their first real chance in the seventh minute, when a great ball was played through from new signing Alexandra Strike. Despite an energetic run from Vicky Wood, the Stenhousemuir goalkeeper gathered the ball before she was able to reach it.
In the 12th minute, Falkirk were able to find the back of the net, however the referee disallowed the goal due to a foul in the build-up and promptly booked Strike for dissent following the incident. Shortly after, Falkirk Head Coach Craig Tully was shown a red card after an altercation with the referee and was removed from the pitch.
Falkirk wasted no time trying to break the deadlock. Seven minutes after the restart, Suzanne Wyatt made way for Eva Rule whose impact on the game was clear to see after she saw an excellent effort sail just over the bar six minutes after coming on.
Falkirk kept pushing and their efforts paid off as they opened the scoring just after the hour mark. Rachel Pirie started off the move after making an impressive save to keep the scores even. She found Wood, who played the ball into Kirsty Gilbert’s feet. Gilbert took the ball around the goalkeeper and rolled it into the net.
Five minutes later, Falkirk doubled their lead. This time the scorer was Iona Bridges, who tried her luck with a strike from 30 yards out, beating the outstretched goalkeeper and finding the top corner. Three minutes later Bridges took a free kick hoping to add to her tally, but her cheeky attempt rolled just past the post.
Stenhousemuir fought back despite being two goals down, and might have got themselves back in the game had it not been for Falkirk goalkeeper Rachel Pirie, who saved three back-to-back shots from Stenhousemuir to deny them any chance of reducing the deficit.
With four minutes remaining on the 90, Falkirk scored their third and final goal to put the game beyond doubt. In similar fashion to the previous goal, Kirsty McLeod took her strike from outside the box, again finding the top corner.
The win sealed Falkirk’s first three points of the season, leaving them fifth in the league standings after two games. Falkirk face fourth placed St. Mirren this weekend at the Community Pitch in what will be another tough match. Get along if you can and support the girls in their league campaign, with the match kicking off at 2pm.
LINE-UP: Rachel Pirie, Alexandra Strike, Lauren Shaw, Daisie Donegan, Claudia Stewart, Vicky Wood, Suzanne Wyatt (sub Eva Rule), Iona Bridges, Erin Sludden, Kirsty McLeod, Kirsty Gilbert (sub Ella Stewart)
UNUSED SUBS: Sarah-Louise Waugh, Lauren Simmons, Robyn O’Neill, Taylor Johnston, Aimee Lenathen.
