Falkirk hosted Gleniffer Thistle on Sunday in their second match against the Paisley based team this season.
The beginning stages of the game saw a free kick awarded to Falkirk following a bad tackle from a Gleniffer player who received a booking for the foul. The kick was taken by Suzanne Wyatt who tried her luck with a shot but the ball unfortunately flew over the bar. It wouldn’t be too long a wait for Falkirk’s first goal, however.
A through ball from Teri-Louise Deegan found its way to Claudia Stewart, who then passed it on to Carolanne Cullen. Cullen took the opportunity, striking the ball past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net for the opening goal of the game.
Falkirk’s second came just 15 minutes later when Ellie Roberts struck the ball straight into the middle of the net. 45 seconds later, Falkirk had their third. Suzanne Wyatt found herself inside the box and made no mistake, hitting the bottom corner with a tidy finish.
Falkirk were dominating and showed no signs of letting up as Lauren Shaw found the ball in a very crowded box, managing to get a shot away for Falkirk’s fourth. As soon as play restarted, Suzanne Wyatt was able to win the ball back quickly, capitalising on a Gleniffer error to score her second of the game and Falkirk’s fifth.
Falkirk continued to control the game throughout the first half. Carolanne Cullen got herself on the scoresheet again thanks to a terrific ball through by Kirsty Gilbert before Wyatt, once again, nicked the ball after Gleniffer restarted play. She pounced again to score for her hat-trick and Falkirk’s seventh.
The last time the two teams met, Falkirk ran out 8-0 winners. This time around, Falkirk matched that scoreline within the first half. The eighth came when the ball was passed through to Teri-Louise Deegan who got herself past the defence and smashed the ball into the net. Shortly after, Falkirk conceded a free-kick in a dangerous position just outside the box. A brilliant save from Rachel Pirie kept the visitors from scoring their first real chance of the game.
Falkirk managed to squeezed in two more goals before the end of the first half. Claudia Stewart powered her way through the Gleniffer defence for goal number nine, and Suzanne Wyatt got the 10th soon after.
The second half had only been underway for a minute when Wyatt netted up her fifth goal of the match, slotting the ball into the bottom right corner. Cullen then scored her second of the game a minute later. Two minutes then followed before Suzanne scored her sixth goal.
Despite the scoreline, the Gleniffer goalkeeper did manage to make some saves, keeping out some good efforts from Claudia Stewart.
The 54th minute saw Carolanne Cullen get her hat-trick as the ball was passed through and she sent it flying past the goalkeeper. 13
Aimee Lenathan thought she had scored the 14th goal of the game when she tried her luck from outside the box with a powerful shot that went crashing into the top corner but the goal was ruled offside. The 14th came almost instantaneously, as Wyatt scored her seventh and final goal of the match.
The final 10 minutes saw an additional four goals from Falkirk. Charlotte Holden managed to get herself a goal from inside the box before Claudia Stewart finally got the second goal she had been so close to scoring earlier in the match. The ball was passed through from the left side of the pitch to her and she curled the ball around the goalkeeper and into the net.
Kirsty Gilbert scored just a minute later as she drove down the middle of the pitch and sent the ball flying past the goalkeeper. Gleniffer then gave away a free-kick within shooting range. Lauren Simmons stepped up to take the kick and attempted the shot. Despite her effort being on target, the goalkeeper made a diving save.
The 19th and final goal of the match came in the 90th minute. Substitute Avril Johnstone carried the ball down the right side of the pitch, ending her run with a well struck shot that beat the ‘keeper.
It was a dominant performance from Falkirk and the result not only sees them keep their promotion spot, but also make up the goal difference between them and promotion rivals Westdyke, who they play in a couple of weeks time.
Next Sunday Falkirk travel up to Aberdeen to face Grampian Ladies in their next League One fixture.
LINE-UP: Rachel Pirie (sub Sarah-Louise Waugh), Megan Black (sub Rhianne Ferguson), Lauren Shaw, Aimee Lenathan, Charlotte Holden, Carolanne Cullen (sub Avril Johnstone), Claudia Stewart, Teri-Louise Deegan (sub Lauren Simmons), Kirsty Gilbert, Suzanne Wyatt, Ellie Roberts (sub Amy Rafferty)
